Burlingame OKs cannabis delivery

The Burlingame location will employ eight to 11 people with 10 delivery vehicles, and rely on an online ordering system. The business will not be marked with signs (per the city’s rules) and will be inside a larger office building on Old Bayshore Highway.

With countless delivery options already serving the Peninsula including Burlingame, the City Council had opted to allow the industry into the city citing the potential for increased tax revenue and decreased emissions from localizing delivery. The rules allow for up to four delivery businesses in the city, but ban retail storefronts.

Planning commissioners last week raised several ethical and safety concerns but ultimately approved the storefront with 6-1 vote. Chair Michael Gaul, who provided the dissenting vote, was joined by commissioners Audrey Tse and Sandy Comaroto in questioning the safety of the operation, which will require delivery drivers to carry the product down a hallway to their vehicles. Cannabis is still federally illegal, which requires businesses to operate mostly in cash.

But Assistant City Attorney Scott Spansail said little additional information on such logistics could be provided due to security concerns, and that the plan had been approved by the chief of police.

“I’m not sure we should be as worried about the security as long as the police have reviewed,” Commissioner John Schmid said, who noted the greater risk would likely be at the point of delivery.

Tse shared she was also concerned about easing access “not only to the young people but the legal adults who can purchase these products.” Comaroto said she was “always worried about the access to drugs” but that the commission should not pretend it wasn’t already “happening on the streets.”

Commissioner Sean Lowenthal, however, pointed to the existing delivery options serving the city, and the potential for cannabis to soon become federally legal.

“Simply not allowing this is not going to stop in any way shape or form the distribution, so I think we’d be a little remiss to focus on those points rather than the actual benefits, which I think are substantial tax revenue,” he said.

The city currently only has a flat rate business tax, but the City Council has discussed creating a special cannabis tax, something that would require voter approval. Neighboring cities with cannabis specific fees charge between 4% and 10% of gross receipts. Even a modest tax could net the city millions annually from a well-established operator.

Other cities in the county that have allowed cannabis retailers to varying extents include Brisbane, Pacifica, Redwood City, San Carlos, San Bruno and South San Francisco.

corey@smdailyjournal.com

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