City Council

10.8\nConsideration of Ordinance No. 957 to Authorize a\nDevelopment Agreement by and between the City of Bell\nGardens, Frank Aguirre Jr., and Eastern Ave Holdings, LLC\nRelating to the Property Located at 7821 Eastern Avenue in\nthe City of Bell Gardens\nRECOMMENDATION: It is staff’s recommendation that the City\nCouncil waive full reading and adopt Ordinance No. 957 to approve\nthe proposed Development Agreement (DA) No. 2023-073 for a\ncannabis retail storefront at 7821 Eastern Avenue.\nCONCLUSION: If approved, Ordinance No. 957 would become\neffective 30 calendar days after approval, in addition, within 60\ncalendar days the operator and property owner must execute the\nagreement, and the operator must provide proof of insurance and\nsubmit the initial Annual Community Benefits payment of One\nHundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000) to effectuate the benefits\nconferred by the development agreement. The development\nagreement would ensure vested development rights in exchange for\ncommunity benefits dedicated to revenue for youth programs,\nhousing and homelessness issues, and other discretionary items.\nTherefore, staff recommends that the City Council conduct a second\nreading of Ordinance No. 957 and adopt the ordinance, which would\npermit a cannabis retail use at the Subject Site for an initial five (5)year term, subject to an option to extend the term for an additional\nfive (5) years, for a total ten (10)-year term.\nFISCAL IMPACT: If Ordinance No. 957 is approved, the Applicant\nwould be required to make an up-front payment of $100,000 within\n60 calendar days upon the effective date of the DA and renew the\ncontribution annually following the execution of the DA every\nJanuary (Annual Community Benefit Fees). The Applicant would also\nbe required to make quarterly contributions equal to seven percent\n(7%) of gross receipts for the preceding quarter (Quarterly\nCommunity Benefits Fees). Pursuant to the DA terms, 80 percent\n(80%) of these funds would be dedicated to the City’s youth and\neducational programming and the City’s housing programs. The DA\nalso provides additional community benefits for the City’s youth, as\ndescribed in greater detail below (Annual Youth-Specific Benefits\nFees):\n1. $5,000 annual contribution to the City for the purpose of\nfunding academic scholarships for City’s youth residents;\n2. $10,000 annual contribution to the City’s Recreation and\nCommunity Services Department to fund youth sports\nprogramming; and\n3. $10,000 annual contribution to City’s Recreation and\nCommunity Services Department for the purpose of\nsubsidizing the cost of youth swimming lessons and other\nyouth programming costs at the John Anson Ford Park\nRegional Aquatics Center, or if not in operation, for funding\nyouth sports programming.\nThe mechanisms of distribution to be determined by the City to\nensure their equitable distribution.\nUnder the DA, the Applicant would also be responsible for the cost of\nstaff time spent on the negotiation and preparation of a development\nagreement and monitoring activities to ensure compliance with the\nDA, CUP, BGMC, and other applicable laws and regulations.\nATTACHMENTS:\nExhibit 1 - Ordinance No. 957 -(Development Agreement No. 2023073) Exhibit 2 - Development Agreement No. 2023-073\nExhibit 3 - May 12, 2025, City Council Agenda Report and Exhibits\nExhibit 4 - April 17, 2025, Planning Commission Staff Report and\nExhibits