City Council approves first cannabis development agreement for South Lake Tahoe

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - During Tuesday's City Council meeting a development agreement with Redefining Organics, LLC was approved, making way for the first cannabis microbusiness since Tahoe Wellness was allowed to move operations from medical-use to adult-use cannabis.

Redefining Organics will operate at 1090 Industrial Avenue, South Lake Tahoe. The company bought a vacant building that has 27,586 feet of verified land coverage. They will not be doing retail sales. Their microbusiness will consist of growing in the approved 10,000 square feet of space inside, distribution, and extraction.

The distribution, cultivation and extraction operations will commence upon state licensure (three of the possible four possible types of microbusinesses). Full deployment of the operational plan including cultivation, extractions, and manufacturing will occur within less than 120 days from the signing of a development agreement with the City.

CEO and co-founder Oliver Starr said he hopes to be open by the beginning of 2020.

He will be adding several energy-efficient and safety features to the building. Starr said by the time they open they will be meeting 2023 energy requirements, have

During the prior Planning Commission meeting, some area business owners said they were concerned with safety and traffic. Starr bought the empty two-acre lot between the new business and Stor-Mor, his nearest neighbor. He said they'll be adding cameras, motion-detector lights, security fencing and other "hardening" features so current break-ins at the storage business could be reduced by his safety features. Since they will not be doing retails sales, traffic would be reduced compared to prior occupants. There will also be a gatehouse, said Starr.

All vehicles involved in the distribution side of things will pull completely into the building and doors will be closed as transactions are completed to increase safety.

"We’ve had a fantastic opportunity in working with Oliver Starr," said the City of South Lake Tahoe Director of Development Services Kevin Fabino.

Fabino also highlighted the community benefits Starr has proposed for the new business. In his agreement, Starr said each employee will volunteer at a community nonprofit for four hours monthly, and he will pay them for their time. He is estimating 25 people will work for Redefining Organics so there will be 100 volunteer hours provided by staff a month, or 1200 hours a year.

The company will also give away one percent of net profits through a grant program, along with the six percent tax given to the City.

“This is great that we are finally getting this going,” said SLT City Councilman Devin Middlebrook.

Tuesday was the first reading by title, and a second reading and final approval will be during the City Council meeting on Oct. 15. The final vote was 4-0. Councilman Cody Bass, the owner of Tahoe Wellness, was recused.