Pasadena, California will soon see recreational marijuana dispensaries
Recreational marijuana dispensaries are coming to Pasadena, CA. The Pasadena City Council has approved two fees that prospective marijuana businesses will have to pay to set up shop in the city and the practice won’t be cheap. Entrepreneurs will have to pay a total of more than $24,000, making Pasadena one of the most expensive cities in which to operate a marijuana dispensary.
An initial application fee of $13,654 will be charged to all applicants when the application period starts next January. The applications will be scored by a council-appointed group and those that are approved to move forward will have to pay an additional $10,639. This second fee is comparable to fees paid by other industries that must be approved by the Pasadena’s Planning Commission. A total of six retail dispensaries, four grow facilities and four testing labs will be approved by the city.
The high fees are meant to cover costs associated with Pasadena’s extensive vetting and approval process. According to Planning Director David Reyes, “We used an outside consulting firm, we used in-house attorneys, we used outside attorneys. It took a long time to get this thing right — there was a lot of resources expended. These are fees that are just cost recovery. There’s no cushion in there.”
A workshop on the application procedures is scheduled for November 13. It will be held at the Pasadena Convention Center from 4 to 6 PM and will provide detailed information on how to apply and how businesses will be selected.
