Encinitas forecasted that 25 cannabis businesses would seek to enter a city lottery allowing them to set up shop in town. Instead, it got 207 applications.
In order to review them all and decide who will be allowed to enter the lottery for the four allowable retail sales licenses, the city will drastically increase its payment to the consulting company reviewing the applications, the City Council unanimously decided Wednesday, March 16.
The council previously agreed to pay HdL Companies $98,650 for handling the cannabis business review process and helping the city create a cannabis sales tax. On Wednesday, March 16, the council increased that contract by $470,250, bringing the total contract to $568,900.
The increase will be “entirely offset” by the $1.3 million in cannabis business application fee revenue the city has received this fiscal year, a city staff report stresses.
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