North San Diego County Cannabis Update

POSTED BY MARGOLIN & LAWRENCE ON JANUARY 18, 2019

While most of the attention on cannabis business in San Diego County has focused on the area in and around the City of San Diego, there are also a few jurisdictions in the northern half of the county with open cannabis license applications. Here’s a breakdown of the licensing application processes in the cities of Vista and Oceanside.

City of Vista

The City of Vista is offering business licenses for medical dispensaries only, limited to one business per 10,000 residents of Vista (so the limit is currently 10).

Applications will open on January 22nd and remain open for 7 days. During this period, applicants must submit complete applications (including site plans, security plans, etc.) and a $100,000 deposit to be held by the city during the application process. Applications are limited to pre-existing registered collectives/cooperatives. If fewer than 6 businesses are granted licenses, another application period will be opened at a later time.

The application form can be found online here.

Additionally, the city has released a list of potentially eligible locations where cannabis businesses may be located.

City of Oceanside

The city of Oceanside is currently accepting applications for cultivation, distribution, manufacturing, testing, and non-storefront retail. From the city website:

The City has a limit of 5 licenses for Cultivation. There are currently 16 applications under review for cultivation.
The City has a limit of 2 local licenses for Non-Storefront Retail. There are currently 4 applications under review for Non-Storefront Retail. There are currently 7 applications for Manufacturing and 6 for Distribution under review. There is no limit to the number of local licenses that will be issued for these types.
The City has received no applications for Testing Labs.

To apply, businesses must obtain a zoning verification letter confirming their property’s eligibility, and submit an application (including a business plan, security plan, etc.) along with an initial $3,471 application fee (not including the background check fees). Additional fees will be charged for each phase of the licensing application process.

The application form can be found online here.

Oceanside has also released a map of eligible zones, which can be found online here.

For more information on cannabis l icensing requirements in San Diego County or elsewhere in California, check our guide to California’s cannabis laws or reach out to our cannabis attorneys directly at info@margolinlawrence.com .

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