Santa Barbara County is asking the public to provide feedback on the criteria cannabis businesses must meet in order to open a retail storefront.

Six virtual community meetings will be held in July where people can weigh in and ask questions regarding the amended Cannabis Business License (Chapter 50) that regulates licensing for cannabis retail storefronts.

The Board of Supervisors adopted the ordinance amendment in January that established a merit-based criteria scoring system for those wishing to obtain a license for a cannabis retail storefront. The amendment became effective in February.

Chapter 50 limits the number of storefront retail licenses to no more than one in each of six community plan areas. The County is seeking the public’s feedback on the business application criteria and neighborhood compatibility portion of the retail storefront application.

Meetings were originally scheduled to begin in April but were postponed due to the pandemic.

To view the meeting schedule and get more information about how to participate and submit feedback, click here.