Public hearing set to scrutinize proposed cannabis outlet in Winchester

Riverside County supervisors will convene a public hearing Tuesday to review plans and consider any complaints regarding proposed licenses for what would be the first legal cannabis retail outlet in Winchester.

CPR-Winchester is seeking to establish a dispensary at 28384 Winchester Road, near Taylor Street, just north of Diamond Valley Lake.

The entire facility would occupy a third of an acre, parking lot included, with sales and storage of products in a 900-square-foot log cabin- style building, according to the county Transportation & Land Management Agency.

The outlet would provide on-site marijuana distribution, as well as a mobile delivery service, available seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., TLMA said.

Officials said there would be 24-hour armed security at the location.

Under the proposed 10-year conditional use permit and development agreement, CPR-Winchester would be required to make a first-year public benefits payment to the county totaling $14,400. An ongoing annual payment of $57,600 would also be owed, increased 3% every year.

The payments are intended to offset the costs to the county of providing additional law enforcement, street maintenance and other services at the location.

The Planning Commission unanimously approved the proposal March 24 and forwarded it to the board for final authorization.

The board has additionally previously signed off on dispensaries and manufacturing facilities in the unincorporated communities of Bermuda Dunes, Corona, East Hemet, Green Acres, Highgrove, Lakeland Village, Mead Valley, Temescal Valley and Thousand Palms.

Earlier this month, supervisors debated whether to grant permits for what would have been the first regulated outdoor commercial grow in an unincorporated part of the county, specifically De Luz.

The proposal was rejected following a nearly three-hour hearing, during which virtually all of the 50-plus speakers denounced the concept for being too close to residences and recreational sites bordering Temecula.

The county’s 2018 Marijuana Comprehensive Regulatory Framework, codified under Ordinance No. 348, provides for steps that prospective businesses must take to be eligible for permits. Safety and health safeguards are part of the regulatory stipulations.

To date, the board has approved only indoor marijuana manufacturing and distribution outlets in unincorporated communities.

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