Screening process open for new Hayward commercial cannabis business applicants

HAYWARD, Calif., Oct. 11, 2024— The City of Hayward is accepting applications through Dec. 31, 2024, from individuals and entities interested in being screened for eligibility to operate a commercial cannabis business in the city.

The screening process is a pre-requisite to being invited to apply for a commercial cannabis business permit and the associated land-use approvals necessary to open a commercial cannabis business in Hayward—and begins with submission of a Preliminary Determination of Eligibility Application to the Planning Division of the City of Hayward Department of Development Services.

The screening process entails a criminal background check by the Hayward Police Department and City staff evaluation of the applicant’s proposed business location, business/operations plans and other criteria listed here in Section 6-14.12 of the City’s Municipal Code.

At this time, the City is accepting applications for the following commercial cannabis activities:

• Cultivation
• Delivery, including non-storefront retail sales
• Distribution
• Manufacturing
• Running a microbusiness
• Operating a testing laboratory

Applications for new storefront retail dispensaries are not currently being accepted; however, non-storefront retail operations, as part of a commercial cannabis delivery operation, or ancillary storefront retail, as part of a commercial cannabis microbusiness, will continue to be accepted until further notice. 

For more information about administration of the City’s commercial cannabis program—including regulatory definitions of cannabis business types—and to submit the Preliminary Determination of Eligibility Applications through the e-permitting system, go online here to the City of Hayward’s Commercial Cannabis Business Permit website. 

Any questions about this process from potential applicants should be forwarded in writing to Steve Kowalski, Senior Planner, at  Steve.Kowalski@hayward-ca.gov.