(a) Except as provided in subsection (d), the Director of the Office of Cannabis shall charge every applicant for a cannabis business permit, as set forth in Section 1607 of the Police Code, a one-time non-refundable permit application fee of $2,000 to recover the costs incurred by the Office of Cannabis of processing the permit application. Except as provided in subsection (d), the Director shall charge an applicant for a permit amendment the hourly costs of processing that amendment, which shall include a minimum two-hour charge. The hourly rate for processing a permit amendment shall be $110. Such costs for processing applications for permits and permit amendments shall include costs relating to services provided by the Office of the City Attorney, the Controller’s Office, and such other offices as may be required to assist the Office of Cannabis in this processing function.
(b) Except as provided in subsection (d), the Director of the Office of Cannabis shall charge every person, firm, or corporation engaged in operating a cannabis business, as set forth in Section 1607 of the Police Code, a license fee of $3,000 for the first year of operation and an annual license fee of $5,000 for each subsequent year of operation, to recover the costs incurred by the Office of Cannabis in implementing Article 16 of the Police Code. Such costs shall include costs, if any, relating to services provided by the Office of the City Attorney, the Controller’s Office, the Department of Human Resources, the Department of Technology, the Office of Contract Administration, and such other offices as may be required to assist the Office of Cannabis in this function. The annual license fee shall be paid annually on or before March 31, in accordance with the provisions of Section 76.1 of the Business and Tax Regulations Code.
(c) Beginning with fiscal year 2024-2025, the permit and permit amendment application fees, and first-year and annual license fees, set pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this Section 249.20 may be adjusted each year on July 1, without further action by the Board of Supervisors, based on a determination by the Controller that the changes are necessary to reflect changes in the relevant Consumer Price Index, and/or are necessary to produce revenues sufficient to support the costs of providing the services for which the fees are assessed and without producing revenue that is significantly more than such costs. Not later than April 1 of each year, the Controller shall determine whether the current fees have produced or are projected to produce revenues sufficient to support the costs of application-related and licensing-related activities, and whether the fees will produce revenue that is significantly more than the costs of providing such services. The Controller shall, if necessary, adjust the fees upward or downward for the upcoming fiscal year as appropriate to ensure that the program recovers the costs of operation without producing revenue that is significantly more than such costs.
(d) The Director of the Office of Cannabis shall not charge an Equity Applicant, as that term is defined in Section 1604 of the Police Code, the one-time non-refundable permit application fee of $2,000 for a cannabis business permit required by subsection (a), any fees for the hourly costs of processing a permit amendment for the first year of operation required by subsection (a), or the license fee of $3,000 for the first year of operation as required by subsection (b).
(e) The Director of the Office of Cannabis shall charge every applicant for a Cannabis Event Permit, as set forth in Section 1621.5 of the Police Code, a one-time non-refundable permit application fee, in the amount set forth below, to recover the costs incurred by the City in processing applications, regulating events, and in connection with other permit-related activities. This fee may be waived once for a verified Equity Applicant, as defined under Police Code Section 1604
)1
, or Equity Operator, as defined under Police Code Section 1608, that operates a cannabis business as a sole proprietorship or a nonprofit, in connection with a single event, but shall not be waived for any additional events. The amount of this fee shall be as follows:
(1) For events with an estimated attendance of 500 or fewer people: $500;
(2) For events with an estimated attendance of 501 – 1000 people: $1,000;
(3) For events with an estimated attendance of 1001 – 2500 people: $1,500;
(4) For events with an estimated attendance of 2500 people or more: $3,000.
Beginning with fiscal year 2020-2021, this fee may be adjusted by the Controller each year on July 1, without further action by the Board of Supervisors, based on a determination by the Controller that the changes are necessary to reflect changes in the relevant Consumer Price Index, and/or are necessary to produce revenues sufficient to support the costs of providing the services for which the fees are assessed and without producing revenue that is significantly more than such costs. Not later than April 1 of each year, the Controller shall determine whether the current fee has produced or is projected to produce revenues sufficient to support the costs of permit-related activities (including, but not limited to, the processing of applications and the regulation of events), and that the fees will not produce revenue that is significantly more than the costs of providing such services. The Controller shall, if necessary, adjust the fees upward or downward for the upcoming fiscal year as appropriate to ensure that the program recovers the costs of operation without producing revenue that is significantly more than such costs.
(Added by Ord. 271-05, File No. 051747, App. 11/30/2005; amended by Ord. 273-05, File No. 051748, App. 11/30/2005; Ord. 149-08, File No. 080744, App. 7/30/2008; Ord. 246-17, File No. 171153, App. 12/22/2017, Eff. 1/21/2018, Oper. 1/21/2018; Ord. 58-19, File No. 190109, App. 3/29/2019, Eff. 4/29/2019, Retro. 4/20/2019; Ord. 194-24, File No. 240599, App. 7/31/2024, Eff. 8/31/2024)
CODIFICATION NOTE