Cathedral City Council revokes conditional use permit after illicit cannabis-extraction findings

The Cathedral City City Council voted unanimously May 28 to adopt a resolution revoking Conditional Use Permit (CUP) 17-015 for a property on Keeley Road after code enforcement and fire personnel documented repeated safety, hazardous-waste and licensing violations tied to an illicit cannabis-extraction operation.

Code Enforcement Manager Justin Gardner told the council the property had been the subject of repeated code and fire violations since 2020, including large accumulations of waste, pressurized containers and unsafe electrical wiring. “This property owner presents a clear and present danger to the overall public health and safety of our community,” Gardner said during the staff presentation.

The council heard that inspections in 2024 and again in February 2025 found industrial extraction equipment, 50‑gallon drums of unknown liquids, 5‑gallon bags of extracted cannabis residue, and evidence of makeshift sleeping quarters inside the building. Officer Clifton Whaley, the code compliance officer who took on‑site photographs, described “a heavy chemical smell” that extended to the public right of way and shown black smoke observed during one incident that prompted a fire response.

Gardner and Officer Whaley said the Riverside County Narcotics Task Force responded to the February incident, which staff described as an active criminal investigation; arrests were made and equipment visible in the photos was seized. Gardner said staff had followed due process for the administrative proceeding and recommended revocation of CUP 17-015 to prevent the same operation from returning to that business under the same operator.

Council members pressed staff about environmental contamination and cleanup. Gardner said the visible contaminated materials had been removed during the criminal investigation but that any remaining residue could be addressed through a separate abatement process; he added the city could pursue reimbursement by placing a lien on the property. Financial staff reported the city incurred $48,000 in costs tied to the cleanup and emergency response that the city can pursue against the property owner as a lien through code‑compliance action.

Councilmember Rosa Gutierrez made the motion to adopt the resolution; Mayor Pro Tem Gregory seconded. The council voted unanimously.

Staff noted a legal limit to what the revocation accomplishes: while the action prevents the current operator and CUP holder from continuing the business, a different property owner could apply for a lawful use consistent with zoning and permitting in the future. Gardner said the revocation was intended to stop the present operator’s illicit extraction at that address and to reduce public‑safety risk.

The council’s action revokes the CUP and establishes the city’s intent to bar that operator and that particular permit from being used to resume the same enterprise at the site; the city also intends to pursue civil liens to recover the $48,000 in costs tied to the response and cleanup.

The matter will remain subject to ongoing criminal investigation by county authorities, staff said.