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Cannabis operators urge city to cut business fees, citing Measure M and risk to local market
Summary
Multiple public commenters, including a dispensary operator, told the joint meeting that high local taxes and fees (described in the transcript as a 10% business-license fee) are threatening cannabis businesses and urged the City Council to act on a prior commission recommendation to reduce taxes.
Daniel Sosa, who identified himself at the meeting as the operator of four cannabis dispensaries in the city, told the joint Public Works and Sanitation meeting that local taxes are squeezing businesses and urged the City Council for immediate relief.
Sosa said the city’s cannabis business licenses are subject to a 10% fee and called that rate "extraordinary," arguing it should be reduced under "Measure M." He warned that without a tax cut the local market faces collapse and said cannabis operators are being treated like "a money-dispensing machine." (Direct quote from public comment in Spanish: "Las licencias empresariales de cannabis están sujetos a un 10 por 100 de tarifas.")
Another commenter representing the industry said a Commission on Cannabis issued a report six months earlier recommending tax relief, but that the council had not taken the recommendation up in committees. These speakers urged the council to act to prevent business closures.
No councilmember or staff speaker committed to an immediate policy change during the meeting. The chair acknowledged public comment and noted that public remarks and recommendations will be forwarded to the City Council; no vote or formal policy action occurred during the session.
What comes next: public comments and the commission’s recommendation were recorded for referral; stakeholders asked councilmembers to prioritize review of tax policy and consider adjustments to business-license fees.
