Cannabis stores will not be opening in downtown nor in virtually any part of central Manteca for that matter.

But based on zoning and other restrictions imposed by the city they could be coming to:

*A large swath of Airport Way corridor from Yosemite Avenue to the 120 Bypass.

*West Yosemite Avenue near Union Road.

*The Spreckels Park-East Yosemite Avenue  commercial area.

*The southeast corner of Woodward Avenue at Pillsbury Road.

*Lancaster Drive.

*The high-profile commercial structures on Moffat Boulevard at Woodward Avenue that back up to Highway 99.

*Austin Road south of East Highway 120.

*South Main Street between Industrial Park/Mission Ridge Drive and the 120 Bypass.

*The southwest corner of Lathrop Road and Union Road.

*The southwest corner of Airport Way and Lathrop Road.

*Main Street between Northgate Drive and Lathrop Road.

*The southwest corner of Main Street and the 120 Bypass.

*The southeast corner of the new McKinley Avenue interchange now under construction and the 120 Bypass

*The west side of South Main Street north of Sedan Avenue in the proposed Griffin Park neighborhood commercial area.

Manteca’s elected leaders tonight are expected to adopt various policies and regulations that will allow the city to start accepting applications to sell marijuana in storefront locations within the city.
As many as 80 individuals and concerns have expressed an interest in applying  for one of the three coveted permits the city will eventually issue.

The council meets at 7 p.m. at the Civic Center, 1101 W. Center St.

Based on adopted restrictions, assuming the three applicants will not be building new structures from scratch on undeveloped property, and based on areas where vacancies are located, the three likeliest areas for storefront pot sales to initially end up at are:

*West Yosemite Avenue between Winters Drive and Union Road.

*The northside of West Yosemite Avenue between Cottage Avenue and Vasconcellos avenue.

*The east side of South Main Street between Industrial Park Drive and the 120 Bypass.

Restrictions about where marijuana stores can be located in Manteca are based on zoning and being more than 600 feet from arcades, amusement centers, emergency shelters, substance abuse rehabilitation centers, libraries, parks, preschools, daycares, private and public schools, places of religious assembly, or youth centers.

The council is expected to adopt a resolution tonight regarding the application and selection process for Cannabis Retail Business Program Permits, Fee Schedule and Appeal Process.

A previous council on Dec. 21, 2021 added a provision to the municipal code to allow three permits for legal marijuana sales as allowed by the Medical and Adult use Cannabis Safety Act signed into law on June 27,2017.

The City Council previously adopted Ordinance No. O2021-16 governing the operation the locations of storefront cannabis retail, non-storefront cannabis retail and cannabis delivery. The City Council also approved Ordinance No. O2021-16 that regulates the operation of storefront cannabis retail, non-storefront cannabis retail and cannabis delivery in the City.

Under the fee schedule it will cost $10,368 to simply submit an application in a bid to secure one of three permits the City of Manteca will issue later this year for legal storefront cannabis sales.

That fee is not a part of a Community Benefit Agreement (CBA) fee the city would hammer out with approved applicants before they are issued actual permits to do business.

Instead the fee covers the staff time and vetting expenses the city will incur in order to process the applicant.

Then, if they are successful, there is a $24,663 annual regulatory fee that will cover city costs incurred with keeping track of how the dispensary operates as well as its sales.

The rest of the proposed draft fees that will go before the council in the coming weeks includes a $2,844 appeal process fee and an annual $115 application renewal fee.

Background investigation fees are $300 for the owner/manager with a $100 fee for an annual background investigation. There is a $100 fee per employee to cover background investigations. The annual  renewal background investigation fee is $75.

Data indicating the amount of cost, or estimated cost, required to provide the service for which the fee or service charge is levied and the revenue sources anticipated to provide the service is available upon request.

In other words, the fees reflect what expense the city occurs vetting applicants that include how the business will be operated, security, and other measures as well as doing background checks.

 The CBA, for all practical purposes, is the “business license.”

The CBA would be required of all storefront marijuana dispensaries allowed in Manteca. They would “memorialize” the marijuana business’ commitment to turn over a certain amount of their profits each year to the city.

The city would then use the CBA take “to fund services, positions, and for other purposes that benefit the community.”

That essentially means anything the city wants to use the funds on.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulleltin.com