The smoke has cleared on Sonoma’s long-running cannabis debate, and the City Council has made it official: no second dispensary, at least not yet. In a unanimous 5–0 vote, councilmembers hit the pause button on launching a new licensing round, choosing to roll with the one store they’ve already got.
High stakes, low payoff
City staff laid it out plain. Yes, Sonoma’s ordinance technically allows two storefront dispensaries. But flipping that switch means staff hours—lots of them. Updating ordinances, writing and running a competitive RFP, vetting applicants, shepherding land-use permits…all while the city is already knee-deep in the General Plan, housing, and climate work. Staff also ran the numbers: a new shop might puff up city coffers by $140,000 a year if every sale was truly new. But if most of those sales just migrate from SPARC, the lone existing store, the gain could shrink to a hazy $35,000. Not exactly a cash crop.
Public comment gets blunt
Speakers lined up to make their case. Advocates argued competition would cut prices, expand product choices—especially for medical users hunting specific tinctures—and keep locals from driving to Santa Rosa or sticking with the illicit market. One called the current setup a “monopoly” that leaves patients shortchanged.
Opponents countered that the market is already saturated, with fresh shops open in Glen Ellen and Schellville and plenty more a short drive away. Some warned a second dispensary could just split the pie and hurt the one business already rooted here. Others urged the council to keep staff focused on bigger priorities than more pot paperwork.
Council keeps it grounded
When it came time to deliberate, the council rolled in the same direction. Members agreed Sonoma isn’t starving for access, that one storefront is plenty for a town of 11,000, and that staff has higher-priority fires to fight. Vice Mayor Ron Wellander quipped that if the Springs community wants its own shop, that’s a job for the county. Mayor Patricia Farrar-Rivas summed it up neatly: “We’re not moving forward until it becomes a priority.”
Joint decision
So for now, SPARC remains the only licensed shop in Sonoma. Residents who want more options can head down the road or order delivery. The ordinance still allows two stores, but the council has left that second slot on the shelf until the industry—and community demand—makes a stronger case.
Bottom line: Sonoma isn’t closing the door, just keeping it half-open. Call it a wait-and-see approach. Until then, the city’s keeping its cannabis scene small, steady, and—at least for now—well within its limits.
