WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville Planning Commission will review plans for two proposed cannabis dispensaries at its July 13 meeting.
Bryce Berryessa of Berryessa Holdings, LLC, and Jason Sweatt of Santa Cruz Veterans Alliance, Inc. are both expected to present to the commission at its monthly virtual meeting.
Berryessa Holding’s dispensary would be located at 11 Hangar Way, previously the home of Wargin Wines, which recently moved to Gilroy. Santa Cruz Veterans Alliance, meanwhile, plans to establish a dispensary at 274 Kearney St., across from Watsonville Coast Produce’s headquarters.
Approval of either would mark the city’s first retail cannabis business.
Both proposed businesses already have ongoing cannabis-related operations at their respective locations.
The Watsonville City Council last June OK’d wholesale changes to its cannabis rules, allowing three retail businesses, and increasing the number of licenses in cultivation (6), manufacturing (15), distribution (2), and delivery (7), plus unlimited testing licenses.
Berryessa Holdings and Santa Cruz Veterans Alliance placed 1-2 in the city’s pre-application process conducted earlier this year, beating out 13 other dispensaries hoping to land in Watsonville’s growing cannabis industry.
Berryessa is a member of the Santa Cruz County Business Council, and also the owner and co-founder of Treehouse in Soquel and The Hook Outlet in Santa Cruz, the latter of which prides itself on offering the “most affordable cannabis in Santa Cruz County,” according to its website.
To see the Planning Commission’s complete agenda, visit cityofwatsonville.org.
