Cathedral City staff recommends up to 10½-month extension of cannabis moratorium amid widespread odor complaints

City staff recommended that the City Council extend a temporary moratorium on new cannabis licenses, conditional use permits and building permits for cannabis business build-outs for up to 10 months and 15 days so the city can study odor-control standards and enforcement options.

The recommendation followed a staff presentation from Andy Firestein, Cathedral City’s Community and Economic Development Director, that reviewed the city’s current cannabis regulations, a spike in odor complaints and proposed next steps including an odor-control plan requirement and changes to zoning where cultivation and manufacturing are allowed.

Staff said the city currently has 64 cannabis businesses with 105 licenses, 47 operating sites and 17 nonoperating businesses. Firestein told the council the city received 38 cannabis odor complaints in the first three months of 2024 and 904 complaints across the following nine months, including 220 in November and 501 in December, with many complaints concentrated near Deep Palm Drive and Ramon Road. He said the city has increased inspections, patrols, and coordination with other valley enforcement staff and with state and county agencies but that nuisance odors persist.

Firestein described the regulatory gap the city faces: licensing rules sit in Title 5 of the Cathedral City Municipal Code, while zoning (Title 9) and nuisance enforcement (Title 13) have not been updated since they were initially adopted as Ordinances 800, 801 and 802. He said Title 9 includes a standard condition of approval that requires…