Fresno, CA (KMJ) – Fresno City Council approves a new cannabis business ordinance on Thursday.
Fresno had been a holdout as one of the last big California cities to allow dispensaries.
The vote eked by 4 to 3, and Fresno’s Mayor Lee Brand could still veto it.
City Council Members Miguel Arias and Esmeralda Soria wrote the ordinance, first visiting Oakland, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Long Beach, where retail pot is sold.
“We also tried to visit in person to observe the kind of impact that these operations have in neighborhoods and in cities as a whole,” said Council Member Arias.
Arias estimates $10 million a year would be generated, and the money able to be infused into the police department and other services.
The ordinance opens the door to up to 14 retail cannabis businesses in Fresno, limited to two per district.
Applicants must show they benefit certain groups such as veterans, the homeless or people who have served time for low level offenses.
Permits will be made available to have industrial marijuana businesses.
Already, three Valley communities are offering them; Mendota, Woodlake and Coalinga .
Click to hear the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern:
