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Commercial Cannabis Business & Information

What you need to know about commercial cannabis

The Departments of Financial & Management Services (FMS) and Community Development (CDD) are responsible for administering the Rules and Regulations adopted by the Council for licensed commercial cannabis businesses within the City of Moreno Valley. FMS administers the application process, administers and coordinates the audit and inspection processes for licensed cannabis-related businesses while CDD enforces regulatory compliance of licensed businesses engaged in commercial cannabis activity.

On November 8, 2016, California voters passed The Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA) (Proposition 64) voter initiative to legalize cannabis in California. The full name is the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act.

In an attempt to consolidate all of the previous cannabis legislation, On June 27, 2017, Governor Brown signed into law the Medical and Adult Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (“MAUCRSA”) which consisted of legislation (SB94) intended to provide a comprehensive regulatory framework for the licensing, control and taxation of medical and adult-use cannabis related businesses in California. MAUCRSA expressly protects a City’s local licensing practices and zoning authority, and allows local governments to enact ordinances relative to allowing or prohibiting cannabis-related business and activities. The act also required compliance with any and all local requirements for cannabis-related operations as a condition of state licensure.

In response to the adoption of MAUCRSA, the City Council adopted Ordinance 926 on November 7, 2017, which added Chapter 5.05 of the Moreno Valley Municipal Code (MVMC) relative to setting rules for the establishment, operation and regulation of commercial cannabis activities and adopted Ordinance 932 on April 3, 2018, amending Sections 9.02.020 “permitted uses” and 9.15.030 “definitions” and added Section 9.09.290 establishing land use regulations for the operation of commercial cannabis and related activities. These Ordinances have been amended and revised since this time. Please review the Ordinance & Regulations section below.

On November 6, 2018, City of Moreno Valley voters approved Measure M, establishing a commercial cannabis activity tax. Measure M was promulgated in Ordinance 946, which was approved by Council on December 11, 2018.

Questions?

Visit our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page to learn more. If you have additional questions, email cannabispermit@moval.org.

Code Enforcement

Code Enforcement is the prevention, detection, investigation and enforcement of violations of statutes or ordinances regulating public health, safety, and welfare, public works, business activities and consumer protection, building standards, land-use, or municipal affairs.

Cannabis code violations can be made to Code Enforcement. Click Here to Report a Code Violation.