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Council presses administration on redacted cannabis license details, asks if community meetings can be required
Summary
Council members raised concerns about heavy redaction in cannabis license resolutions and asked whether the city can require applicants to hold community meetings and share locations; corporation counsel and city cannabis staff said state rules restrict some disclosures but that locations and community meetings can be shared and encouraged.
Council members pressed city officials for clearer public information about proposed cannabis businesses and urged requiring community outreach from applicants.
At the pre‑meeting the council discussed a resolution of support for a cultivation/microbusiness license and a separate question about dispensary and cultivation approvals. Council members asked the administration for a list of all approved cannabis licensees, their locations and their status. Councilman Gonzales said, “How people... that might be opposed to the location... would know that they have the opportunity to... protest because they don't have the address.”
Kenyatta Stewart, Corporation Counsel for the City, told the council she would follow up with state officials to determine what information the city may legally disclose. Joshua from the city's cannabis affairs team said the location of proposed dispensaries “is something that could be shared with the public as well as the council,” and described current practice: when applicants apply the city encourages them to meet with their respective council member and hold a community meeting so neighbors are informed before zoning hearings.
Council members repeatedly urged stronger, mandatory community notification. Councilman Crump said applicants should be required to hold community meetings; several council members said encouragement is insufficient and preferred a requirement in the local process. Joshua said applicants typically meet with the council member and are encouraged to hold community meetings but acknowledged some licensing documentation remains confidential under state rules, particularly financial or donor information.
The council requested a follow‑up from Corporation Counsel and the business administrator to report back on whether the city can include location and community‑meeting requirements in its local review process and what material state law or the state licensing process requires to remain redacted.
No formal vote on changing notification requirements was recorded during the pre‑meeting.
