At the City Council meeting of April 6, 2021, the City Council adopted Resolution 2021-68 modifying the previously approved Application Procedures to allow 14 applicants to be considered for permits, to make 15-minute presentations to the City Council, and to have two minutes at the end of the public hearing to present any rebuttal following public testimony. Resolution 2021-68 also made clear that prior scoring of applications and interviews shall not be considered by the City Council when determining which applicants will be awarded a retailer commercial cannabis permit.
Number of Available Cannabis Retail Permits
In addition to Resolution 2021-68, City Council provided further direction to staff to return with Resolution 2021-79 (Attachment 1) to allow an increase in the number of retailer permits to issue. Ordinance 2020-07, which added Chapter 10E (Commercial Cannabis Business) to the Fairfield Municipal Code (“FMC”), included Section 10E.6(b), which provides that City Council may issue a maximum of two retailer permits unless it adopts a resolution modifying the types and number of commercial cannabis business permits that may be issued at any given time in the City. Pursuant to FMC Section 10E.6(b), Resolution 2021-79 increases the number of allowable Commercial Cannabis Retailer permits.
City Council may increase the number Commercial Cannabis Retailer permits to any number desired. Based on prior staff research, the Fairfield commercial cannabis market size is believed to support no more than six (6) retailer permits at this time. As such, staff recommends the number of Retailer permits not exceed six (6) in total. During consideration of Resolution 2021-79, the number of desired permits may be determined by Council and inserted into Resolution 2021-79.
Procedures and Guidelines for Applicant Consideration
After Council deliberation on April 6, 2021, Council further directed staff to return with options to modify the “Application Procedures and Guidelines for a Commercial Cannabis Business Permit” a second time with additional criteria to guide the City Council’s evaluation of applications and a process for making permit issuance decisions.
Staff identified three alternative methods by which City Council may determine which Commercial Cannabis Retailer applicants are issued a permit. Following is a description of each method, along with the corresponding Resolution that implements the method detailed:
1. Full Rank Option
Resolution 2021-80 (Attachment 2) provide a formal ranking system for each applicant, as ranked by each City Councilmember. This method uses a common ranking strategy whereby each Councilmember ranks the applicants from 1-14. Each applicant is then awarded a total score based on their rankings by individual Councilmembers.
After the close of the Public Hearing, but before the City Council’s preliminary determination regarding the award of permits, the rank and scores of each applicant will be compiled and totaled from all Councilmember’s scoring sheets. The individual Councilmember rankings and the total aggregate scores will be publicly disclosed at the Council meeting. The following table illustrates the Applicant Rank and scoring:
|
Applicant Rank
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
…
|
12
|
13
|
14
|
|
Score
|
14
|
13
|
12
|
11
|
…
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
After all scores are aggregated (totaled), the applicants with the highest scores will be awarded a permit, up to the total number of Retailer permits Council determines to award under Resolution 2021-80. However, the Council has the right to not grant the maximum number of authorized permits
2. Limited Rank Option
Resolution 2021-80 (Attachment 3) provides a limited rank option. Under this option, Councilmembers will again assign a rank to applicants . However, unlike the Full Rank Option, under this Limited Rank Option, Councilmembers will each only rank their top applicants, up to the number of permits Council is authorized to issue per Resolution 2021-80. For example, the following table illustrates the Limited Rank Option based on six (6) authorized permits, should Council determine to issue up to six (6) permits:
|
Applicant Rank
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
|
Score
|
6
|
5
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
After all scores are compiled, the highest scoring applicants, up to the number of authorized permits , will receive permits. This option differs from the Full Rank Option in that applicants that do not rank within a Councilmembers top six (6) will not receive any score. However, even if an applicant receives no score from one Councilmember (i.e. not in their top 6), they may still receive a score from other Councilmembers if they rank within those Councilmembers top six (6).
3. No Rank Options
Resolution 2021-80 (Attachment 4) provides for no formal ranking of applicants. Under this option, Councilmembers will not rank applicants after their presentations. Rather, after the close of the Public Hearing, the City Council will deliberate and decide which applicants will receive permits using the criteria adopted by Council up to the maximum number of authorized retailer permits.
Criteria for Review of Applicants
For each option presented, City Council will use the same criteria in reviewing and evaluating the applicants. The criteria include seven (7) categories as follows:
1. BUSINESS PLAN
a. Demonstrates qualifications to run a successful cannabis retail operation.
b. Demonstrates financial capitalization to open the store.
c. Demonstrates understanding of the costs involved with construction, operations, maintenance, and satisfying regulatory requirements.
d. Identifies how their operations plan serves customers, maintains safety, and manages delivery services, if provided.
e. Identifies when the store will be open and operating if awarded a permit.
f. Demonstrates a knowledge and understanding of the Fairfield community.
2. LABOR AND LOCAL ENTERPRISE PLAN
a. Describes the labor relations plan, including compensation and benefits.
b. Details staffing plan for number of employees, titles/positions, and responsibilities.
c. Describes the extent to which the business is locally owned and/or managed.
3. NEIGHBORHOOD COMPATIBILITY PLAN
a. Demonstrates how the proposed location fits within the surrounding neighborhood and community and avoids creating nuisance.
b. Describes how complaints or other issues, such as traffic, nuisance, odor, etc. are proactively managed, mitigated, and rectified.
4. SAFETY PLAN
a. Demonstrates how the retail store and workplace will be safe and free from hazards.
b. Demonstrates that the retail store will implement any applicable fire suppression systems, personnel training procedures, or other equipment, systems, or procedures relevant to operating a safe enterprise.
5. SECURITY PLAN
a. Demonstrates an ability to comply with State and local requirements related to inventory control, cash handling, and premises security.
6. LOCATION
a. Details the location of the retail operation, including a site plan overview.
b. Demonstrates how the selected location meets City standards.
c. Identifies why the proposed location is preferable from a business operations perspective.
7. COMMUNITY RELATIONS PLAN
a. Identifies the community relations plan and describes how the plan provides outreach and educational programs for youth organizations and/or to educational institutions in the community regarding cannabis risks and resources to address addiction and addiction prevention.
Each applicant received a letter that detailed the above detailed criterion, and all are encouraged to present information that demonstrates satisfaction of each criterion. It should be noted, Criteria #5, Security Plan, has very specific requirements as detailed by FMC Chapter 10E, which requires that security and safety plans must be approved by the City’s Police Chief and Fire Chief.
After the close of the Public Hearing, the City Council may make a preliminary determination to award retail cannabis business permits to applicants. As part of the preliminary determination , City Council may identify any specific conditions of approval. At a subsequent City Council meeting, staff will present Council with a resolution (or series of resolutions), that detail the conditions of approval and provide formal authorization to issue permits based on satisfaction of the conditions of approval.