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In September 2017, the Board directed staff to prepare a request for proposals (RFP) for a cannabis pilot program for nurseries and drying/hand trimming facilities (“processing facilities”). Staff developed the draft RFP, included in Attachment A, utilizing samples from other cities and counties who have utilized this process when limiting the number of licenses allowed for cannabis activities. The recommended RFP process will utilize a two-phase evaluation process for determining the highest ranked nursery and processing facility applicants. The two phases are listed below.
- Phase 1 RFP Application Evaluation; and
- Phase 2 Interview and Site Visit
Phase 1
The Phase 1 evaluation criteria is based on information on the proposed nursery or processing facility site and proposed measures to reduce or avoid impacts to neighbors and the surrounding community. It also includes an evaluation of the business operations and proposed community benefits. Specifically, the Phase 1 evaluation consists of scoring the eight items listed below:
- Project Description, Site Location, Site Plan, and Zoning Designation
- Environmental Site Information
- Neighborhood Compatibility Information
- Environmental Considerations
- Security Plan
- Operating Plan
- Business Plan
- Community Benefits Plan
The evaluation criteria will be applied to the information provided in the application to determine which applications will likely have the least amount of impact on the environment, neighbors, and the surrounding community and demonstrate an ability to be operated successfully.
In addition, as specified in the RFP, applicants seeking a longer term license can propose entering into a development agreement with the County and include in their application principles of the development agreement that could also include the specific elements of their proposed Community Benefits Plan.
Phase 2
The top five highest ranked nursery applications and top five highest ranked processing facility applications from the Phase 1 RFP application evaluation will continue to the Phase 2 Interview and Site Visit. In addition, as part of the Phase 2 evaluation, all applicant(s)/owners, property owner(s), and all regularly engaged (non-seasonal) employees must have a background check conducted through Live Scan.
A Phase 1 RFP application evaluation fee is required to be included with the application when it is submitted to cover the costs of County staff to process and review the applications. In addition, the successful applicants who continue to Phase 2 will be required to pay an additional fee for this phase as well as a fee for each Live Scan application.
Based on the schedule included in the RFP, the highest ranked applications (a maximum of five nursery applications and five processing facility applications, assuming all applications receive the same score in Phase 2) could be presented to the Board of Supervisors who will approve applicants to commence the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) environmental review process. It is anticipated that this would occur in March 2018.
Longer Term Cultivation Licenses
Should the Board desire to extend this same process to allow for long-term cannabis cultivation licenses in advance of the upcoming land use process, the RFP for nurseries and processing facilities could be modified and used in a competitive solicitation process for a pilot project providing existing medical cannabis cultivation licensees longer term licenses.
As with the nursery and processing facility RFP, cultivation applicants could propose entering into a development agreement with the County and include principles of the development agreement that include elements of the Community Benefits Plan specified in the RFP.
This pilot project would be beneficial to cultivators by providing them certainty through longer term licenses rather than annual license renewals. In addition, cultivators entering into a development agreement would not have to obtain a discretionary land use permit through the process currently being developed by the County Community Services.
If this pilot project were pursued, the County’s interim ordinance for cannabis cultivation would have to be amended to state that longer term licenses are available to cultivators on terms set forth therein (to be determined) by the Board. The interim ordinance was recently amended to include this language for nurseries and processing facility. Cultivation would need to be included in order for County staff to have a basis for evaluating longer term licenses, with a development agreement or otherwise.
Although amending the interim ordinance could be accomplished rather quickly (January 2018), it would need to occur before the RFP could be released (assuming the Board prefers to follow a competitive solicitation model). Given this, the earliest the RFP process could commence would be in late January/early February 2018. Using the same four month RFP schedule as proposed for the nursery and processing facilities, the RFP process for longer term cannabis cultivation licenses would be completed in approximately late May 2018.
Once the solicitation process is completed, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) compliance would be required for the successful applications. Assuming a Negative Declaration or Mitigated Negative Declaration is prepared, that process could take approximately 2-4 months. Thus, it would be approximately late July to September 2018 before a license could be issued. If an Environmental Impact Report is required, that process could take from 6 to 9 months, resulting in a license being issued in November 2018 to January 2019.
During this time, County staff would continue developing the discretionary land use process for cannabis cultivation. This process envisions CEQA review commencing in April of 2018. The CEQA compliance schedule for the ordinance assumes it would be completed in January/February 2019, assuming an EIR is prepared.
Although the RFP and license approval process for a longer term cultivation licenses could be completed prior to the development of the cannabis cultivation land use ordinance, Staff does not believe the schedule difference of a few months, if that, warrants moving forward with the RFP process for longer term cultivation licenses. The land use process for cannabis cultivation will determine—with substantial public input, as well as input from the Planning Commission and Board—the appropriate zoning designations, parcel sizes, indoor/outdoor grow requirements, buffers, etc. for cannabis cultivation. The issuance of discretionary land use permits also provides an opportunity for public notification and involvement in the issuance of the permits. These are the key policy reasons for pursuing the land use ordinance in the manner directed by the Board. While the same public notice and related procedural requirements could be included in any RFP and licensing process for long-term cultivation licenses, creating an early track for long-term cultivation licenses is arguably at odds with the policy basis for the land use regulatory effort now underway. And separately, it is important to keep in mind that cannabis cultivators could still propose entering into a development agreement and secure longer term licenses under the cannabis cultivation land use ordinance, once adopted. |