|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
While the fate of America’s Finest Hemp Company remains uncertain months after it was forced to shutter due to changes in state law last year, the outcome of a discussion by the Danville Town Council last week signals the popular shop won’t be returning to downtown.
The council held a second study session Feb. 17 exploring what it would take to allow hemp retailers such as the former shop at 422 Hartz Ave. that first opened in 2021, serving as the town’s only hemp shop and as a shopping destination as downtown businesses began the journey of recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
America’s Finest Hemp Company has been closed since October, when a new state law went into effect classifying hemp products under the same umbrella as marijuana products – thereby subjecting hemp retailers to the same licensing requirements as marijuana dispensaries.
As it stands, Danville’s municipal code prohibits the operation of brick-and-mortar marijuana dispensaries and all commercial cannabis sales, allowing only for the delivery of medical marijuana as required by changes in state law that went into effect in 2024.
Danville’s rules appear unlikely to change any time soon.
While the Town Council’s study sessions consist of topics are set to be up for discussion only, with no formal vote outside of regular meetings, the conclusion by a majority of council members on Feb. 17 was to direct staff to take no further action on changing the town’s prohibitions on commercial cannabis, rather than to return with more information or a resolution to be considered at a regular meeting.
“I think what I hear from three of us … is to not go forward with allowing cannabis retailers in Danville,” Mayor Newell Arnerich said at the end of the nearly two-plus hour workshop. “So we’re giving that direction to staff at this point, and the caveat is unless something else changes or there’s some other opportunity that might change in the future.”
Arnerich had begun the study session earlier that evening by noting that while America’s Finest Hemp Company was the only business impacted by last year’s changes in state law, the discussions about allowing commercial cannabis sales in Danville was not specifically about that business or its owner.
“It’s not about an existing business – it’s not about anything other than changing the rules given state law,” Arnerich said.
However, more than 50 people attended the meeting in support of America’s Finest Hemp Company and operator Jeff Sutherland, a longtime Danville resident and business owner who continues to serve on the board for the Danville Area Chamber of Commerce.
“Newell, this is about Jeff,” Bob Hammer said during the public comment portion of the meeting. “I want to make sure that everybody understands the point that this is about Jeff, and his family, and the 50 years that this family’s been here, and the trust and dedication that these people have served.”
In addition to expressing support for Sutherland and his business, the speakers during the public comment period offered anecdotes, data and a wide range of arguments supporting the use of both hemp and cannabis, and offering of such products close to home.
It wasn’t the potential benefits of hemp and cannabis products that were up for debate, however, with all council members acknowledging their growing popularity and potential uses for a wide range of health conditions. It was instead the possibility for cannabis dispensaries to serve as what Arnerich described as an “attractive nuisance” that could threaten downtown Danville’s small-town character and status as the safest city in California, a title it recently regained this year.
“We get an ice cream store robbed for $500 and the whole damn neighborhood goes to hell,” Vice Mayor Robert Storer said. “I get 15 phone calls, I get 30 emails going, ‘What are you going to do? This town is in trouble. How can you stop crime?’ – put a cannabis store in town. See what that looks like.”
Storer and others on the council opposing retail cannabis storefronts said that while America’s Finest Hemp Company had been a valued member of the town’s business community and a welcome addition to the downtown retail roster, other marijuana dispensaries that would be permitted should cannabis retail be allowed could be a different story.
“It’s the antithesis of our community,” Arnerich said. “It’s not the same to have those type of businesses. Are there places for them? Yeah, there are. And it’s a different business to be in. There’s a lot of comp as we’re seeing by the number of calls from those retailers, so I think we ought to be honest and transparent. So if we’re not really going to do this, let’s say no, not at this time, and move on.”
While Storer and Councilmember Karen Stepper ultimately agreed with that sentiment, councilmembers Renee Morgan and Mark Belotz said they wanted to continue exploring options, and that they supported changes to the town’s municipal code to allow for retail cannabis under the proper regulations and safety processes.
“I think it’s important for us to take a look at to this as a council and as staff and to really see and dig into what the reality is of that, not to Jeff Sutherland, not for the hemp shop, not for any of that, but because laws are changing, things are changing, and we should as a council members make those decisions based on factual information that’s presented before us, and not start painting this picture of doom and gloom,” Morgan said.
“It just to me is not the way governments should work. We should give people the opportunity for us to make those decisions,” she added.
As Morgan had emphasized earlier in the meeting, that evening’s discussion was a study session with no formal decisions on the table for a council vote. However, at the end of the session, the direction from a council majority to staff was that the town would not be further exploring changes to the status quo.
“There’s three of us that do not want to go forward under these circumstances,” Arnerich said. “If it came up in a different way, and we had the rights – as we’ve all said, if there was a way to reopen the same kind of store, we’d figure it out.”
Sutherland told DanvilleSanRamon that he was disappointed not just with the outcome of the meeting, but with the study session process and the apparent finality of the conclusion that evening.
“We walked out of there and we were like what the hell just happened,” Sutherland said last week. “For one, it wasn’t a study session by any means – that format was just terrible, and it was very clear that there was a predetermined outcome of that meeting. It was a dirty play on the town’s part.”
Sutherland said that he would be exploring further options with his legal counsel, but that it remained unclear when, if, and how his business might ever be able to reopen its storefront.
In the meantime, the site at 422 Hartz Ave. is serving as the temporary home for the clothing boutique Moda Mi after the devastation of its original site on Prospect Avenue was hit by a fire last fall. Over the holiday shopping season, Sutherland had operated a sports memorabilia pop-up out of the storefront.
While the future for both businesses remains unclear, Sutherland said that Moda Mi had signed a lease with him guaranteeing the space for at least six months. He added that the boutique could be welcome to stay longer if the hemp shop is unable to reopen, but that next steps remain to be seen.
SRVUSD board approves more teacher layoffs; world language program hit heavilyFebruary 26, 2026 9:57 am