To get an inkling of what may be coming to Manteca in terms of a retail cannabis dispensary, take a trip to Tracy.

It is where today — in a  low-key shopping center in  the 2700 block of Pavilion Parkway near the WinCo Foods — that Embarc is opening its 10th California storefront location.

Embarc is one of the three cannabis retail concerns that secured the green light to start negotiations on a community benefit agreement with city officials.

The CBA will determine exactly what type of revenue deal the city will secure as well as what each concern will provide in terms of annual community benefits.

If all goes well and they secure conditional use permits from the planning commission plus the council likes the CBA, Embarc as well as Nectar, and Off the Charts could be open for business in Manteca sometime in 2024.

The City Council on Monday after a 2½ hour public hearing voted 3-1 to proceed with the three applicants.

Councilman Dave Breitenbucher dissented.

Mayor Gary Singh recused himself and was not present.

In a statement sent to the Bulletin, Singh said he “didn’t want a perception of any conflicts.”

Singh — who made bringing legal storefront cannabis retail sales to Manteca a major point in his successful 2022 campaign to gain election as mayor —  has been criticized for having a possible conflict due to his family having commercial rental space in areas where retail pot shops could be located.

None of the three locations that are moving forward are close to any property owned or managed by Singh. The one that was the closest — Chuck’s Place at 1417 Historical Plaza Way across from the Home Depot in Spreckels Park — did not make the cut.

The three that did were:

*Embarc Manteca at 1148 South Main Street in the small strip center behind Dairy Queen.

*Off the Charts Manteca in the space now occupied by Main Auto Repair at 2325 West Yosemite Avenue near the municipal wastewater treatment plant.

*Nectar Market in the former Golden Bear Physical Therapy space at 1519 Yosemite Avenue near Valley Oak Dental.

Singh said he wanted to be consistent and stay out of the decision involving where the dispensaries would end up going.

Breitenbucher made it clear he was against legalized sales within the city limits.

He implored the three concerns that when they did open to not sell cannabis products that “appeal to kids” such as gummies, candies, chocolate and such.

Vice Mayor Mike Morowit as well as council members Charlie Halford and Jose Nuno all stressed that they were being driven by a desire to gets the “right fit” for Manteca as opposed to how much money a particular applicant was offering to provide the city.

Morowit, after the meeting, noted the city really won’t know how much any of the three applicants will provide the city in terms of dollar amounts until after they have been up and running  for a year.

“They are all making projections,” Morowit said.

Nuno, who initially was opposed to allowing retail sales in Manteca, said he weighed the fact two different elections — one on  the state level and the other on the county level — showed the majority of Manteca voters favored being able to have access to legal marijuana within the city limits.

Nuno stressed that he is still personally against marijuana but that the city needed to take steps to allow what is a legal product for adults to use could be bought in a safe, secure, and convenient manner.

Halford, who early in the process was leaning against the idea until he took part on a tour of cannabis operations in the Modesto area and saw first-hand how they were operated and the high level of security they had, said that those legally buying cannabis wasn’t the problem.

He noted the Manteca  still has to deal with the problems caused by illegal drug sales including marijuana.

That said, nearby cities were benefiting for the legal sales to law-abiding Manteca residents while the city still had to cover paying for law enforcement and such to deal with the problems associated with illegal drug activities

“We are leaving money on  the table, Halford said, if the city didn’t move forward,

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com