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Council approves conditional use permit for retail cannabis dispensary at 1611 Needles Highway
Summary
The City Council adopted Resolution 2025-49 to allow Off The Charts to renovate a vacant building at 1611 Needles Highway into a licensed retail cannabis dispensary, adding a condition that exterior improvements begin within six months and be completed within nine months; public concerns about market saturation were raised during the hearing.
The Needles City Council voted to adopt Resolution 2025-49, approving a conditional use permit for a licensed retail cannabis dispensary and related tenant improvements at 1611 Needles Highway.
City planning staff presented the project as a renovation of a 0.28-acre vacant commercial building in the C2 general commercial zoning district. The application, submitted by Off The Charts (OTC) and represented in staff materials by Norman Yousef, included a security plan, 24-hour digital surveillance, secured entries, odor-control systems and restrictions on on-site consumption and loitering. Staff told the council the project qualifies for a Class 1 categorical exemption under CEQA and that the required CUP findings can be made.
The applicant’s representative said tenant-improvement permit sets could be submitted “in as soon as 7 to 10 days,” and estimated an opening in about six months, with nine months as a conservative upper bound. “We think, typically, we could do it in around six months,” the representative said. He added that the company would seek short extensions if construction supply or contractor issues arose.
Members of the public on the phone voiced opposition. James McGue, general manager of the Healing Center, said area dispensaries are already struggling and warned of market saturation after Arizona legalized recreational sales. “There’s definitely too many dispensaries open right now…we’re all feeling the pain,” McGue said, and urged the council to consider declining tax receipts and documented vendor disputes when weighing a new license.
Council discussion noted that the city’s cannabis ordinance was previously amended to allow more dispensaries and that staff had recognized existing businesses under the zoning code. Councilmember Ellen Campbell moved to approve the CUP with a condition requiring the applicant to begin exterior work within six months of approval and to complete it within nine months; Councilmember Ford seconded the motion. The council recorded affirmative roll-call votes for the motion and the resolution passed.
The council’s condition — to require visible exterior work within six months and substantial completion within nine months, with the possibility of short, documented extensions — was intended to reduce blight on the Needles Highway corridor while allowing the project to proceed. The council did not adopt an absolute cap on dispensaries; staff said the city had not established a numerical limit and has relied historically on market forces and zoning rules to determine the number of operators.
Next steps for the project include the applicant’s submission of building and state licensing applications and staff processing of any required permits and inspections. The applicant indicated it would pursue those approvals promptly if the council approval stood.
