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Antioch Antes Up

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[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]P[/dropcap]rogress is inching forward, gearing up cannabis businesses for operation in the city of Antioch, one of California’s oldest cities. The Antioch City Council approved cannabis business guidelines on Sept. 11 to address the city’s cannabis market. The vote was unanimous, with Councilmember Lori Ogorchock absent, who has opposed cannabis measures in the past.

It’s taken awhile for the biblically-named Bay Area city to get this far. On May 22, the Antioch City Council introduced an ordinance creating zoning changes. Amendments were made to Chapter 5 of Title 9 of the Antioch Municipal Code (Zoning Ordinance) to create a Cannabis Business Overlay District within the city of Antioch. On July 26, the city council approved the second reading and the ordinance took effect.

The guidelines include rules, fees and provisions that will apply to cannabis businesses. These include operating hours, inspection rules, odor control, security measures and buffer zones. Per the city’s proposed buffer zones, cannabis businesses cannot open within 600 feet of a park, school, residence or another cannabis business. Per the proposed hours of operation, cannabis retail stores would be able to operate seven days a week, but operate no later than 8 p.m. at night with a Conditional Use Permit.

On Sept. 11, Community Development Director Forrest Ebbs said the guidelines are a win-win situation, despite lingering fears from neighbors. Cannabis businesses in the area, for instance, would have to prove that they are providing actual benefit for the local community.

A Sept. 14 staff report, prepared by Ebbs, recommended that the Antioch Planning Commission review the new guidelines. “On Sept. 11, 2018, the city council adopted the Cannabis Business Guidelines,” the report read. “These guidelines express the city’s high expectations for operation, design and security features that, when implemented, will minimize impacts to the community and the city of Antioch.”

“The guidelines certainly could become standards to carry the weight of law, but for now, they’re being used to create informed decisions by the city council as applications are being presented to them.”

 

The guidelines must be approved by the Antioch Planning Commission for review. Any “substantial changes” proposed by the Planning Commission will warrant a need for the revised guidelines to be sent back to city council. “The guidelines certainly could become standards to carry the weight of law, but for now, they’re being used to create informed decisions by the city council as applications are being presented to them,” Ebbs told CULTURE.

The guidelines resemble rules enacted in other California cities of similar size. “There’s been a requirement since July 27 that all cannabis businesses require a use permit from the city council. What the guidelines do,” Ebbs clarified, “is they communicate the city’s expectations and provide direction for applicants that are considering applying for that use permit.”

Unfortunately, and as pointed out by former Antioch City Councilmember Manny Soliz, the city missed its deadline to place a citywide cannabis sales tax on the November 2018 ballot. Even though a formal local tax can’t be imposed this year, Mayor Pro-Tem Lamar Thorpe pointed out that the city can still benefit from those types of businesses by imposing taxes on cannabis operations through individual agreements during the development stages. Other citizens pointed out that Antioch will also benefit from some of the state taxes that are collected and dispersed from recreational cannabis sales.

Antioch’s cannabis business market is beginning to take shape, and the guidelines help city officials know which businesses can be approved while permanent rules are still being developed.

 

 

 

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