City officials are recommending the commission approve the permit after determining that the proposed dispensary “will not impair the integrity character of the community,” and that it won’t be “detrimental to the public health, safety or general welfare of the city.
Lindsay Schube, an attorney who practices cannabis law with the firm Gammage & Burnham, is listed as the applicant for the permit. She represents an individual who is going to purchase the property and lease it to a tenant to operate what could be the city’s first dispensary.
A dispensary in Surprise means an increase in sales taxes for the city, she said.
“The citizens of Surprise who do use this product, they’re already buying it, they’re already consuming it, they can get it delivered to their home from other dispensaries,” Schube said. “But the city of Surprise does not get the benefit of that sales tax.”
The city was unable to provide details by the deadline on the remittance of taxes from dispensaries and how much revenue it’s estimated to receive.
The company the prospective property owner has lined up to lease the site currently operates out of Phoenix, according to Schube, who was not authorized Tuesday afternoon to name the business.
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