TimesOC: Commission OKs first standalone pot delivery service in Costa Mesa
Good morning. It’s Wednesday, April 13. I’m Carol Cormaci, bringing you today’s TimesOC newsletter with the latest roundup of news and events.
Costa Mesa city officials have been moving apace since voters in the fall of 2020 enthusiastically supported Measure Q, a move to legalize retail sales and delivery of cannabis within city limits. Six months after the measure passed, the Costa Mesa City Council adopted legislation to regulate such businesses. A fixed area dubbed the “Green Zone” has been established for the cannabis merchants.
On Monday the Planning Commission took the locally historic step of approving the first conditional use permit sought by a standalone company, Winter Greens, to deliver cannabis products from a non-storefront location in the Green Zone, according to a report by my colleague Sara Cardine.
As Cardine notes, seven permits had previously been granted to large operations involved in industrial-level manufacturing, distribution and processing of cannabis products in the zone, but Winter Greens is the first applicant of dozens lined up to secure a CUP that will allow them to take the final steps required to secure a business permit and begin deliveries.
“This is going to be our first, and it’s going to be interesting to see how it moves forward,” Commissioner Diane Russell said of the proposal submitted by Costa Mesa attorney Todd Winter.
Winter Greens will operate daily, serving customers who have registered before ordering, Cardine reports. To keep no more than $5,000 in cash and merchandise in the car at one time, an advanced point-of-sale system will allow drivers to deliver up to $2,000 in preplaced orders and carry an additional $3,000 of product customers can order while the vehicle is en route.
While the chairman of the Planning Commission, Byron de Arakal expressed some concern about several delivery cars “roaming around Costa Mesa with a ton of loot in them,” he joined his commission colleagues in a unanimous vote approving Winter’s permit, with some conditions.
“I think you’re the perfect candidate to kind of kick us off,” de Arakal told Winter. “I look forward to your success here in Costa Mesa.”
MORE NEWS
— A recent request to shoot scenes for a feature-length film at Newport Beach’s iconic Balboa Fun Zone that required temporary closure of the family entertainment center has some business owners calling for edits to the city’s film ordinance. Cardine covered that story, too.
— Owners of businesses lining 4th Street in downtown Santa Ana where OC Streetcar construction is underway showed up at an Orange County Transportation Authority Board of Directors meeting this week to air grievances, including their loss of income, since the Jan. 31 closure of segments of the street to allow for the work. Reporter Gabriel San Román explains in his coverage of the meeting that the merchants asked for assistance and leveled claims that blatant discrimination was afoot since the business district is heavily Latino.
— Ex-baseball player Wayne Nix, 45, of Newport Coast, and Edon Kagasoff, 44, of Lake Forest, both entered guilty pleas Monday to a federal charge of conspiring to run an illegal gambling operation, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Nix is scheduled to be sentenced July 20 and Kagasoff will be sentenced one week later at the downtown Los Angeles courthouse.
LIFE & LEISURE
— Artist Elizabeth Turk and Erik Thienes, head of photography and video at ET Projects, have found a new frontier to not only create art but to involve the public in their pandemic-inspired effort dubbed “Look Up.” Children who took part in a recent art session at the Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach were filmed, and the public will be able to view the results free at the Laguna Art Museum beginning this Saturday and running through June 9.
— The annual Beeper Egg Hunt, organized by the nonprofit Beyond Blindness and held at Newport Dunes last Saturday, featured brightly colored plastic eggs equipped with special beepers laid out among smaller, candy-filled plastic eggs for visually impaired and blind children. The heroes of the day were members of the O.C. Sheriff’s Department’s bomb squad, who outfitted the eggs with the beepers.
— Morgan Smith, in his first year as Huntington Beach’s Marina High School principal, has been named the state Secondary Principal of the Year by the Assn. of California School Administrators.
SPORTS
— O.C. native and former Cal State Fullerton standout Michael Lorenzen took the Angel Stadium mound for his homecoming game Monday night, after spending the last six seasons as a reliever for the Cincinnati Reds. The 30-year-old was dominant in the Angels’ 6-2 win over the Miami Marlins, giving up one run and two hits in six innings, striking out seven and walking none.
— Corona del Mar High School senior Jason Plumb placed fourth in the boys’ long jump Saturday at the Arcadia Invitational, which drew the best high school track and field athletes from across the nation. Plumb produced a new personal record of 23 feet, 5¼ inches to lead the area’s performances. You can find Andrew Turner’s full report on how local schools fared in the event here.
STAY IN TOUCH
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