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A cannabis delivery business is looking to open in an industrial area of Mountain View. If approved, it would be the second marijuana business to gain a foothold in the city as the state’s fledgling legal industry grows.
The company Northern Erudite Ventures has applied for a permit to run a cannabis business out of 569 Clyde Avenue, a commercial building deep in the East Whisman area bordering the Sunnyvale golf course. The business would not be permitted to make sales to customers on site under the city’s zoning rules, but would be allowed to store and transport cannabis for the purposes of delivery.
Unlike most cities on the Peninsula, which have outright banned cannabis businesses from operating within city limits, Mountain View allows up to three marijuana delivery businesses to open — provided they meet strict criteria. The zoning rules call for strict security measures and special rules for loading and unloading cannabis products, and require businesses to mitigate any pot odors that may come wafting out of the building.
An earlier version of the city’s zoning rules allowed for delivery and storefront cannabis businesses to open up in large swaths of the city — including downtown — but the City Council reversed course following intense public pressure. Storefront retail for walk-in customers is now effectively banned in the city.
The first business to make it over the finish line was MWKM Corporation, which applied in 2019 to open a delivery business at 229 Polaris Avenue on the edge of the Rex Manor neighborhood. It was the only application that survived the council’s complete revamp of the cannabis zoning laws, but later had its own fair share of problems. MWKM filed a claim against the city in 2020 alleging that police officials and planning staff were illegally requiring the business to have an enclosed area for loading and unloading cannabis products.
MWKM came back to the city for reconsideration of a conditional use permit to operate the Polaris Avenue delivery business, which the city’s Zoning Administrator approved in January 2021. The company has yet to open at the new location.
Northern Erudite Ventures is seeking to follow suit, but still has a few hurdles to overcome. At the Oct. 27 Zoning Administrator hearing last week, the company asked to delay final approval after its legal counsel asked for more time to address ongoing issues related to the proposed delivery loading zone planned for the parking lot.
Northern Erudite Ventures is also being asked to hold a community meeting prior to the next public hearing, and new notices will be sent out to alert residents to the possible approval, according to city officials.
Most cities in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties swiftly updated zoning regulations to prohibit cannabis businesses from operating at all, with a few key exceptions that include San Jose, Daly City and Redwood City. Proponents of cannabis businesses have argued that these local restrictions have done everything short of outlawing marijuana, stifling growth of the legal cannabis industry. A report by the California’s Cannabis Advisory Committee found the local zoning regulations, along with high taxes, are suppressing pot sales and reducing the state’s excise tax revenue from the new industry.
And while Mountain View may be bucking the trend by allowing delivery businesses, the regulatory challenges are many. Any prospective business looking up sell cannabis in Mountain View has to provide a detailed application and must buy or lease the commercial space ahead of time, requiring a hefty upfront investment. One applicant who sought to open a business in downtown under the old zoning rules reportedly paid $125,000 just to get through the first planning phase.
A second hearing on the Clyde Avenue marijuana business has not been scheduled.
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Damn. It sounds like the city is doing everything it can to get in the way of this business.
Too bad they don’t work as hard to prevent Alcohol businesses from opening up.
Getting alcohol delivered in Mountain View is super easy these days.
Mountain View has acted in bad faith for the last 25 years, suppressing the rights their own citizens overwhelmingly voted for with Prop 215 in 1996. My friend had the first delivery business on the Peninsula, starting in 2004. Though fully legal under 215, MV refused to acknowledge or sanction it. Over the years, he and I were told repeatedly by one City Council after another that they were onboard with us, they favored making it conveniently available to the *thousands* of sick and suffering MV residents who used cannabis to relieve their symptoms and improve their lives. Every time, MV reneged on their promises.
When Prop 64 passed in 2016, allegedly “legalizing” cannabis in the state, MV city officials publicly promised (even in the pages of this newspaper) they would allow dispensaries in the city. We were specifically told they would require a year (!) to make it happen. At an open city meeting the citizens present *overwhelmingly* expressed the desire to allow a dispensary in the city. Unsurprisingly the City Council betrayed this promise as well; cannabis businesses who went through the onerous and expensive process of jumping through all the legal and procedural hoops to open in MV were simply screwed.
Now, FIVE YEARS LATER, a second (gosh, what generosity!) delivery business is finally being allowed. Ridiculous, dishonest BS like that spouted by the MV city council (and every other city council up and down the Peninsula, it must be acknowledged) is the main reason the black market is still twice the size of the “legal” market. All this for a botanical plant with a 10,000 year history of use and a 100% perfect safety record of zero deaths.
Democracy dies in darkness, but it also dies by the light of day.
It’s hard to say goodbye to a law that allowed us to discriminate, beatdown, and lock up select minorities.
It is understandable that the City of Mountain View prefers not to overinudate itself with marijuana dispensaries whether for open retail or delivery.
Marijuana + excessive amounts of CASH = a ongoing crime potential.
Plus, most upscale communities (i.e. Palo Alto, Los Altos, Menlo Park, Atherton, Mill Valley etc.) do not allow the sale of marijuana within their city boundaries.
This type of retail sales and delivery is usually relegated to lower-tier cities like Redwood City, San Jose, and San Rafael many of which are county seats and less desirable communities in which to reside.
I suspect that if the City of Mountain View has some reservations towards encouraging these types of businesses it is because of a public image (i.e. real estate, civic, and culture) they want to project.
Besides, it’s not that difficult to score weed these days.
And chances are, more people than you can imagine are getting regularly stoned or high.
Our minister does.
“lower-tier cities”. For @Jurgen, we live in a race based Caste system that needs to be perpetuated.
Jurgen might have a point based on the CA cities designated as county seats.
There are a couple of exceptions but most people (given the opportunity and choice) would probably prefer to reside outside of them.
Any city with county jails, court houses, sheriff department headquarters, and various county administrative departments leaves something to be desired and most marijuana dispensaries are usually situated in these types of municipalities.
Does Mountain View really need one.
https://geology.com/county-map/california.shtml
I took the liberty of mapping out some other nearby businesses to the selection of child care/ educational facilities the voice put on their map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=12jBza-0ZnuZjGdRsn503S9UioHr5EW5z
The singling out of cannabis businesses over other, more addictive and destructive legal substances is driven entirely by fear mongering. Maybe I’ll swing by the 7-11 across from the day care this afternoon and buy some fruit-flavored vape juice and a mango malt beverage!
Edit: I want to be clear that I don’t blame the Voice for making that map to demonstrate how this proposed business is in excess compliance with the current rules, but rather point out the absurdity of the rules themselves.
I commend “Northern Erudite Ventures” for trying to finally bring legal cannabis products to this recalcitrant city. (What a name for a company, though.)
@Jurgen Weiss: Your “Marijuana + excessive amounts of CASH = ongoing crime potential” formula has been debunked for years. Both the San Francisco police chief and the San Jose police chief got caught making that claim and had to publicly walk it back after activists pointed out that dispensaries are NOT correlated with increased crime. MV police have been allowed to make the same evidence-free claim to the City Council over the years. The reality is that cannabis dispensaries have more security, in the form of guards and cameras, than most businesses and are less likely to be robbed than either banks or 7-Elevens.
Furthermore, onerous zoning restrictions that force dispensaries into sparsely populated industrial areas *increase* the danger and risk to both employees and customers. Allowing a nice dispensary in, say, the old Books Inc. site on the corner of Castro and Dana (which has been empty for years) would have helped center Mountain View’s reputation as a progressive city that cares for its residents and honors science and rationality over reefer madness propaganda and lies. All while raising potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax revenue for the city.
The people of Santa Clara County (and San Mateo County) voted overwhelmingly to legalize cannabis. The fact that so many “upscale” communities have defied the will of their own voters is hardly something to celebrate. Anyone who has visited a nice dispensary will attest there’s no reason to keep them out of any decent neighborhood. Have you looked at the average liquor store? And they sell a product that kills *tens of thousands* of users every year!
Medical marijuana is OK & should be readily available to those in need.
Recreational marijuana is another story.
And while all marijuana use could be considered ‘medicinal’ (if so inclined),
Mountain View does not need to become another Amsterdam for casual stoners.
@Lawrence Chen I think your distinction between “medical” and “recreational” is, as you yourself admit, a very blurry one. If someone smokes some pot to relax after work is that recreational? I’d argue that relaxation is medically beneficial, which makes probably the majority or use medical in terms of promoting health and well-being.
In general, cannabis makes most people more mellow, more tolerant of themselves and others, more relaxed, more focused…the list of benefits is pretty incredible, including pain relief for millions of users. Healthier people create healthier societies, and cannabis definitely helps the majority of its users.
Cannabis and all its associated medicines should be widely available everywhere if we want to start creating a healthier society. Amsterdam, contrary to your implication, is widely celebrated as a tolerant and open society, and its citizens are proud and relieved to live with such a relatively high level of freedom. MV should aspire to be as open and healthy as a city like Amsterdam.
The fact that alcohol is widely sold all over the place and cannabis is still the subject of discussions like this one is sort of mind-boggling to me. It shows me how strong the negative propaganda has been around this miraculous plant. Many people believe they themselves support cannabis rights, but nevertheless remain okay with government restrictions, sometimes even criminal penalties. But our government doesn’t get to tell us whether we can or can’t have tomatoes, and they shouldn’t be allowed to suppress any other natural plant, either. Especially one with a 10,000 year medicinal history and a perfect safety record.
Simple solution. Have the City of Mountain View sell and deliver both medical and recreational marijuana as a municipal revenue generating program. This will create even more jobs within city municipal services for delivery drivers, retail staff, and lab testing. Simply open up a city-operated shop on Castro Street and watch the dollars come in from ‘respectable’ communities like Palo Alto and Los Altos.
@Darren Phillips Why should the city involve itself in any business? Are you also suggesting the City of Mountain View should open up municipal grocery stores, nail salons and restaurants?
The *simple* solution is to simply allow cannabis dispensaries to exist alongside every other legitimate business. There’s literally no valid reason (but a lot of invalid ones) to suppress their existence.