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Cannabis will come back before the Planning Commission this week,
Commissioners will deliberate Wednesday shortly after 3 p.m. on a Conditional Use Permit application filed by Varda Inc., one of the six cannabis companies selected in the city’s process. The meeting will include a public hearing to present the proposal and consider public comment.
Varda was scheduled to come before the Planning Commission along with another dispensary, MedMen in April, but that hearing was postponed after questions arose about MedMen’s operations.
According to the city’s application, material control of the company cannot change during the process. MedMen could be removed from the city process.
At least seven people listed on the MedMen application are no longer with the company, which is now in danger of being removed from the process.
Varda Inc., represented by Tony Fong, could be the final cannabis company to receive a CUP in Pasadena.
Of the six applicants chosen by the city to advance in the process, SweetFlower and Atrium have been removed from the process and MedMen faces disqualification over a change of operators in the company.
According to city regulations, no more than six retailers may operate in Pasadena at any one time and no more than six permits shall be issued for retailers to operate within the City. The regulations also state that no more than one retailer may operate within a City council district at any one time.
If Varda Inc.’s conditional use permit is approved, it will hold the only commercial cannabis retailer permit in Council District 4, the Planning Department said.
The company has filed to operate retail sales within an existing vacant commercial building located at the north side of Colorado Boulevard between North Kinneloa Avenue and Sierra Madre Villa Avenue near a lumber yard.
The single-story, single tenant building was constructed in 1959 and has been occupied by various retail uses including a furniture store, golf supply store and a paint store. It has remained vacant in recent years although some improvements and site upgrades, including accessibility upgrades, were completed in 2019, according to a report by the Department of Planning and Community Development.
Varda’s application is for a 5,680 square-foot retail cannabis dispensary within the building, proposing some interior improvements and minor exterior alterations. The floor plan identifies a dedicated sales floor area and point-of-sales that will encompass 2,624 square feet in addition to a 467 square foot lobby or waiting foyer, a 113 square-foot consultation area, and 198 square feet with kiosks for digital sales.
The remaining square footage, about another 2,322 square feet, will be used as storage space and employee-only access areas. Varda Inc. proposes operating hours from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Sunday.
Members of the community may access the virtual meeting through Zoom, at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/
Public-comments may be submitted in advance by email to tmolinar@cityofpasadena.net prior to the meeting day.
On Wednesday, anyone wishing to submit a comment can do so in not more than 200 words through www.cityofpasadena.net/
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