Encinitas council to begin repealing rules blocking cannabis business activity

That initiative allows four cannabis retail sales stores to open in the city; permits commercial cannabis cultivation in greenhouses on agriculturally zoned land; and allows cannabis kitchens, distribution facilities and product manufacturers to locate in some parts of the city.

After that, the state Coastal Commission will review the new regulations and once that’s done, Encinitas can begin accepting cannabis business applications.

In the case of retail sales stores, those restrictions include a requirement that a security officer be on the premises 24 hours a day, that the hours of operation can only be between 7 a.m.

The city can’t make the regulations more strict than what’s in Measure H, but it does have a little flexibility when it comes to managing its impact, city officials have said.

Councilwoman Kellie Shay Hinze asked if the city could prioritize applicants who seek one of the four retail sales permits that the city will be distributing using a lottery system, but was told that the city likely could not give priority to women-owned businesses or other special categories.

Councilman Tony Kranz, who opposed Measure H, said “big weed” corporations wrote the initiative, paid people to collect signatures to put it on the ballot and locked the city into the position of being able to do little to change it until a mandatory, three-year waiting period ends.

Earlier in June, city officials had said they hoped to make the June 23 meeting their first in-person session, but they since learned that because of public noticing requirements it can’t occur until the August session, Antil said.

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