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Board approves ordinance to waive certain DBI investigation fees for legacy cannabis supply businesses
Summary
The Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance on first reading waiving building-inspection investigation fees for cannabis supply-chain businesses that operated without a legal pathway before the city established licensing; vote was 10–1 with Supervisor Tang dissenting.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to pass on first reading an ordinance waiving and refunding investigation fees assessed under building code section 10.78.5 for businesses in the cannabis supply chain that had been operating before the city established regulatory pathways.
Supervisor Sheehy, who introduced the ordinance during the board's March 6 meeting, framed the measure as relief for businesses that provided cannabis products to patients with HIV and other serious illnesses but previously had no legal way to be licensed. "These fines...are frankly unfair," Supervisor Sheehy said, arguing that fines and inspection penalties were deterring businesses from coming forward to become permitted and could force closures and job losses.
The ordinance responds to inspections and fines issued by the Department of Building Inspection after the city created licensing pathways for cannabis-related businesses. Sheehy said the fines, combined with costs to bring buildings up to code, were an onerous burden for businesses that previously had no legal avenue for permitting.
Supervisor Tang said she understood the intent but said she could not support the waiver on principle. "I am not gonna be able to support this today...it's more of a principled matter in terms of just how it is that we are helping to single out this industry," Tang said, urging the council to examine whether fee relief should be time-limited or applied more broadly to other businesses or residents facing similar permitting challenges.
On the roll call, the vote was recorded as 10 ayes and 1 no: Supervisors Stephanie (aye), Yi (aye), Breed (aye), Cohen (aye), Feuer (aye), Kim (aye), Peskin (aye), Ronan (aye), Safaie (aye), Sheehy (aye), and Supervisor Tang (no). The board announced, "There are 10 ayes and 1 no with Supervisor Tang in the dissent." The ordinance passed on first reading.
The ordinance text (as described on the agenda) waives and refunds investigation fees imposed under building code section 10.78.5 for persons registered with the Office of Cannabis, with additional implementation details and a sunset date noted in the legislation. The item description also referenced police code registration language used to define eligible persons.
Next steps: as an ordinance that passed first reading, the measure will return for a subsequent reading as required by the city's legislative process.
