MARTINEZ — In a unanimous, 5-0 vote earlier this month, the City Council cleared one of the final hurdles for the first legal marijuana business to come to town.
The council granted a conditional use permit to a company called Firefly Health Corporation, which plans to set up a marijuana dispensary at 4808 Sunrise Drive. The company now has a year to acquire building permits and complete other minor procedural steps, then return before city leaders for final approval, which at this point seems all but certain to occur.
At its Oct. 2 meeting, the council also rejected a proposal for a second business in town, because the applicants missed a city-imposed July 3 deadline by 15 minutes. City leaders are considering nine other proposals for another cannabis-related business, but have yet to make decisions on that.
Absent from the meeting was Maurice Jones-Drew, a former NFL running back who co-owns a gym, Power Endurance, which is nearby the proposed site. Jones-Drew had passionately opposed the dispensary’s location, claiming his business was used mostly by kids and teens, and city officials speculated at the meeting that his absence means he has accepted the dispensary is coming.
During the meeting, council members discussed the business’ compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as the 6 percent gross revenue fee Firefly has agreed to pay in perpetuity. There was also some discussion of possible security concerns.
The council briefly considered requiring the business to pay for a license plate reader nearby, after Martinez police Chief Manjit Sappal suggested it would be a good idea to set up one in a road leading to the dispensary. The idea of making Firefly pay for such a device was ultimately rejected, but city leaders didn’t rule out paying for one of the the 6 percent fee. Sappal said it would cost $80,000-$100,000.
“I think that’s getting kind of greedy when you start asking for too much,” Vice Mayor Noralea Gipner said.
Before approving Firefly’s permit, the council rejected an appeal from a business group referred to as “Roland High, Inc.: Brian Wong, Viet Nguyen, Robert P. Patrick, Randy Ho,” for another cannabis business. Roland High Inc. was one of 10 groups to offer proposals for a cannabis business within city limits last year, but their application arrived 15 minutes late, so it was rejected by City Manager Eric Figueroa.
Dustin Smith Smith Development Construction Company, which helped the group with its proposal, said the application arrived late because one of their associates was delayed by heavy traffic and a fire. Council members said they were sympathetic, but rejected the proposal nonetheless.
Councilwoman Lara DeLaney, who works as a senior deputy county administrator in Contra Costa’s Administrator’s office, said she knows from her day jobs that deadlines for project applications must be strictly enforced to ensure fairness.
“Rules are rules, they’re established for a purpose…I don’t think just because you have a very sympathetic argument that the rules should be bent,” DeLaney said.
Roland High Inc.’s appeal was rejected 4-0. Mayor Rob Schroder sat out the vote, and waited in the hall while the item was heard. He said during the meeting that he had a business relationship with Patrick, but didn’t go into more detail. Schroder did not immediately return emails seeking more specifics.
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