The Cocoa Beach Board of Adjustment voted 4-1 on Feb. 19 to approve a special exception allowing a medical marijuana dispensary at 4300 North Atlantic, the former Bank of America building, with a condition that recreational sales not be permitted.

The board’s decision came after about an hour of applicant presentation, staff procedural hearings and public comment focused on traffic, neighborhood impacts and security. Chair Don Haynes called for a roll call vote that recorded four yes votes and one no vote from Board Member Anderson.

The board heard from Cole Oliver, a land-use attorney with Rossway Swan, who presented the application on behalf of the applicant and said the city’s redevelopment zoning allows dispensaries through a special-exception process. "This board as an entity made the distinction in the previous application that dispensaries are compatible with the permitted uses within the redevelopment districts," Oliver said, and the application sought the same finding for the Gateway Redevelopment Subdistrict.

Kyle Wood, representing Eden, the applicant, told the board the company is a locally owned licensee rolling out multiple stores and that state rules tightly regulate hours, product testing and security. "Every product that gets sold has to be tested and approved by the state," Wood said. He described security and inventory tracking systems and said the state can inspect facilities without notice.

Applicant materials and a traffic analysis were entered into the record and accepted by the board. The presentation asserted that a dispensary would generate fewer peak-hour vehicle trips than the prior bank use — roughly half the peak traffic, according to the applicant’s traffic engineer — and that the site meets required parking and other local code standards. The applicant also said state rules limit hours of operation and restrict signage and product handling.

Residents who live near the proposed site spoke against the application during public comment. James Rayo, who gave a Cocoa Beach address, said the corner is a busy gateway to the city and asked, "Do you really want a marijuana store right at that corner, the biggest corner in Cocoa Beach?" Several other speakers raised concerns about pedestrian and bus traffic, proximity to parks, and the existing vagrancy and homelessness issues in the area, saying those problems heightened their objections to locating a dispensary at that site.

Board members discussed the three principal criteria in the local code: compatibility with permitted uses in the zoning district, consistency with the comprehensive plan, and whether the use would be detrimental to surrounding properties or traffic flows. City staff advised that items one and three were satisfied in staff’s view and that the application met the city’s comprehensive-plan consistency test.

During deliberations, at least one board member said the choice between allowing a dispensary in a vacant, blighted building and leaving the property empty weighed on their decision. The board added an explicit condition to the approval prohibiting recreational sales at the site; the motion as approved included the condition that the permission applies only to medical marijuana sales consistent with the special exception.

The file record shows the applicant holds a lease on the property (applicant representative stated it is a 10-year lease with extension options), and that notices required by local code — mailed notices within a 300-foot radius and signage posted 30 days before the hearing — were completed. Staff also confirmed the Florida Office of Medical Marijuana Use regulates licensing, inventory tracking and can inspect operations.

The board’s approval allows the applicant to pursue permits and state approvals required to open. City staff and the applicant said additional permits and state licensing remain conditions before any retail operation can open to the public.

Votes at a glance

- Special exception to permit a medical marijuana dispensary at 4300 North Atlantic, conditioned to prohibit recreational sales — Approved (4 yes, 1 no)

What happens next

The applicant must complete required building permits, state licensing and any other regulatory approvals before opening. City staff said they will continue to enforce local code requirements for hours, parking and signage if the business proceeds.