Cathedral City is implementing stricter regulations for cannabis businesses in response to the abundance of odor complaints from residents. The city had a spike in complaints starting in April 2024, which continued into 2025. Residents from an RV park in Cathedral City called Outdoor Resort Palm Springs have been the most outspoken about the smell of cannabis coming from neighboring Cat City Cannabis Co., which is also known as C4.
A large number of Outdoor Resort Palm Springs residents attended city council meetings to demand Cathedral City do something about the smell. In January 2025, the council approved a 45-day moratorium on new cannabis licenses and conditional use permits. It later extended the moratorium into January 2026.
In search of a permanent solution, the council unanimously approved an ordinance last week that amended regulations on the city's 59 licensed cannabis businesses, 14 of which are reported to be not operating. It will go into effect in late November if the council approves the ordinance's second reading on Oct. 22.
Cathedral City had 38 odor complaints in the period of January to March 2024 and 904 in the period of April to December 2024. Residents submitted most of them in the last two months of the year — 220 in November and 501 in December.
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