Eight of 10 companies vying for a single P.G. cannabis license are linked to one source.

When Pacific Grove officials announced the 10 companies vying for a single retail cannabis license in October, it was unclear who was behind each of the limited liability corporations applying in hopes of gaining entry to a lottery that would choose the winning applicant. Eight of the companies were represented by a single agent, Sean Maddocks, and when he was asked the names of each of his clients, he declined to share them.

It turns out the eight are likely only one. The attorney for a neighbor to the proposed store at 1157 Forest Ave., units B and C – located to the side of front-facing businesses of the building that include Pizza My Way, across the street from Trader Joe’s – sent a formal objection to the city on Jan. 9, alleging that representatives of the company, Off the Charts, or OTC, submitted all eight applications. OTC currently operates a store in Monterey and 30 other California locations.

“In substance, this appears to be ‘permit stacking’,” said Amara L. Morrison, attorney with Fennemore LLP, an Arizona-based law firm. She defined permit stacking as one entity, or coordinated affiliates, submitting multiple applications to obtain multiple lottery entries, increasing the company’s odds of winning a license.

Morrison, representing Munir Yonan Properties, which owns commercial property next door at 1169 Forest Ave., requested that the city take “immediate corrective action to protect the integrity of the process” before the lottery takes place. Cannabis retailer NUG has applied for a license at Munir Yonan’s property.

The eight applications were essentially the same, Morrison contended, the only distinction being who was listed as owner. The owners of four of the LLCs that applied are all members of the Yousif family, which owns and operates OTC. OTC’s CEO/founder, Norman Yousif, applied under the name OTC Pacific Grove LLC. Morrison claims three of the remaining four are current OTC employees, with the eighth application filed by Maddocks, OTC’s legal counsel.

Anthony Davi Jr. owns 1157 Forest Ave. and says he was told by cannabis companies interested in his building that they were told they could file multiple applications for one location.

“It makes a lot of sense,” Davi says, otherwise completing an application – the cost can be anywhere between $7,000 to $20,000 – is akin to gambling. “It’s kind of like going to a casino. You’re going to see if they win or not,” he says. (Another cannabis retailer, Embarc, is approved to compete in the lottery using Davi’s location.)

Davi’s spot is one of seven locations within the Forest Hill and Sunset District commercial zones approved by the city where cannabis sales are allowed, due to the city’s small size and 1,000-foot buffer zones around schools, daycares, parks and the P.G. Youth Center. Davi advertised the building and received dozens of calls from interested cannabis companies.

P.G. City Manager Matt Mogensen says they are continuing the process for the moment and will announce a time for the lottery at a later date.