Cathedral City planning commission approves revision to CUP at Sun Air Plaza to allow cannabis distribution, delivery-only dispensary

The Cathedral City Planning Commission voted to approve a revision to Conditional Use Permit (CUP) 250001 for a developed commercial-business-park site at 36650 Sun Air Plaza, allowing cannabis distribution and a delivery-only (non-storefront) dispensary while removing on-site cultivation and retaining manufacturing as a potential future operation.

Manuel Rocha, assistant planner for the city, told commissioners the site had an earlier CUP (17004) authorizing cultivation and manufacturing and that the applicant, Kevin Spring of Distro Depot, applied to change the permit before the city’s cannabis moratorium took effect. Rocha said the proposed revision would use the first floor of Building A for distribution and delivery-only dispensary operations and would not alter the building's architecture or color. He said staff determined the project is exempt from CEQA under Class 1 (Cal. CEQA Guidelines §15301) and recommended approval subject to conditions in the staff report.

In discussion commissioners focused on odor control, parking and what “non-storefront” means. Rocha described a new requirement the city has added to cannabis approvals: an odor control plan prepared by a licensed professional engineer or certified industrial hygienist that documents odor-emitting processes and mitigation measures to ensure odors are not detected off-site. Rocha also said the forthcoming cannabis ordinance is intended to apply retroactively and would capture any requirements not addressed in the current CUP conditions.

Applicant Kevin Spring, the project owner, told the commission he is a Cathedral City resident and described his operation as primarily distribution and delivery. “We really could never be a storefront there and we have no intentions of it,” Spring said, explaining they planned about 238 square feet of product storage for delivery operations and that manufacturing is not intended at this time. Spring added his company has operated in Palm Springs with no odor complaints and that he had an odor-control plan staff found among the stronger examples they had reviewed.

Commissioners asked whether future changes — such as converting to a storefront dispensary or using the second floor or Building B for manufacturing — would require additional review. Staff said storefront use and certain site changes could require further review and possibly require returning to the commission; staff and the city attorney proposed and the commission adopted a clarification to condition 1.1 to specify approval is for a “non-storefront dispensary and distribution site,” so converting to a storefront would require modification of that condition and additional review.

Action: The commission approved CUP 250001, with added text in condition 1.1 clarifying the project is a non-storefront dispensary and distribution use. The motion carried on an aye vote; the staff report’s conditions and findings form the basis of approval.

Why it matters: The change shifts the site’s allowed cannabis uses away from cultivation toward distribution and delivery-only retail, and it underscores the commission’s and staff’s focus on odor control and compatibility with city-wide rules the city is updating.

What’s next: The applicant may later pursue administrative review for certain interior changes; any storefront proposal or new manufacturing in Building B would require additional review and potentially a new CUP.