(Added by Ord. No. 185,343, Eff. 12/19/17.)
(a) An Applicant who applies for a License for Commercial Cannabis Activity that is not Retailer Commercial Cannabis Activity and who meets the following criteria, as determined by DCR, shall receive Temporary Approval if: (1) the Applicant was engaged prior to January 1, 2016, in the same Commercial Cannabis Activity that was not Retailer Commercial Cannabis Activity for which it now seeks a License; (2) the Applicant is not engaged in Retailer Commercial Cannabis Activity at the Business Premises; (3) the Applicant provides evidence and attests under penalty of perjury that the Applicant was a supplier to an EMMD prior to January 1, 2017; (4) the Business Premises meets all requirements of Article 5 of Chapter X of this Code; (5) the Applicant passes an Initial Inspection; (6) there are no fire or life safety violations on the Business Premises; (7) the Applicant paid all outstanding City business tax obligations; (8) the Applicant provides a written attestation that the Applicant will enter into an agreement with a testing laboratory for testing of all Cannabis and Cannabis products and attests to testing all of its Cannabis and Cannabis products in accordance with state standards; (9) the Applicant attests that the Applicant will cease all operations if denied a State License or City License; (10) the Applicant qualifies under the Social Equity Program as it existed as of January 1, 2020; and (11) the Applicant submits all required and completed information, forms, and documents to meet the Temporary Approval requirements in the Rules and Regulations. DCR may immediately suspend or revoke the Temporary Approval if the Applicant fails to abide by any City operating requirement. For purposes of this subsection only, an Applicant who has entered into a payment plan with the City’s Office of Finance pursuant to LAMC Section 21.18 to pay all outstanding City-owed business taxes is deemed current on all City-owed business taxes and is deemed to have submitted payment for all City-owed business taxes. Prior to determining that an Applicant is eligible for processing under this section, DCR, at its discretion, may provide an Applicant with Local Compliance Underway status to apply for a provisional license from the State. A status of Local Compliance Underway shall not permit an Applicant to conduct Commercial Cannabis Activities unless DCR grants the Applicant Temporary Approval or an Operating Permit. Local Compliance Underway must be renewed annually pursuant to Section 104.12 until a License is issued. (Amended by Ord. No. 187,879, Eff. 6/2/23.)
(b) A completed application accepted by DCR as eligible for processing under this section shall be processed and reviewed pursuant to Section 104.06. DCR may request additional information from the Applicant. DCR shall make written findings when the Applicant does not meet the requirements for processing under this section. DCR’s determination of whether an Applicant is eligible for processing under this section shall be made with no hearing and shall be final and effective 15 days after the date of its mailing if the Applicant does not timely request an administrative hearing, as provided in Section 104.10. (Amended by Ord. No. 186,703, Eff. 7/10/20.)
(c) An Applicant that submitted an application pursuant to this section by September 13, 2018, paid all fees required under Section 104.19, and received from DCR local authorization under this section shall not be subject to the remedies set forth in Los Angeles Municipal Code Sections 11.00 or 12.27.1 solely on the basis of Non-Retailer Commercial Cannabis Activity; provided, however, that, as authorized by California Health and Safety Code Section 11362.83, this limited immunity is available and may be asserted as an affirmative defense only so long as the requirements of this section are adhered to by the Applicant and only by an Applicant at the one Business Premises identified in its application. This limited immunity shall terminate upon the close of the 15-day appeal period if the Applicant does not timely request an administrative hearing, as provided in Section 104.10. This limited immunity shall not be available to and shall not be asserted as an affirmative defense to any violation of law except as expressly set forth in this section. Further, nothing contained in this limited immunity is intended to provide or shall be asserted as a defense to a claim for violation of law brought by any county, state or federal governmental authority. (Amended by Ord. No. 186,703, Eff. 7/10/20.)
(e) An Applicant under this section that has not received Temporary Approval shall report to DCR by July 1, 2019, whether it has made substantial progress, as determined by DCR, towards preparing its Business Premises to pass an Initial Inspection. An Applicant who cannot report substantial progress by July 1, 2019, shall have its application deemed abandoned. An Applicant who reports substantial progress by July 1, 2019, shall be required to pass an Initial Inspection by December 31, 2019, or its application shall be deemed abandoned unless DCR grants the Applicant an extension due to extenuating circumstances as determined by DCR in its sole discretion. (Amended by Ord. No. 186,703, Eff. 7/10/20.)