County to Select Six Recreational Cannabis Operations in 2020
Could Be Two Years Until New Dispensaries Open for Business
Fully two years after state voters legalized the recreational cannabis industry, the county supervisors took their first steps to authorizing a merit-based selection process for the six storefront retail operations they opted to allow. Given the timeline outlined by Santa Barbara County’s de facto cannabis czar Dennis Bozanich, the final selection for applicants should take place in the last quarter of next year. From then, it could be another 18 months before any of the new dispensaries are open for business, given the time required for permitting and construction.
Initially, the supervisors had planned to allow eight dispensaries but reduced it to six in deference to intense opposition from certain areas, like Vandenberg Village, which adamantly did not want any cannabis retail. The proposal was to select storefront operations by lottery, but that approach triggered a speculative feeding frenzy among would-be cannabis operators seeking to secure appropriate real estate sites. This real estate frenzy was especially intense in Isla Vista, where prospective customers vastly exceed the limited number of appropriate sites.
Under the proposed application scheme, prospective retail operators must host public meetings, and their proposals will be graded largely based on how well they meet community needs and concerns. Any dispensary hoping to open for business in Summerland, warned Supervisor Das Williams, had better sell groceries.
