City Council
City of Visalia
Monday,
March
16 ,
2026
Cannabis
Business
Ordinance
Design
Review
#
3 Recommendation:
Receive report on draft Cannabis Ordinance, and cannabis business application and selection process and provide staff with any input or necessary changes for future ordinance and resolution adoption.
City will not begin accepting applications at time of adoption Also, authorize amending the existing sole source contract with
HdL
to assist staff prepare a fee nexus study for all
cannabis business program fee amounts and appropriate
$12,000 from the General Fund for this contract amendment.
Cannabis
Business
Ordinance
Design
Review
#
3 Rescinding Chapter 5.66:
When adopting the Cannabis Ordinance, staff recommends
rescinding Chapter 5.66.
To reduce confusion and be more efficient, provisions in Chapter 5.66 are now incorporated into Chapter 4.04.
This will also require some minor edits to Chapter. 8.64 to be consistent as well.
Cannabis
Business
Ordinance
Design
Review
#
3 Chapter 17 edits:
A Zoning update will
is
required primarily to indicate which zones
cannabis businesses will be conditionally permitted:
-
Retail Storefront: C
-
R, C
-
S, CMU (excluding Microbrewery
Overlay)
-
I
-
L, I: Non
-
storefront, Distributors, Manufacturers,
Microbusiness, Processors (in Industrial Park Overlay only)
-
Testing Laboratories: CMU, O
-
PA, BRP, I
-
L, I
Important to note: Retail storefront buffer requirements are established in the Cannabis Ordinance.
Cannabis
Business
Ordinance
Design
Review
#
3 Includes residential
uses and parks
Cannabis Business Ordinance Ch. 4.04:
-
Retail hour restrictions: 9AM
–
9PM
-
Annual license terms to expire June 30th to align with our regular business tax term.
-
Application and selection process to be codified by
separate resolution.
-
City Manager is authorized to make all decisions
concerning the issuance of renewal licenses.
-
All appeals will be heard by an appointee designated by the City Manager.
Cannabis
Business
Ordinance
Design
Review
#
3 Sensitive uses and buffer sizes for retail storefront buffer:
-
600 foot
buffer from existing:
-
Churches
-
Parks
-
Schools
–
K
-
12, public and private
-
State licensed day care facilities
-
Youth centers
-
100 foot
buffer from all residential zoning
Cannabis
Business
Ordinance
Design
Review
#
3 Includes residential
uses and parks
Business Application and Selection Process Resolution:
-
Commercial Cannabis Business Application
-
Financial Responsibility, Indemnity and Consent to
Inspection Agreement
-
Agreement on Limitations of City’s Liability (Indemnification) -
Property Owner Consent/Landlord Affidavit
-
Proof Property Ownership or Lease Agreement
-
Proof of insurability from an Insurance Company
-
Zoning Verification Application and Letter
-
Application fee
-
Background Check(s)
Cannabis
Business
Ordinance
Design
Review
#
3 Business Application Evaluation and Review:
-
Business Plan
-
Location and Neighborhood Compatibility Plan
-
Safety and Security Plan
-
Community Benefits Plan
-
Licensees will be expected to pay an annual minimum to
the City of $50,000 or 1% of annual gross receipts,
whichever amount is greater.
Cannabis
Business
Ordinance
Design
Review
#
3 Community Benefits Examples Nearby:
-
City of Tulare and Valley Pure: One
-
time payment of $100,000
and annual payments of $50,000, plus annual tax rate (10%). -
City of Tulare and Token Farms: 2% of its sales annually to a local nonprofit plus annual tax rate.
-
City of Porterville and City Culture Cannabis Club and
Haven: $30,000 annually or 1% of annual gross receipts, whichever amount is greater.
-
City of Lemoore and NHC Lemoore: Initial licensing fee of $200,000 (unless skate park and splash pad required
relocation, in which it was $350,000), annual license fee of $12,860, $24,000 annually in charitable donations in the city, plus annual tax rate (5%).
Cannabis
Business
Ordinance
Design
Review
#
3 Lottery Selection vs. Merit based:
-
Lottery process is recommended
in an effort to
reduce
exposure and risk to potential litigation and to best
streamline the lengthy appeals process common with
unselected applicants.
-
Staff is confident the application and selection process and cannabis business ordinance guidelines presented will result in quality operators being eligible for selection while also mitigating risk of lengthy appeal processing and
litigation.
Cannabis
Business
Ordinance
Design
Review
#
3 Lottery Selection vs. Merit based:
-
Selected applicants will have 12 months to acquire CUP and any necessary building permits and begin construction.
Renewal licenses will not be provided to licensees who do not meet this timeframe.
-
Selected applicants will have 24 months to acquire their Certificate of Occupancy or risk license revocation.
-
Cannabis Business License cannot be transferred or
otherwise sold within the first 5 years of the date of issuance. -
A transferee must obtain an amendment to the license from the City
Manager
and the process is essentially a new
application.
Cannabis
Business
Ordinance
Design
Review
#
3 -
1st reading of the Cannabis Business Ordinance at a future Council meeting.
-
Will also include adopting a zoning text amendment
following Planning Commission review.
-
Adopt a resolution establishing application and selection process for both storefront and non
-
storefront retail.
-
Adopt a resolution to set all applicable cannabis program fees.
-
When Council wishes to allow cannabis business licenses to be eligible for issuance, or state mandates, pass separate resolution.
-
Staff will require a consultant to assist with the application review and selection process when appropriate.
Cannabis
Business
Ordinance
Next
Steps
Recommended Motion:
I move to authorize staff to amend the existing sole source contract with
HdL
to
provide assistance
with the preparation
of a fee nexus study to determine all applicable fee amounts in the City’s cannabis business program and appropriate $12,000 from the General Fund for this contract amendment.
Cannabis
Business
Ordinance
Design
Review
#
3 Additional input,
Comments or
Questions?