Stanton Council Offers One‑Time Catch‑Up for Cannabis Cultivators, Sets 8‑Week Deadline

Stanton — The City Council voted 5–0 March 25 to give commercial cannabis cultivation permittees a one‑time opportunity to catch up on overdue community benefit fees and reactivate their previously terminated extensions if they become current by May 31, 2025.

City staff had recommended denying any additional extensions, telling council that permittees had missed required payments and that the extension agreements had therefore terminated. Staff’s report noted that the council’s prior extension terms called for two 18‑month phases: the first at 50% of the cultivation community benefit fee and the second at 100%, based on proposed canopy square footage.

"Based on the lack of forward progress, the opportunity costs associated with the significant time and energy staff members from community development, finance, and administration have invested into this process," staff recommended denying another extension, the staff report said.

An applicant who spoke at the meeting, Devin Julian of Culture Canvas Club/Culture Stand Story Inc., said the company had not received invoices because the city had an outdated mailing address on file and that delays with SoCal Edison and the Orange County Sanitation District had held up construction. "As soon as we were made aware, I started discussing the issue with staff," Julian said. He asked for time to make an initial payment and to bring accounts current within eight weeks.

Councilmembers voiced competing concerns. Several said they were reluctant to reward businesses that had not met payment deadlines or who had failed to show progress. Council members also noted the financial tradeoff: the mayor estimated that continuing the current agreements could generate roughly $259,470 over the extension period, while terminating the extensions would yield no revenue from these permittees.

The council settled on a compromise: staff will allow reactivation of the existing extension agreements for permittees that appear before the council and sign an addendum documenting a one‑time catch‑up requirement. The council directed staff to set the deadline for all past‑due amounts to be paid in full by May 31, 2025 (eight weeks from the decision) and to return to the council at a subsequent meeting to confirm payments. Councilmembers said the agreement will automatically terminate again if scheduled payments are missed.

Staff also said it can recalculate the owed fees if applicants submit amended building plans that reduce proposed canopy square footage; until new plans are received, fees will be computed on the previously filed square footage.

The council discussed whether to extend the same catch‑up offer to both applicants (Culture and Stanton Fresh Farms). The legal counsel reminded the council the ordinance and extension agreements include explicit language that permits become null and void for nonpayment, but recommended offering the catch‑up to both permittees for equity if the council desired that approach.

Next steps: staff will prepare the addendum, confirm the deadline and payment schedule, accept partial payments if timely, and return to the council to document whether permittees fulfilled the catch‑up requirement.

Quote (applicant): "We wanna get this thing open and operational," Devin Julian said of the project. "We're prepared." Quote (staff): "If the council does not agree to allow the current extension, we would get nothing," staff told the council when describing the financial consequence of terminating the agreements.

The council recorded a roll call vote approving the direction on the item, 5–0.