Three vie for the one allowed cannabis retail location in Meyers

MEYERS, Calif. - Three businesses are trying to get awarded the single cannabis retail license being offered in the Meyers Community Center District. After the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors voted in May to add two Meyers Area Plan zoning districts that would allow cannabis business, the process began to award a license.

Besides sales allowed in the Community Center (pictured in red above), commercial distribution and commercial indoor cultivation of recreational adult-use cannabis can take place in the Meyers Industrial Zone (pictures in purple above).

During Wednesday's meeting of the Meyers Advisory Council (MAC), several members of the community and potential operators discussed the three locations that could be the new cannabis sales storefront.

Embarc Tahoe applied to operate at the current home of Altitude Fitness at 3008 US-50, Tahoe Honey Company applied to operate at the current Bob Dogs Pizza at 3160 US-50, and Charles Boldwyn applied to go in at the old site of a wedding chapel on the other side of the street from the other two applicants.

By submitting an application the cannabis businesses are required to have control of, or consent to use, the property they would be operating from.

Their applications are currently being reviewed and scored by a team within El Dorado County. The name of the business with potential to move through the conditional permit process will be released no later than October 1. After that there is still a long road, one that includes a CEQA review including public hearings.

Several attending the MAC Zoom meeting voiced their concern of a cannabis business going into their family-friendly gym, including the owner of the gym business. Embarc told them they are willing to work together and possibly operate both businesses in the current gym. That building is owned by Greg Daum who was also in the meeting.

Originally, no zoning in Meyers qualified for these activities as their Area Plan zoning didn't match up with the approved areas for El Dorado County's legal cannabis activities could fit.

The supervisors' vote in May also eliminated the 500-foot separation to a residential zoning district in Meyers for uses in the Meyers Community Center District, due to the mixed-use nature of the parcel structure in Meyers where residences are in close proximity to commercial land uses.

The Meyers cannabis businesses will not have to be included in the county-wide allocations of permits.

A commercial cannabis activity cannot be located within 1,500 feet from any school, school bus stop, place of worship, park, playground, child care center, youth-oriented facility, pre-school, public library, licensed drug or alcohol recovery facility, or licensed sober living facility.

At this time it is unknown if there are any interested parties looking at the commercial distribution and commercial indoor cultivation licenses.