Board directs staff to draft coastal pilot to allow cannabis storefronts; motion passes 3–2

The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to ask staff to prepare a coastal-zone pilot project to allow brick-and-mortar cannabis storefront dispensaries in designated coastal communities, directing the county to draft findings, work with interested supervisors and county counsel, and estimate staff resources needed for the change.

Sarah Hader (Administrative Analyst) presented a survey of six neighboring jurisdictions and three zoning-option approaches: no change (keep delivery-only), expand allowable commercial retail zones while retaining sensitive-use buffers, or remove the parks buffer to increase potential locations. Staff highlighted common regulatory choices jurisdictions make: numerical caps, hours of operation (state-limited to 6 a.m.–10 p.m.), product-visibility restrictions, ID and secure entry requirements, proximity buffers, odor mitigation plans and community points of contact.

Sergeant Abbas from the Sheriff’s Office told the board that, to date, law enforcement had not identified major public-safety incidents tied to storefront operations in neighboring cities and that the county would coordinate with jurisdictions to assess impacts if the board directed staff to proceed. Industry representative Sean Bean and others noted practical barriers for retail—banking constraints, lending and landlord issues—that can limit retail rollouts.

Supervisor Gibson moved to direct staff to develop a project-initiation document to amend the coastal-zone land-use ordinance to allow storefront retailers in the coastal zone as a pilot, draft supporting findings, and estimate staff resources required. The motion was seconded and passed on a 3–2 roll-call vote (Gibson, Paulding and Ortiz Legg voting yes; Pashong and Chair Jefferson Arnold voting no).

The board’s direction does not immediately change zoning or permit storefronts; staff must prepare the ordinance amendment, perform required public outreach, and, if applicable, process coastal-zone findings with the Coastal Commission as required by law. Supervisors emphasized outreach to community advisory councils and suggested focusing on tourist-serving coastal areas for a pilot.

What’s next: staff will return with a project initiation packet that includes draft findings, an outreach plan, and an estimate of staff time and resource needs; further land-use and coastal-permit processes (including planning commission hearings and potential Coastal Commission review) will follow if the board advances the draft.