Claremont City Council voted 4-1 Tuesday to continue the city’s policy of prohibiting Cannabis dispensaries in town, denying two ordinances that would have reshaped storefront business and zoning rules to allow them. Council member Jed Leano voted no.
The proposed ordinances would have modified the city’s municipal code, setting limits on cannabis retailers and establishing zones of operation.
According to a staff report, consultant HdL Companies estimated Claremont could generate $300,000 annually from each cannabis storefront in the city based on its previously established 6% cannabis tax.
ouncil member Sal Medina questioned the estimated storefront revenue figure. Using the state’s $41 average marijuana transaction rate, in order for a business open 12-hours daily to generate $300,000, 121,951 people annually would have to make a purchase at the location, Medina said.
“That is concerning in any location in our community with regards to bringing in that much foot or car traffic,” Medina said. “If we add this much foot traffic or car traffic into our community, how much [traffic] will we be losing from other perspective visitors who make their way in and out of Claremont?”
Leano, who supported the proposed ordinances, offered a different perspective.
“I actually take a lot of those data points and those reasons and I think I arrive at a different conclusion, which is that I would love for us to get to a place where we can think through a proposed location that’s so successful, that is doing a transaction every 2.14 [minutes] and, with that, manage the load that comes with that because that provides so much more for our community,” Leano said. “It helps us pave roads that need paving. It helps us pay our safety officers that need compensation. It helps us improve all of our public parks and our infrastructure.”
In 2006, the City Council unanimously adopted a ban on commercial cannabis dispensaries in Claremont. Given how times have changed, including the legalization of recreation marijuana in California in 2016, Mayor Calaycay, who was first elected in 2005, said the issue will likely come before the city council again.
“I think the one thing that is true, knowing that this has been an ongoing thing since back then, this is probably not over,” he said.
The city council’s quick deliberation was preceded by extensive public comment, primarily from residents along Virginia Road, which runs between Arrow Highway and Cinderella Drive. Many disagreed with the city’s modified zoning proposal, which included an area for a potential cannabis storefront nearby. Residents argued a cannabis business in their neighborhood would decrease property values, increase crime, was inappropriate for an area with families and young children, and that other areas in Claremont were better suited.
At least two commenters, including the director of government affairs for cannabis retail chain Stiiizy, advocated in favor of cannabis stores in Claremont. Stiiizy is a member of the newly formed California Cannabis Operators Association, a trade group that seeks to alter legislative policies surrounding the cannabis industry.
Claremont has no restriction preventing cannabis delivery services, such as Weedmaps, from operating in town. In 2022, 61% of Claremont voters passed Measure CT, allowing the city to levy a tax on marijuana sales and manufacturing in Claremont.
Claremont Senior Management Analyst Alex Cousins, writing in an email Wednesday, estimated current cannabis delivery revenue at about $3,500 for fiscal year 2024-25.
“I also wanted to provide some background on why this revenue is lower than initially expected,” Cousins wrote. “In late 2022, the State codified a new requirement under Title 4 of the California Code of Regulations, Section 15049.3, mandating that cannabis businesses track the city and zip code of each delivery. Through the Department of Cannabis Control’s (DCC) track-and-trace system, this data would have enabled the City to identify all deliveries conducted within its jurisdiction and more effectively pursue tax compliance from businesses making those deliveries. Unfortunately, the DCC has still not implemented this rule, so the City is currently unable to access delivery data necessary for enforcement.”
The Claremont City Council is on recess in August. Its next meeting at 225 W. second St., Claremont, is 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, September 9.
