Council OK’s Plans for SweetFlower Cannabis Retail Store on Colorado Boulevard Just West of Lake Avenue

The City Council upheld the Planning Commission’s decision to approve the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) allowing Culver City-headquartered retailer SweetFlower to sell cannabis products at a 1,414 square foot tenant space formerly occupied by fast-food restaurant “Foodie Cube” at 827 East Colorado Boulevard.

The motion to uphold the commission’s decision dated January 12, passed the City Council by a 5-3 vote on Monday night.

Mayor Victor Gordo, Vice-Mayor Andy Wilson and Councilmembers Tyron Hampton, Steve Madison and Jessica Rivas voted in favor while councilmembers Felicia Williams, Gene Masuda and John Kennedy voted against the motion.

At the public hearing, Kennedy, Councilmember for District 3, voiced his opposition to the establishment of another cannabis retail store in his district.

“There is no doubt that the spacing of the cannabis operations in District 3 potentially have a cumulative impact,” Kennedy said.

“We are only talking about two retail operations now but it is always contemplated by staff that you would shove three down the throat of district 3 as opposed to distributing them fairly throughout the whole city. Fundamentally, I find that flawed and unfair,” he added.

The appeal of cannabis operators’ Integral Associates Dena LLC and Harvest of Pasadena LLC prompted the review of the Planning Commission’s decision to approve SweetFlower’s CUP.

Harvest of Pasadena, is located at 169 West Colorado Boulevard and is completing tenant improvements prior to opening while Integral Associates Dena, LLC, doing business as “Essence,” is currently operating at 908 East Colorado Boulevard.

According to the operators, the decision of the Planning Commission violated the California Environmental Quality Act and some of the required findings for the CUP cannot be made because no environmental review of traffic, noise and other environmental impacts was conducted.

The appellants stated that “allowing up to three cannabis dispensaries in a Council District and in closer proximity to one another than 1,000 feet inevitably creates significant environmental impacts, including increased traffic from customers driving to new dispensaries, increased noise, and changed patterns of urban development in the City.”

They also argued that the decision is inconsistent with General Plan Policy, which states that concentration of uses and facilities in any neighborhood or district where their intensities, operations or traffic could adversely affect the health and quality of life must be avoided.

In upholding the Planning Commission’s decision, the majority of the City Council concurred with staff’s determination that SweetFlower is exempted from technical studies to determine traffic and noise and other environmental impacts because it will only be put up in an existing facility and only minor improvements were proposed.

The City Council also concurred with staff’s determination that the proposed use is in conformance with the goals, policies and objectives of the General Plan and the establishment of another cannabis retail store would not be detrimental to the neighborhood and the welfare of the city.

SweetFlower currently operates multiple locations throughout Los Angeles, including West Hollywood, Downtown Los Angeles Arts District, Studio City, Culver City and Westwood/UCLA, according to its website.