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Committee forwards one‑year extension for medical cannabis to retail conversions, requests exact pipeline counts
Summary
The committee approved a one‑year extension of Planning Code Section 190 (medical cannabis to retail conversion pathway) and forwarded the ordinance as amended to the full Board; Office of Cannabis committed to provide exact, de‑identified tranche counts for equity applicants, incubators, MCDs and temporary permit holders.
The Land Use & Transportation Committee voted Thursday to forward to the full Board an ordinance extending Planning Code Section 190 by one year, from Jan. 1, 2021 to Jan. 1, 2022, preserving a pathway that allows medical cannabis dispensaries that hold Article 33 Health Code permits to convert to retail cannabis uses under Article 16 of the Police Code.
Marissa Rodriguez, director of the Office of Cannabis, told the committee the extension is necessary because the unexpectedly high number of equity applications, interagency capacity constraints and the pandemic delayed processing. Rodriguez said equity applications were largely cleared over the summer and that the next tranche to be processed is the medical cannabis dispensary (MCD) conversion tranche, which the office expects to begin in Q1 2021.
Chair Supervisor Aaron Peskin and other supervisors asked the Office of Cannabis to provide a clearer public breakout of the application tranches. In response, Office of Cannabis staff reported an approximate pipeline snapshot during the hearing: about 150 equity applications (14 permits issued), roughly 25 incubator applications (only 2–4 actively being processed), about 27 MCD conversions anticipated, and around 162 temporary permit holders for supply‑chain activities. Ray Law (associate director, Office of Cannabis) agreed to provide exact, de‑identified numbers after the meeting.
The committee accepted amendments that memorialized the Planning Commission—s waiver of review and forwarded the ordinance as a committee report to the full Board for hearing (roll call recorded: Preston Aye; Safae Aye; Peskin Aye). The Office of Cannabis and City Attorney—s staff were asked to supply project‑level data (de‑identified) to the committee prior to the full Board hearing.
