Marijuana issues dominate Costa Mesa Planning Commission agenda

Cannabis-related companies will be front and center in Costa Mesa again Monday, when city planning commissioners will consider four applications for proposed marijuana manufacturing and distribution facilities.

Should the Planning Commission OK all the requests, it would bring the number of marijuana businesses with city-approved conditional use permits to 17.

First up will be Aureus LLC, which is looking to open in a 5,556-square-foot industrial space at 3505 Cadillac Ave., Building A. The company proposes to manufacture cannabis concentrates, particularly oils intended for use in vaporizer cartridges, according to city planning documents.

Next on the docket is SW Ventures LLC, which proposes to operate out of a 7,178-square-foot space at 3505 Cadillac, Suite F5. Workers at that facility would extract and purify oil from raw cannabis material that could then be used in vape cartridges or transported elsewhere for sale.

The third applicant, TEVA Labs, is seeking the commission’s blessing to open in a 7,543-square-foot space at 3595 Cadillac, Unit 103. Planning documents state the company would use extraction and refinement processes to create a variety of cannabis products, including crude oil, live resin and budder, a type of extract known for its creamy consistency.

Last at the plate will be Distillate Co. LLC, which proposes to use a 6,120-square-foot space at 3520 Cadillac, Suite E, for cannabis extraction, winterization and distillation to create oil that can be used in vape cartridges, creams and other topical solutions.

Under Measure X — which Costa Mesa voters approved in 2016 — businesses that research, test, process and manufacture some marijuana products are allowed to open in a specified area of the city north of South Coast Drive and west of Harbor Boulevard.

Even if all the businesses on Monday’s agenda receive their sought-after conditional use permits, that’s only one step toward opening their doors. They also would need the city’s approval on fire prevention, finance and building safety so they can finalize their local marijuana business permits, and they would need a Costa Mesa business license and state approval.

Monday’s meeting starts at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 77 Fair Drive.

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