Cathedral City imposes 45‑day moratorium on new cannabis approvals after surge in odor complaints

Cathedral City adopted an interim urgency ordinance on an emergency 45‑day moratorium that pauses approvals for new cannabis licenses, conditional use permits and operations that would expand cultivation or processing, Mayor Ross and the council voted unanimously. The council also left exemptions for limited situations already in the pipeline.

The moratorium was introduced by Andrew Firestein, Director of Community and Economic Development, who said the city’s existing cannabis regulations date to 2017 and are located in Title 5 (licensing), Title 9 (zoning) and Title 13 (enforcement). "I'm Andrew Firestein, your director of community and economic development," he told the council before summarizing an increase in odor complaints tied to cultivation and processing sites across the city.

Why it matters: Firestein told the council the city logged about 38 cannabis odor complaints in the first three months of 2024 and more than 900 complaints over the remainder of that year, including 501 in December 2024; he said January 2025 complaints had already exceeded December's total. City staff said the complaints are citywide but concentrated around Deep Palm Drive and Ramon Road, with additional complaints near Perez Road, Kiley Road, Bankside Drive and Sunair Plaza.

What the ordinance does: The urgency ordinance halts…