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Riverside narrows storefront cannabis locations, council approves ordinance 4-1 amid legal challenges
Summary
The City Council voted 4-1 July 15 to amend zoning and location rules for retail cannabis, limiting storefronts to one per ward (initial rollout of seven) and banning them in downtown and midtown; several applicants' counsel say two lawsuits challenging earlier pauses are pending.
Riverside City Council on July 15 approved changes to the city's retail cannabis rules that narrow where storefront dispensaries can open and pause a broader rollout of permits approved under earlier code language.
The ordinance, introduced after a staff presentation and planning commission review, restricts storefront commercial cannabis businesses from downtown and midtown, adds new distance and concentration rules to avoid clusters, and implements a phased approach that allows one storefront permit per ward in an initial cohort of seven. Councilmember Mill, who moved to approve the changes, framed the measure as a compromise to distribute dispensaries across the city while tracking compliance.
City staff said the…
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