A developer wants to turn an abandoned desert outlet mall into a 'cannabis super center.'
The plans became embroiled in controversy after it was revealed that the developer had made independent campaign contributions supporting multiple council members in their last elections. Barstow’s attorney said that the contributions did not appear to be a conflict of interest for any of the sitting members, according to theThe developer plans to bring 23 different cannabis businesses to the former mall, including multiple pot farms and dispensaries.
City staff said the original ordinance would streamline how the city interacts with the development’s owners and did not violate the law. However, council members rejected that plan on Nov. 21. Councilmember Carmen Hernandez said if all of the businesses were approved without seeing the business names, “it would look like we’re doing a backdoor deal.”
City staff then split up the master developer agreement into 23 separate ordinances representing all of the licensed businesses in the development. The council approved the ordinances in a 3-1 vote, with only Hernandez voting “no.” The council needs to pass the ordinances a second time before the pot complex wins full approval. There’s some question of whether that will happen, after Councilmember Barbara M. Rose indicated she had misunderstood the motion when she voted to approve the deal.
The city stands to make a considerable amount of tax revenue if the development does receive final approval. Each manufacturing and cultivation business agreed to pay the city a $5 per square foot annual impact fee, which could run into the millions of dollars, while the development’s retail and delivery businesses have agreed to pay 3% of their overall revenue to the city. The 23 pot businesses have already paid the city more than $420,000 in nonrefundable application fees.
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