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Montebello planning commission revokes CaliMed's conditional use permit for 914 South Vail Avenue
Summary
The Montebello Planning Commission voted 3-0 to adopt a staff recommendation revoking conditional use permit 01-19 for CaliMed Management Group LLC at 914 South Vail Avenue, citing failure to meet development-agreement obligations and unpaid community-benefit and operating fees.
The Montebello Planning Commission voted 3-0 to revoke conditional use permit (CUP) 01-19 for commercial cannabis operations at 914 South Vail Avenue, adopting the staff-recommended resolution to nullify the permit.
Planning staff told the commission that CaliMed Management Group LLC failed to meet conditions of approval under its development agreement and is delinquent in paying “a minimum of $174,800” in required community-benefit and operating fees. Staff said the business notified the city by email on Jan. 31, 2025, that cannabis operations had ceased and that the owner, Gene Gonzales, intended to transfer the business but did not follow through on an amendment request. Staff issued a financial notice of default on July 29, 2025, with an Aug. 28, 2025 cure deadline that was not satisfied.
Viviana Esparza, the planning manager, told commissioners that the city’s cannabis program requires both a conditional use permit and a development agreement before any cannabis activity can begin, and that of 24 approved CUPs, eight remain active, eight have been revoked or voided for inactivity and eight are not in compliance. Esparza said CaliMed’s city business license expired in May 2024 and the state license is listed as expired by the California Department of Cannabis Control.
Staff recommended the commission adopt a resolution to revoke CUP 01-19 and determined the action is exempt from environmental review under California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, Cal. Code Regs., title 14, section 15321 (class 21 — enforcement actions by regulatory agencies). A motion to adopt the revocation was made and seconded; a roll-call vote recorded Commissioners Morales, Lomeli and Chairperson Medina as voting in favor and the motion passed 3-0.
The revocation removes the city-level authorization for the site to operate commercial cannabis activities under CUP 01-19. Staff said it will proceed with the administrative steps necessary to effect the revocation; the transcript records no applicant or public testimony opposing the action. The commission then moved on to the next agenda item.
What’s next: The staff report and resolution adopted by the commission implement the revocation at the municipal level; any further administrative or legal steps, appeals, or state actions were not recorded in the transcript.
