DATE: August 5, 2026
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
FROM: Development Services Department
TITLE: APPEAL OF A STOREFRONT RETAIL CANNABIS LOCAL LICENSE DENIAL - APPELLANT: TAT OCEANSIDE, LLC
RECOMMENDATION
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Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution denying the appeal of TAT Oceanside, LLC dba The Artist Tree and affirming the denial of a storefront retail cannabis local license.
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BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
On August 6, 2025, the City Council introduced an ordinance to allow four (4) local licenses for storefront retail cannabis and approved the related administrative procedures and application process. More information about the storefront retail cannabis licensing program can be found in Attachment 1, but it generally provided for a multi-phase process. Phase 1 consisted of the acceptance of applications and screening for application completeness by an external consultant. Phase 2 included scoring of all complete applications and reviewed by staff. Two of the available licenses were designated for existing qualified local cannabis operators if they scored sufficiently in Phase 2. Phase 3 then consisted of a panel interview of the top eight (8) scoring applicants competing for the remaining licenses. The top scoring applicants, following a blind ranked choice vote by the interview panel, would be awarded the final available licenses.
Following the effective date of the ordinance, an application submittal window was opened in Fall 2025. Seventeen applications for a storefront license were deemed complete at the end of Phase 1 and advanced to Phase 2 scoring, including two from the City's existing cannabis business operators, MedLeaf and Left Coast.
At the conclusion of Phase 2 in February 2026, all applicants were notified of their scores and posted publicly on the City's website. Of the four available licenses, two were issued to the City's existing operators in February 2026 consistent with the streamlined process...
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