WeHo wants faster pipeline for cannabis businesses

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PleasureMed at 7715 Santa Monica Blvd. continues construction on its retail storefront and consumption lounge, one of 13 cannabis businesses approved but not yet open.

West Hollywood’s City Council on Monday looked at how the city’s cannabis program could facilitate license holders in getting their establishments up and running, an often arduous and time-consuming process which has kept some businesses languishing on the back burner.

Many approved developments are locked in a bureaucratic limbo, and City Hall is struggling to get a grip on the unwieldy situation.

“Do we even know if some of those companies still want to move forward?” asked Councilmember Lauren Meister.

In November 2017, the city adopted its cannabis ordinance, allowing for eight licenses across five different cannabis categories, including adult use retail, medical dispensaries, consumption by smoking or vaping, consumption by edibles only, and delivery services. The most recent amendment to the cannabis ordinance occurred in February, allowing for temporary cannabis events.

There are currently nine cannabis businesses operating in WeHo, covering a total of 21 licenses, with some businesses holding multiple licenses. Additionally, the report mentioned 13 pending applications, covering 16 licenses, and three waitlisted businesses with three different licenses. Of the 13 pending applications, three were expected to open in the fall of the current year, five in 2024, and the remaining five in 2025.

CURRENTLY OPEN BUSINESSES

BUSINESS ADDRESS BUSINESS LICENSE
CATEGORY
BL COMMISSION
APPROVAL
BUILDING PERMITS OPEN FOR
BUSINESS
PROJECTED OPENING
A.H.H.S.
(Alternative
Herbal Health Services)
7828 Santa Monica Blvd Legacy Medical Yes; June 28,
2021
N/A Yes N/A
CALMA Weho, LLC 1155 N La
Brea Avenue
Adult-Use and Delivery Yes; August 13, 2019 Yes Yes N/A
J&P Consulting (The Woods) 8271 Santa Monica Blvd Adult-Use Yes; September 25,
2019
Yes Yes N/A
J&P Consulting (The Woods) 8271 Santa Monica Blvd Delivery Yes; June 29,
2020
Yes Yes N/A
J&P Consulting (The Woods) 8271 Santa Monica Blvd Consumption (Edibles) Yes; September 25,
2019
Yes Yes N/A
MedMen 8208 Santa Monica Blvd Legacy Medical Yes; June 1,
2021
N/A Yes N/A
Ovest, LLC (LA Patients and
Caregivers)
7213 Santa Monica Blvd Adult-Use Yes; June 28,
2021
N/A Yes N/A
PDLP JV, LLC
(Greenwolf)
8477-8493
Sunset Blvd
Adult-Use, Medical and Delivery Yes; January 12, 2021 Yes Yes N/A
The Artist Tree, LLC 8625 Santa Monica Blvd Adult-Use, Medical, and Delivery Yes; August 13, 2019 Yes Yes N/A
The Artist Tree, LLC 8625 Santa Monica Blvd Consumption (Edibles) Yes; April 6,
2021
Yes Yes N/A
Zen Healing Collective 8464 Santa Monica Blvd Delivery Yes; January 27, 2020 N/A Yes N/A
Zen Healing Collective 8464 Santa Monica Blvd Adult-Use and Medical Yes; June 1,
2021
N/A Yes N/A
Aeon West Hollywood, Inc 8448 Santa Monica Blvd Adult-Use and Medical Yes; October 22, 2019 Yes No N/A

 

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City Hall is now working on amendment to address the deadlines for businesses. Given the challenges some businesses were facing in terms of opening and navigating the development review process, staff intends to present the proposed changes to the cannabis ordinance within the next three months to provide more flexibility and support to businesses.

Councilmember Lauren Meister raised questions about the criteria for granting extensions to businesses. Danny Rivas explained that the criteria included evaluating the progress made by the business, such as plan submissions and ongoing communication with city staff. The absence of progress, indicated by a significant gap in plan updates, could lead to a denial of an extension. Meister also questioned businesses requesting extensions without having secured a lease, which Rivas acknowledged as a valid concern but emphasized that plan submissions and progress were key factors in granting extensions.

Regarding the waitlisted businesses, Meister inquired about efforts to determine their continued interest in moving forward. Rivas explained that meetings were being scheduled to confirm their intentions, and if contact could not be established by October, further action would be considered, including possible policy adjustments or ordinance amendments.

Councilmember John Heilman expressed concerns about the outdated waitlist and the potential need for a new process or conclusion of the current waitlist.

“I don’t want anyone who’s on the wait list right now to panic,” Heilman said. “But at some point, the applications from 2018 are not really going to be considered current.”

Rivas acknowledged the need to address this issue and proposed discussing it with the city attorney’s office to determine the appropriate course of action.

The discussion also touched on the forthcoming changes related to AB 374 and the city’s willingness to support businesses in their expansion efforts.

During Public Comment period, Genevieve Morrill, CEO of the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, expressed the hope that the cannabis industry would eventually become less of a topic for discussion as licenses are renewed. Morrill mentioned legislative changes at the state level, including a bill from Northern California that could impact consumption lounges and the sale of food and beverages. She stressed that extensions should be granted to businesses actively pursuing opening, with clear criteria differentiating between TI and ground-up development.

In Progress/Pending (Construction, Permits/Licenses, Etc.)

BUSINESS ADDRESS BUSINESS LICENSE
CATEGORY
BL COMMISSION
APPROVAL
BUILDING PERMITS OPEN FOR
BUSINESS
PROJECTED OPENING
Aeon West Hollywood, Inc 8448 Santa Monica Blvd Consumption (All) Yes; October 22, 2019 Yes No Jan. 2024
ASHE Society, LLC 7740 Santa Monica Blvd Consumption (Edibles) Yes; February 1, 2022 No No Not Known
Door Number Six, LLC 8228 Sunset Blvd Consumption (Edibles) Yes; May 4,
2021
No No Spring 2024
Flore Flora, LLC (Original Cannabis Café) 1201 N La
Brea Ave
Consumption (All) Yes; July 16,
2019
Yes Yes (Temp Closed due to COVID) Fall 2023
Valkyrie Retail, LLC (Villa Noble) 8001 Santa Monica Blvd Consumption (All) Yes; September 14,
2021
No No Not Known
Muthatree, LLC 7614-7626
Santa Monica Blvd
Consumption (Edibles) Yes; October 12, 2021 No No Not Known
Ovest, LLC (LA Patients and Caregivers) 7213 Santa Monica Blvd Consumption (Edibles) Yes; February 1, 2022 No No Not Known
PDLP JV, LLC
(Greenwolf)
8477-8493
Sunset Blvd
Consumption (All) Yes; January 12, 2021 Yes No Not Known
Pleasure Med, LLC 7715 Santa Monica Blvd Adult-Use, Medical, Delivery, and
Consumption (All)
Yes; July 16,
2019
Yes No Oct. 2023
The Antidote 9091 Santa Monica Blvd Consumption (Edibles) Yes; February 1, 2022 No No Not Known
The Artist Tree, LLC 8289 Santa Monica Blvd Consumption (All) Yes; February 1, 2022 No No Not Known
Vanguard Concepts, LLC (Chroma) 8533 Sunset Blvd Consumption (All) Yes; February 1, 2022 No No Not Known
Where Eagles
Fly, LLC (The Fantom Flower)
8811 Santa Monica Blvd Consumption (Edibles) Yes; September 14,
2021
Yes No Dec. 2023

“We’re not asking for any extensions for anyone who has not already or is not is sitting on a license,” Morrill said. “We’re only asking for those who actually are taking stages to open.”

Mayor Sepi Shyne initiated the councilmembers’ discussion,emphasizing the need for clarity regarding staff’s objectives and expectations from the council.

Meister emphasized the importance of establishing concrete criteria to determine what constitutes progress for cannabis businesses. She proposed that businesses must have a lease or property ownership to demonstrate real progress. Meister stressed the necessity of setting up clear and objective milestones to avoid subjectivity in evaluating progress, concurring with Erickson’s support for an extension, especially for ground-up construction projects.

She also suggested that businesses on the waitlist should be contacted and given a limited timeframe to respond, indicating their seriousness about starting operations. She requested that the forthcoming report provide specific details about the challenges faced by businesses not yet open.

Waitlist

BUSINESS ADDRESS BUSINESS LICENSE
CATEGORY
BL COMMISSION
APPROVAL
BUILDING PERMITS OPEN FOR
BUSINESS
PROJECTED OPENING
Sunday Goods N/A Consumption (ALL0 No (Waitlist Letter 9/2023 No No *Deadline March 2025
Argyle Partnership N/A Delivery No (Waitlist Letter 9/2023 No No *Deadline March 2025
LAPCG N/A Delivery No (Waitlist Letter 9/2023 No No *Deadline March 2025

Councilmember Chelsea Byers expressed her concern about ensuring that businesses on the waitlist are prepared and ready to commence operations promptly upon receiving notice. She proposed the idea of implementing a “next-in-line” notification system to ensure that businesses don’t remain dormant after receiving an 18-month notice.

“Ideally, this ordinance would be updated to have a trigger before that 18-month notice would come to their door that they’re next in line for that,” Byers said.

She remained open to the idea of a three-year extension but sought a clear understanding of what constitutes “significant diligent progress.”

Erickson echoed Councilmember Meister’s call for a well-defined understanding of “sustainable progress.” He expressed support for a two-year extension with the possibility of an additional one-year extension, which would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Erickson highlighted the timeline for potential business openings, suggesting that a decision should be made in late December based on the progress made by businesses scheduled to open in 2023 and early 2024.

“Because if these applicants are actually true to their word, we’ll see three businesses off of this yellow list,” Erickson said. “And I think that that would show us that these businesses are not just waiting around on these licenses. I believe that they want to get it done. I see PleasureMed on the East Side working like a dog (to open).”

Mayor Sepi Shyne sought legal advice from the city attorney regarding potential liabilities related to the waitlist. In terms of timing, she leaned towards a three-year extension, coupled with an option for businesses to approach either the Business License Commission or the Planning Commission to seek two additional six-month extensions, depending on the circumstances.

The council agreed to revisit the matter and make decisions based on the progress of businesses scheduled to open in late 2023 and early 2024.

No BLC Approval (Forfeit of License)

BUSINESS ADDRESS BUSINESS LICENSE
CATEGORY
BL COMMISSION
APPROVAL
BUILDING PERMITS OPEN FOR
BUSINESS
PROJECTED OPENING
Essence WeHo, LLC N/A Adult-Use, Consumption (All), Delivery Licenses Lost (BLC approval not received) No No N/A
MedMen N/A Consumption (All) No (Waitlist
letter received 2/8/22)
No No N/A
Melrose
Collective Corporation
N/A Delivery No (Waitlist
letter received 2/8/22)
No No N/A
Sunday Goods N/A Delivery No (Waitlist letter received
2/8/22)
No No N/A

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Olen
Olen
1 year ago

Is the city getting tax money from all these dumb cannabis businesses or something? Why the urgency? Are rhere more cannabis stores than liquor stores? Who is benefiting? Someone is.

Jeff
Jeff
1 year ago

Ovest (LA Patient Caregivers) is now called 4Twenty Market. It seems to be completely different people than the old staff. Can the license be transferred? Is this place licensed? It used to be a respectable looking business, now it looks like some Jersey Shore smoke shop garbage. Also remember when the CA Attorney General filed charges against Lowell Farms our first cannabis restaurant because WeHo gave them a license despite them not actually being licensed by the state to grow marijuana? What ever happened to that? Who signed off on Lowell and are they still in charge? Maybe the process… Read more »

Josh
Josh
1 year ago

The residents of weho don’t want more cannabis dispensaries

Stevie
Stevie
1 year ago

Just wait until they bring in the Magic Mushroom businesses to go next door to the Pot Shop Lounges.

C. R.
C. R.
1 year ago
Reply to  Stevie

Sounds like solid potential for a good time

Melrose
Melrose
1 year ago
Reply to  C. R.

For losers.

greeneyedguy
greeneyedguy
1 year ago
Reply to  Melrose

So it will be a good time for you.

Steve Martin
Steve Martin
1 year ago

This seems like an understaffed and half assed process. At some point if the applicant does not have a lease, why are we wasting staff time processing the application? It would seem that we should give priority to applicants that have already secured leases. A five year wait time to process an application is absurd.

Voter
Voter
1 year ago

The race to the bottom always happens quickly.

JF1
JF1
1 year ago

This city is becoming nothing but bars clubs and pot shops. It’s a race to the bottom. We need a mix of commercial spaces in order to be a thriving community.

Peter Buckley
Peter Buckley
1 year ago

Let’s get our crime problems sorted first.

Warren Cohn
Warren Cohn
1 year ago

I’m all for business expansion and small businesses thriving in weho, incl cannabis shoppes. Just seems to me we’ve got lots already, more than any other SoCal city. It’d just be nice to see more small businesses thrive in weho than just this…weho city ought to work to bring a larger more diverse small business community back into all these open empty shoppes..retail, cafes, eateries, wine bars etc

Olen
Olen
1 year ago
Reply to  Warren Cohn

Here, here, but is the city incentivized by more $$ from pot taxes? (Also, Hi!)

Weho resident
Weho resident
1 year ago
Reply to  Warren Cohn

As a WeHo resident full time fir over a decade now- I’m very upset with the abundance of access to alcohol and cannabis being pushed thru and now the wide range of shopping and needed of our community. The addition of art, culture, and small businesses of design and enrichment with dining is a better draw for those who live here and encourage others to visit – not just for partying and getting high.

I thought we had a community striving for a unique community for all ages , kinds, and supporting government leaders but this sounds money driven now.