Cannabis Industry Tradeshow Seeks Special Permit

Cannabis industry business-to-business tradeshow wants to come to Cathedral City

CATHEDRAL CITY — CLTV8, LLC of Hollywood, Calif., is proposing to host a cannabis industry business-to-business tradeshow on Wednesday, Dec. 8 and Thursday, Dec. 9, but it needs a $600 special use permit to proceed.

The City Council will consider the special use  permit when it meets Wednesday,

The purpose of this 21-and-over industry-only trade show is to showcase and promote trade among licensed cannabis businesses across flower, concentrate, edible, topical, and accessory categories.

CLTV8 is entering its fourth year of hosting a similar Hall of Flowers (HOF) tradeshow in Santa Rosa, Calif.. Due to the regionality of the cannabis industry, the applicant would like to serve the Southern California market with a similar HOF event held in Cathedral City. If the event is a success, the applicant would like to make Cathedral City its permanent home.

The event would be held at the former Burlington Coat Factory building located at 35900 Date Palm Drive and run from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day.

Cannabis product samples may be purchased through a central dispensary located in the building. Purchases are limited to single-serving sample-sized products only. Each sample will be sold for $2. Bulk purchases are not allowed, and all Bureau of
Cannabis Control daily purchasing limits apply to all attendees. The applicant will be partnering with Cathedral City’s “The Vault” dispensary in order to utilize the Vault’s State dispensary license.

According to a staff report, the applicant has requested an on-site consumption area within a 56,000-square-foot walled-in area located immediately west of the Building’s main entrance. Pursuant to state requirements, the outdoor area will be surrounded by an 8-foot tall, screened chain link fence. This fence will block all views of the Outdoor Area from pedestrians and vehicles located outside of the event. In order to address any odors generated from outdoor cannabis consumption, the applicant has contracted with OMI Industries to provide an odor control system.

This is not the first time the applicant has sought a special use permit.

On Dec. 11, 2019 the City Council also voted to approve a local ordinance amendment allowing temporary cannabis events in Cathedral City with a Council-approved Special Use Permit. The ordinance became effective on Jan. 10, 2020. Later that evening on Dec. 11, 2019, the Council voted 5-0 to approve a special use permit allowing the Applicant to host a HOF event at the building on April 1st and 2nd, 2020. COVID-19 forced the applicant to cancel the April 2020 event.

Hall Of Flowers 2021 is a small business-to-business cannabis industry tradeshow event, hosted mid-week, Wednesday
Dec. and Thursday Dec. 9.

The applicant is working with Cathedral City cannabis businesses to both showcase and promote their
businesses.

While the Building is currently unoccupied, the Special Use Permit would require that a Temporary Occupancy Permit (“TOC”) for the Event be granted 30 days prior to the Event in the event a Conditional Use Permit has not yet received City approval. The building owner would be responsible for meeting all fire, police, planning, engineering and building and safety department requirements necessary for a TOC.

The building is located on Date Palm and Gerald Ford Drives, two of the City’s largest transportation corridors facilitating vehicular access to the site. The applicant hired BWG Event Consultants to create a traffic management plan to ensure all on-site and off-site circulation goes smoothly.

The applicant will provide and promote shuttle service to and from local hotels. The applicant will also provide a dedicated pick up and drop off area for ride sharing services (Uber, Lyft and taxis). Since there will be limited onsite parking, the applicant has secured an agreement with the City Urban Revitalization Corporation (CURC) to utilize CURC’s 13.5 acres (Off-site Parking) located on the southwest corner of Date Palm Drive and East Palm Canyon for the event.

The off-site parking is estimated to accommodate 1,755 vehicles.