A newly proposed cannabis retail storefront in the city of San Luis Obispo, touted as safe enough for even grandparents to visit, faces concerns raised by a naysayer worried about its impact on local families and neighborhood character.
“Going to Embarc is somewhere that you feel comfortable bringing your grandma,” Embarc dispensary’s vice president of public affairs, Devon Wardlow, told the SLO Planning Commission at its Sept. 11, 2024, meeting.
Almost two weeks later, city resident Jeffrey Pyle appealed the Planning Commission’s approval of a conditional use permit for Embarc SLO.
The dispensary has locations across California. The vacant site of former prosthetics and orthotics store Hanger Clinic at 2400 Broad St. is slated for the SLO location. If the business goes into place, it’ll join Megan’s Organic Market and SLO CAL Roots, becoming the third and final cannabis retail storefront in the city.
SLO City Council agendized Pyle’s seven-count appeal for a hearing on Jan. 21 but it’s postponed to the summer after the Embarc SLO applicant cited medical reasons for being unable to attend.
Pyle complained that the proposed dispensary would be located less than 150 feet from residences that are likely to house children.
“Thus, potentially limiting children’s safe use of their own front yard to play,” his appeal read. “The property corner of the closest historic residence is a mere 65 feet from the proposed dispensary.”
He also alleged that businesses that hire armed security guards aren’t “compatible neighbors” to residences in the area; that the dispensary will “permanently change the character” of the neighborhood; and that it’s in violation of city code.
An aspect of Pyle’s complaint came up during the public comment period of the September 2024 Planning Commission meeting. That time from a neighbor living across from the proposed Broad Street business.
“I have no issue with the cannabis store,” Woodbridge Street resident Teri Kanefield told commissioners. “We have children during the school year, going right past that building. The issue I have is whether there’s going to be an armed guard patrolling.”
Citing the armed security guard posted outside Megan’s Organic Market on Higuera Street, Kanefield asked if Embarc SLO could appoint a guard inside and “out of sight” instead.
According to city staff, Embarc SLO submitted a security plan that met the SLO Police Department’s requirements for commercial cannabis activity. The plan includes on-site security guards, controlled access to the retail area, a secured delivery bay, and real-time accessible video cameras for SLOPD.
Embarc spokesperson Wardlow informed commissioners and Kanefield that the proposed dispensary would have a waiting room area, unlike the Higuera Street cannabis business. A security guard would be stationed there along with another guard patrolling the sales floor. Both indoor guards would be armed in compliance with city code.
Planning Commission Chair Justin Cooley concluded the meeting by confirming that all the public correspondence he read about Embarc SLO joining the neighborhood had been “overwhelmingly positive.”
City staff later addressed Pyle’s complaints about the cannabis store’s zoning violations, noting that such retail storefronts don’t need buffers from residences. Rather, cannabis retail storefronts require a buffer of 300 feet only from those residentially zoned areas that are within the Cannabis Business Zone (CBZ) overlay zones.
“The nearest residentially zoned area within the South Broad CBZ overlay zone is the medium-high density residential (R-3) zone which extends from Francis Avenue to Orcutt Road and is located at least 700 feet from the property line of the project,” the staff report read.
Staff added that Pyle didn’t provide any evidence to support his claim that Embarc SLO would make its surrounding properties undesirable for residential use or impact the historic significance of the neighborhood.
The city is currently working with Embarc’s applicant and Pyle to set a new date for the appeal hearing.
“The appeal does not provide sufficient grounds to overturn the Planning Commission’s approval of the cannabis dispensary,” staff said. “The project complies with all relevant zoning regulations, including required buffers from residential zones, public parks, and schools, as verified through detailed review by city staff.” Δ
This article appears in Jan 23 – Feb 2, 2025.
Why does the city require armed guards for cannabis stores but not liquor stores?