The Pacific Grove City Council Chamber was quiet with anticipation, as City Clerk Sandra Kandell turned the crank on a bin holding 10 balls representing each applicant for the city’s lone retail cannabis license on Monday, June 15. She picked the first ball and announced the winner: OTC Pacific Grove, LLC, representing the chain Off the Charts.
The room of about 20 people remained silent, save for a few heavy sighs. The very thing some people complained to the P.G. City Council about had come true: Eight of the 10 applications were all linked to Off the Charts, a Costa Mesa-based chain retailer with over 30 California locations including one in Monterey, giving the company what critics alleged was an unfair advantage.
The P.G. City Council debated the process and delayed the lottery originally scheduled for March 30. On May 20, councilmembers voted 5-0 to proceed using the process developed with the assistance of consultant HdL, after a legal expert advised them it was legally defensible.
The two other applicants were NUG Pacific Grove, a chain co-founded by P.G. resident Nico Enea, and Embarc Dispensary, a chain applying under the name Pacific Grove Responsible and Compliant Retail.
Enea, who has been working for six years to get a store opened in his hometown, said the company is reserving its right to bring a future legal action, “given the failure of staff to bring forward a fair, transparent and equitable process.”
OTC must file for permits for its proposed location, 1157 Forest Ave., units B and C. If it fails to get approval, another applicant will have a chance to apply for the permit.