RULES AND REGULATIONS
These rules and regulations are established for the purpose of administering and enforcing the provisions of Chapter 5.90 and Chapter 5.92 of the Long Beach Municipal Code (LBMC) and any other ordinances, regulations, or laws that affect the permitting and operations of commercial cannabis businesses in the City of Long Beach.
GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS
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CANNABIS APPLICATION FEES REFUND POLICY
Purpose: The purpose of this regulation is to establish a refund policy regarding cannabis business license application fees.
Scope: This regulation is applicable to any cannabis business that submits a payment for medical or adult-use cannabis business license application fees, pursuant to Chapters 5.90 and 5.92 of the Long Beach Municipal Code.
Regulation: The following cannabis business license application fees shall be non-refundable from the time that the Director of Financial Management deems a cannabis business license application to be complete:
- Medical cannabis business license application fees, including the building review fee, zoning review fee and background investigation fee.
- Adult-use cannabis business license application fees, including the building review fee, zoning review fee, background investigation fee, social equity fee, application review fee and annual regulatory fee.
If a cannabis business license application has not been deemed complete, the Director of Financial Management may refund any portion of the application fees if it is determined that the applicant submitted a request for a refund prior to the City incurring the cost of the service.
For more information on medical and adult-use cannabis application fees, please click here.
ADULT-USE RULES AND REGULATIONS
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40% EQUITY HIRE IMPLEMENTING RULES AND PROCEDURES
Purpose: The purpose of this regulation is to establish rules, policies, and procedures to implement an administrative program for the 40% Equity Hire Requirement established in LBMC § 5.92.1540.
Scope: This regulation is applicable to all adult-use cannabis businesses and/or co-located cannabis businesses licensed under LBMC § 5.92. The 40% Equity Hire Requirement shall not apply to adult-use cannabis businesses where one or more owners are verified as an Equity Business Owner, pursuant to LBMC § 5.92.1520.B.
Regulation: All adult-use cannabis businesses shall employ Equity Employees for a minimum of 40% of total annual work hours performed at the business. The 40% Equity Hire Requirement shall take effect beginning the second full year of an Adult-Use Cannabis Business operation and continue yearly thereafter. Adult-use cannabis businesses must comply with all regulations outlined in the following document: Rules and Procedures Implementing the Equity Hire Program
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EXEMPTION FROM LBMC 5.92 BUILDING REQUIREMENTS
Purpose: The purpose of this regulation is to establish which businesses applying for an adult-use cannabis business license in the City of Long Beach are exempt from compliance with security barrier requirements in LBMC § 5.92.750 and building design requirements in LBMC § 5.92.765.
Scope: This regulation is applicable to all medical cannabis licensees and applicants that are eligible to co-locate or convert to adult-use under LBMC § 5.92.230 or LMBC § 5.92.235.
Regulation: Existing medical cannabis licensees and applicants that are eligible to co-locate or convert to adult-use under LBMC § 5.92.230 or LMBC § 5.92.235, may be exempted from the security barrier requirements in LBMC § 5.92.750 and the building design requirements in LBMC § 5.92.765, if a complete Development Services Permit application has been submitted in accordance with Building Bureau BU-051 and City submittal requirements, and all required fees have been paid by August 13, 2018, the effective date of the ordinance.
MEDICAL RULES AND REGULATIONS
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MEDICAL CANNABIS PERMITTEE CHANGE OF ADDRESS POLICY
Purpose: The purpose of this regulation is to establish rules and regulations for a Medical Marijuana Permittee to change their address.
Scope: This regulation is applicable to any Medical Marijuana Permittee licensed under Chapter 5.90 of the Long Beach Municipal Code. Businesses may refer to Chapter 5.92.330 of the Long Beach Municipal Code for provisions related to relocation of Adult-Use Cannabis Permittees.
Regulation: A Medical Marijuana Permittee may change their permitted address under the following conditions:
I. Any relocation or expansion of the permitted premises that includes a different property address is considered a change of address.
II. No permittee shall operate a Medical Marijuana Business or Co-Located Marijuana Business at any premises other than the premises specified in the permittee’s permit(s).
III. The relocation of any Medical Marijuana Business shall first be approved by the Director of Financial Management who shall determine whether all ordinances and regulations of the City will be complied with at any proposed new premises.
IV. Only permittees may request to relocate a Medical Marijuana Business operation to a new premises. Applicants seeking to relocate shall withdraw their existing application and submit a new application for the new proposed premises pursuant to the requirements of Chapter 5.90 of the Long Beach Municipal Code.
V. The Director of Financial Management may approve a permittee’s request to relocate the operation of a Medical Marijuana Business if the relocation complies with the following requirements:
i. The permittee, and any owners identified in the permit, and the commercial cannabis activity specified in the existing permit remain unchanged if the request to relocate is approved.
ii. The existing Medical Marijuana Business Permit, and the corresponding State license, shall not be the subject of a pending revocation or suspension action by the City, State, or any of the State’s divisions or departments.
iii. The proposed premises complies with the requirements in Chapter 5.90 of the Long Beach Municipal Code and all other applicable State and local laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, the locations requirements specified in Section 5.90.030.
iv. If the permittee is a Dispensary, both the Medical Marijuana Dispensary and the Adult-Use Cannabis Dispensary shall relocate to the same premises at the same time. It shall be unlawful for a Co-Located Dispensary to relocate the operation of either the Adult-Use Cannabis Dispensary or the Medical Marijuana Dispensary without likewise changing the location of the other.
v. If the permittee is a Dispensary, the permittee shall not locate within a one-thousand (1,000) foot radius of the following:
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- Any other Medical Marijuana Dispensary Permittee.
- Any Medical Marijuana Dispensary Applicant that has received written notification from the director of Financial Management that said application for a Medical Marijuana Dispensary is eligible to move forward to department and plan check review.
- Any Medical Marijuana Dispensary Applicant that participated in the City’s Non-Priority Dispensary Public Lottery held on September 28, 2017 and is currently active on the Pending/Ineligible List.
- The proposed location of any other Medical Marijuana Dispensary Permittee that has already submitted a request to relocate, while the relocation request is pending.
vi. If the permittee is a Dispensary, the permittee shall have two (2) years upon submission of a change of address application to obtain a business license at the proposed location. If the permittee is unable to obtain the business license within two (2) years of submitting a change of location application, the application will be deemed null and void.
vii. A Dispensary may not submit a change of address application within thirty (30) days of the following:
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- Withdrawing an application for a change of location;
- Having an application for a change of location be deemed null and void.
VI. Should the Director of Financial Management receive multiple requests to relocate to the same address, the City shall assign priority based on the order in which the requests were received.
VII. Should the Director of Financial Management receive multiple requests to relocate a Dispensary within 1,000 feet of another location with a pending change of address application, the City shall assign priority based upon the order in which the requests were received.
For information regarding the process to apply for a change of address, please click here.
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MEDICAL CANNABIS DISPENSARY APPLICATION EXPIRATION POLICY
Purpose: The purpose of this regulation is to establish a deadline for Medical Cannabis Dispensary applicants to obtain a business license.
Scope: This regulation is applicable to any Medical Cannabis Dispensary applicant that:
- Is a member of the “Priority Group 1,” “Priority Group 2,” or participated in the City’s Non-Priority Public Lottery held on September 29, 2017; and
- Has received written notice from the Director of Financial Management that said application for a Medical Cannabis Dispensary is eligible to move forward to department and plan check review.
Regulation: Existing Medical Cannabis Dispensary applicants eligible to move forward to the department and plan check review process must obtain a business license no later than October 1, 2021. Any Medical Cannabis Dispensary applicant eligible to move forward to the department and plan check review process that has not obtained a Medical Cannabis Dispensary business license by April 1, 2021 will have their application deemed null and void, and will no longer be able to obtain a Medical Cannabis Dispensary business license or Adult-Use Cannabis Dispensary business license from the proposed location. Should any Medical Cannabis Dispensary applications be deemed null and void, the City will refer to the Public Lottery Pending/Ineligible list to determine which replacement applications will be permitted to proceed through the medical dispensary licensing process. Replacement applications will be selected based upon the order of locations on the Pending/Ineligible list and review of the 1,000-foot dispensary buffer requirement.
