DATE: December 16, 2025
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Development Services Director
SUBJECT
Title
Phenos Hayward: Proposal to Operate a Commercial Cannabis Retail Dispensary in a 14,928-Square-Foot Tenant Space at 21463 Foothill Boulevard (Assessor Parcel No. 414-0086-056-02) in the General Commercial (CG) Zoning District, Requiring Approval of Conditional Use Permit Application No. UP-25-0011 and a Finding that the Project is Categorically Exempt from the Provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Pursuant to Section 15301 of the CEQA Guidelines. Applicants/Operators: Esther Lopez and Angilbert Sarkis, Gream Enterprises, Inc. [DBA Phenos Hayward]; Property Owner: Foothill-Grove LLC.
End
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
That the City Council consider the Planning Commission’s September 25, 2025 recommendation to deny the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) and adopt a resolution approving the CUP subject to the conditions set forth in the resolution and finding the project to be categorically exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301.
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SUMMARY
The applicant is requesting approval of a CUP to operate a Commercial Cannabis Retail Dispensary in a vacant, 14,928-square-foot tenant space previously occupied by a Walgreens drugstore at 21463 Foothill Boulevard. The dispensary would be open seven days a week from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM and would offer cannabis and cannabis-based products to customers 21 years of age and older for recreational use, and 18 years of age and older for medicinal use, as allowed under State law. The project includes a robust security plan which includes the presence of two professionally licensed security guards on the premises during all business hours that has been reviewed and approved by the Hayward Police Department, which the applicant will be required to implement and adhere to at all times, and would include minor alterations to the interior and exterior of the subject tenant space.
One of the two co-applicants, Esther Lopez, was one of three operators selected by the City Council to operate a retail cannabis dispensary in 2018 and has been looking for a suitable location for several years. Ms. Lopez obtained previous approval of a CUP to operate a retail dispensary at 1147 B Street in 2020, but difficulties related to leasing arose between her and the owner of that property which were unable to be resolved, and the CUP ultimately expired. The Planning Commission considered her and her business partner’s request for the CUP at the subject location on September 25, 2025, and, after a lengthy public hearing in which several members of the public spoke, voted 5-1 to recommend denial to the Council.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment I Staff Report
Attachment II Draft Resolution for Approval
Attachment III Business & Operations Plan
Attachment IV Proposed Plans
Attachment V Correspondence in Opposition
Attachment VI Correspondence in Support
Attachment VII Applicants’ Response to Planning Commission Concerns