{"id":9372,"date":"2021-05-12T12:30:22","date_gmt":"2021-05-12T12:30:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/?p=4564836"},"modified":"2021-05-12T12:30:22","modified_gmt":"2021-05-12T12:30:22","slug":"denver-to-issue-new-cannabis-business-licenses-but-not-in-some-neighborhoods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/denver-to-issue-new-cannabis-business-licenses-but-not-in-some-neighborhoods\/","title":{"rendered":"Denver to issue new cannabis business licenses but not in some neighborhoods"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/denver-to-issue-new-cannabis-business-licenses-but-not-in-some-neighborhoods\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<div><img src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/denver-to-issue-new-cannabis-business-licenses-but-not-in-some-neighborhoods.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.denverpost.com\/2021\/05\/12\/denver-new-cannabis-business-licenses\/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+dp-news-marijuana+%28Denver+Post%3A+News%3A+Marijuana%29&amp;utm_content=Google+UK#comments-anchor\"><span class=\"spot-im-replies-count\" data-post-id=\"4564836\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Denver begins accepting new applications for cannabis business licenses next month \u2014 but not for certain neighborhoods.<\/p>\n<p>The city\u2019s Department of Excise and Licenses on Friday informed marijuana industry insiders of neighborhoods that the city feels already have an \u201cundue concentration\u201d of marijuana stores and\/or cultivation facilities.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"related right\" \/>\n<p>Applications won\u2019t be accepted for any neighborhoods that are considered to have an undue concentration, the city said in an email.<\/p>\n<p>Three neighborhoods \u2014 Overland, Elyria Swansea and Northeast Park Hill \u2014 appear on both lists.<\/p>\n<p>Next month will be the first time since 2016 the city accepts applications for new locations.<\/p>\n<p>The pause for certain neighborhoods isn\u2019t permanent.<\/p>\n<p>The city will update the list annually, and some neighborhoods could fall off, department spokesman Eric Escudero said. The rule is that new licenses will be barred for the top five neighborhoods, including ties.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the neighborhoods barred from new retail stores, both medical and recreational, for the next year, and the number of existing locations:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Overland \u2013 14<\/li>\n<li>Northeast Park Hill \u2013 11<\/li>\n<li>Baker \u2013 10<\/li>\n<li>Elyria Swansea \u2013 10<\/li>\n<li>Five Points \u2013 10<\/li>\n<li>Valverde \u2013 10<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The neighborhoods barred from new marijuana cultivation facilities, and the number of existing locations:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Montbello \u2013 32<\/li>\n<li>Northeast Park Hill \u2013 32<\/li>\n<li>Elyria Swansea \u2013 29<\/li>\n<li>Overland \u2013 23<\/li>\n<li>College View-South Platte \u2013 18<\/li>\n<li>Lincoln Park \u2013 18<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>New marijuana businesses also still have to abide by proximity restrictions, which require they be at least 1,000 feet from schools, childcare establishments, alcohol or drug treatment facilities, city-owned rec centers or city-owned outdoor pools.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLimiting density of marijuana businesses is a successful tactic Denver has taken to help prevent youth marijuana use,\u201d Escudero wrote in an email, citing multiple studies. \u201cWhen it becomes commonplace for youth to see marijuana businesses, their perception of risk goes down and they are more likely to use marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another limiting factor for new cannabis locations will be what the city is calling \u201csocial equity\u201d qualification. The marijuana licensing overhaul from April included a rule that, for the next six years, the only new licenses that will be approved \u2014 for delivery, hospitality, store and grow locations \u2014 will be those that come from applicants that are majority-owned by qualifiers for the city\u2019s \u201csocial equity\u201d list.<\/p>\n<p>The idea, Escudero said, is to address the negative effects the so-called \u201cwar on drugs\u201d had on minority communities, as well as the fact that Denver\u2019s cannabis industry is overwhelmingly white-controlled.<\/p>\n<p>A \u201csocial equity\u201d applicant must meet the following criteria:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Must be a Colorado resident<\/li>\n<li>Must not have previously had a marijuana business that was subject to revocation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>One of the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The applicant resided for at least 15 years between the years 1980 and 2010 in a census tract designated by the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade as an Opportunity Zone or designated as a \u201cDisproportionate Impacted Area\u201d<\/li>\n<li>The applicant or applicant\u2019s parent, legal guardian, sibling, spouse, child, or minor in their guardianship was arrested for a marijuana offense, convicted of a marijuana offense, or was subject to civil asset forfeiture related to a marijuana investigation<\/li>\n<li>The applicant\u2019s household income in a year prior to application did not exceed 50 percent of the state median income as measured by the number of people who reside in the applicant\u2019s household<\/li>\n<li>The social equity applicant must own at least 51 percent of the business<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The city is allowing for what it calls \u201caccelerators\u201d to partner with individuals who meet the above qualification with a minority stake in the applicant\u2019s business.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><\/div>\n<p>Denver begins accepting new applications for cannabis business licenses next month &#8212; but not for certain neighborhoods. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5062,52,8333,376,6813,77,5577,9,6882,5019,1,3,61,1736],"tags":[5063,2632,8334,2954,6818,2655,5580,6883,5022],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9372"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9372"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9372\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}