The Belmont City Council held its regular meeting on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, at 6:00 PM (with the study session beginning at 6:30 PM) in the City Council Chambers at City Hall, One Twin Pines Lane. The meeting included a study session on cannabis retail community benefits, several administrative approvals, the adoption of the updated Sanitary Sewer Master Plan, a mid-year financial report, and a resolution endorsing San Mateo County's March 2025 Ballot Measure A. All motions passed unanimously (5-0) unless otherwise noted.
Tonight is Tuesday, February 11th, 2025 at 6 p.m. We are here in the council chambers at City Hall, one Twin Pines Lane in Belmont. The council meetings, unless otherwise noted, are broadcast live to Belmont residents on Comcast Cable Channel 27. They're also streamed live via the city's website at Belmont.gov. We are also on Zoom at Belmont-gov.zoom.us, and there's a meeting ID that's uh printed on our published agenda. And the public may attend the meeting in the council chambers here at Belmont City Hall second floor. Uh this evening we have a study session. Uh so I'm sorry, first we'll do the call to order and roll call, please. Good evening, Councilmember Jordan. Here. Councilmember La Merlow. Here. Councilmember McCune. Present. Vice Mayor Pangwang and Euros. Present. And Mayor Maids. Present. We have a quorum. Thank you. Great. Item three is closed session. We do not have closed session this evening. Item four is the Pledge of Allegiance. Please rise if you're able. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which nation under God. Okay, thank you. Item five is a study session. 5A is the cannabis retail business community benefit terms, and I think we have assistant city manager. Fly involves with us this evening. Good evening, Madam Mayor and members of the council. I am also joined here tonight by representatives of both cannabis retail operations who are available in the audience if the council has any questions for them about their community benefit terms or their planned operations. So just to start out with some brief background, the city council approved a regulatory framework for retail cannabis in Belmont in October of 2023. Retail cannabis is only allowed on a small section of El Camino between O'Neill and F Street. The framework allows for up to two retail cannabis businesses and potentially one distribution business, although there has been no interest from that area, to go through a planning entitlement process to be rezoned to an S3 overlay district and also to get a conditional use permit. The businesses must be 600 feet away from each other as well as away from any sensitive receptors such as schools, including daycare centers. The businesses also must get a regulatory permit from the police department, which requires background checks on the ownerships and review of security and operational plans for the businesses. Staff created a pre-qualification process to vet potentially interested businesses. We received four proposals from businesses and invited two to apply for the entitlement process based on their qualifications and business operations. I also want to briefly go over the state regulatory environment for cannabis. It's a heavily regulated industry, and all cannabis businesses must obtain state licenses for cultivation, manufacturing, testing, as well as retail sales. There's also systems that monitor cannabis from its growth all the way to sale that prevent diversion into the illicit market for those that are permitted. The operators that are issued permits must meet stringent security standards, packaging, labeling requirements, and have child resistant packaging and warning labels on all their products. All the products that are sold in permitted retail outlets are tested for potency and the ingredients are required to be labeled according to sale. All this is to say is that cannabis that is purchased through these permitted retail locations is much safer for the general public than what is available on the black market. And therefore, there is some element of providing a service to the public by having these available through vetted retail locations. So the first site that the city has invited to apply is the Canabelle Business, which is proposing to locate locate at the Sumac Mediterranean Grill site at 1397 El Camino. I'm not going to be going over the planning applications and the design drawings for these projects. That'll be part of the entitlements, but I just want to give you a flavor of the locations and what some of the interiors of other operations look like for these businesses. So this next slide shows you some of the other businesses that are operated by the same owner.