The Fresno City Council has denied a cannabis dispensary from setting up shop near the fairgrounds.
That ends the hopes of Fresno Farms from opening up in southeast Fresno after facing issues about its proposed location for years.
The backstory: Yuma Way-owned Fresno Farms first planned to open a location at 3849 E. Ventura St. – which is now Cesar Chavez Blvd.
- Although the city initially gave Fresno Farms approval for the location, it discovered that the Francine and Murray Farber Education Campus – a new high school for Fresno Unified School District – was under construction across the street. The dispensary would be within 800 feet of the school, putting it in violation of the city’s cannabis ordinance.
- Fresno Farms submitted a change of location application last year. The city council held a hearing last year on the new location, which was proposed for 3849 E. Cesar Chavez Blvd, at Councilman Luis Chavez’s request, but he pulled his appeal to allow Fresno Farms to go through the conditional use permit process for the new location.
The big picture: Fresno Farms received approval from the city planning commission for the new location in March, and Chavez once again appealed the dispensary’s permit since the new location would be near the Fresno Fairgrounds.
- Ultimately the council unanimously voted to deny the relocation application, with councilmembers voicing their displeasure with Fresno Farms for not reaching out to the surrounding community, among other issues.
Go deeper: Chavez pointed out that when he asked Fresno Farms if it had ever been fined or convicted of selling cannabis to someone under the age of 21, the dispensary said no. But that proved to be a major point of contention at last year’s hearing, with it coming out that the dispensary had allowed someone under the age of 21 to enter the store. Even though the transaction did not go through, Yuma Way was fined $10,000 for the infraction.
- Chavez also said surrounding businesses came forward saying Fresno Farms did not check with them when looking at the new location.
- Chavez also pointed to Fresno Farms not knowing Kings Canyon Rd. was recently changed to Cesar Chavez Blvd.
- “The fact that the applicant did not know that this location is now Cesar Chavez Blvd., not Kings Canyon, I think tells me a lot about how they should’ve done a little more work locally and worked with our local folks in making sure that they understood the dynamics and the conditions of folks,” Chavez said.
Pending litigation: Another point of concern for the council is a class action lawsuit filed against Yuma Way in March.
- The lawsuit alleges that Yuma Way failed to provide the rest breaks and meal breaks required by Colorado wage and hour laws. Further, the lawsuit claims that Yuma Way failed to pay employees for their time working through break periods.
- Jessica Reuven with Yuma Way told the council that the dispensary is committed to providing a livable wage and that the lawsuit was filed by one disgruntled employee. Reuven feels the lawsuit will be dismissed and noted that it has not been class certified.
