Council approves resolution establishing fees for cannabis permits

Paso Robles residents woke up Wednesday to a slate of decisions from Tuesday night's City Council meeting that will shape everything from how cannabis delivery businesses operate in town to how long you sit at a red light on Spring Street.

The council, meeting in the Norris Meeting Room at Centennial Park, took action on three fronts: it approved a resolution establishing fees for the city's cannabis regulatory permit program, unanimously adopted the city's first Citywide Traffic Signal Master Plan, and rejected a staff proposal that would have changed how the council interviews applicants for its advisory bodies.

Cannabis delivery permits get a price tag

The headline item of the night was the council's approval of a new fee schedule for cannabis regulatory permits covering non-storefront cannabis businesses — operations that provide medical and adult-use cannabis deliveries from locations within city limits.

Under the resolution, an initial permit application will cost $5,500, with annual renewals priced at $4,600. Transferring a permit to a new owner will run $5,500, and businesses will face an $11,000 financial audit every three years. Appeals and revocation-related activities won't carry flat fees; they'll be charged based on time and materials. Background checks will be billed separately by the city's consultant, depending on the number of owners and employees involved.

City officials said the fees are designed to be cost-recovery measures rather than revenue generators — covering the expenses of city staff and a specialized consultant who will administer the program, review applications, conduct inspections and monitor compliance.

The fees took effect immediately upon adoption, and they'll be adjusted annually based on the Consumer Price Index to keep pace with inflation. Officials emphasized the charges are separate from existing city obligations that cannabis businesses already face, including the city's Cannabis Business Tax and standard business license fees.

For perspective, the fee structure means a delivery operator looking to set up shop in Paso Robles would need to budget more than $10,000 in permit costs in year one — before accounting for the city's cannabis business tax or state licensing fees.

A 10-year roadmap for the city's traffic signals

In what may ultimately be the meeting's most consequential vote for everyday drivers, the council unanimously adopted the city's first Citywide Traffic Signal Master Plan — a decade-long framework for upgrading Paso Robles' 29 signalized intersections.

Staff told council members the current system is largely reactive, operating intersection by intersection with no centralized way to monitor signals remotely. Detection equipment at several locations is outdated, according to the Paso Robles Daily News.

The plan establishes a clear sequence of priorities: basic repairs, updated signal timing and improved pedestrian crossings come first, followed by coordinated signal corridors, expanded fiber and wireless communications, and eventually a full citywide traffic management system.

The full vision carries a $16.5 million price tag over 10 years — a figure likely to catch the eye of taxpayers. But city staff were careful to note that adopting the plan doesn't commit Paso Robles to spending that money or building any specific project. It's a planning framework, and individual projects will still need separate funding and approval, likely through future city budgets, grants and development fees.

The master plan builds on the city's 2021 Local Roadway Safety Plan, which identified high-collision intersections needing attention. With adoption now in place, residents can expect to see the earliest phase — repairs, timing updates and pedestrian improvements — surface in future budget cycles as funding allows.

Council keeps full-body interviews for advisory applicants

The night's liveliest policy debate may have been the one over process rather than potholes or permits.

Council members rejected a staff proposal to create a standing committee — made up of two council members plus the relevant department director and the city clerk — to handle interviews of applicants for the city's advisory bodies. Instead, they voted to keep the current system in which the full, seven-member council interviews every applicant.

The practical tradeoff is scheduling. Staff had pitched the committee as a way to ease logistical pressure and cut down on the number of special meetings required for recruitment cycles. They also cited a new state law, SB 707, which requires all council meetings — including special meetings — to be livestreamed beginning this year, arguing that livestreamed interviews could make some applicants uncomfortable.

Council members weren't persuaded, and they directed staff to focus instead on scheduling so the entire council can be present for interviews going forward. The decision means future advisory body recruitments will continue to require special meetings scheduled around all council members' availability.

What's next

The cannabis permit fees are already in effect, meaning any non-storefront delivery business operating or planning to operate in Paso Robles will now pay the new fee schedule. The annual CPI adjustments mean those numbers could tick upward each year.

The traffic signal plan, meanwhile, moves from paper to priorities — watch for individual intersection projects to appear in upcoming budget discussions and grant applications. And the next round of advisory body recruitment will proceed much as it has, with the full council conducting interviews, livestream and all.

Residents who want to dig into the details can review the full meeting agenda with linked staff reports or watch the complete meeting, which was streamed on YouTube through the original outlet's coverage.

This story draws on reporting from the [Paso Robles Daily News](https://pasoroblesdailynews.com/council-approves-resolution-establishing-fees-for-cannabis-regulatory-permits/223708/), published Sept. 17, 2026.