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Santa Cruz County, California, Reduces Cannabis License Processing Time by 75%
90%
of questions answered online
75%
faster issuance time
46%
increase in business tax revenue
With a booming local cannabis industry and inherently complex licensing process, Santa Cruz County was on the hunt for a licensing solution that would fool-proof the cannabis licensing process for applicants, and make the review, inspection, and renewal process easier for staff.
Clariti Launch was able to check every box.
Challenges
Santa Cruz County has had a commercial cannabis industry for decades. As legalization occurred, there was pressure from the emerging legal market to improve the licensing process and provide a better experience for applicants. But having never interacted with cannabis regulations and licenses before, many businesses were unprepared. The cannabis licensing process can be extremely complicated, involving dozens of separate forms, approvals, and zoning checks.
As a result, staff were spending a significant amount of time educating and assisting companies on the process and meeting with the same customers over and over again when they made mistakes. In addition, staff were burdened with all of the renewal process paperwork and needed more effective tools for communication, renewal submissions and payments.
Implementation & Improvements
Staff worked with Clariti to develop a parcel eligibility tool and a guided application process to walk potential applicants through a decision-tree based on their specific business address. By simply entering an address, applicants can receive a preliminary report of the cannabis operations permitted on the parcel.
This allows applicants to get questions answered instantly and provides them with key information up front, significantly reducing inquiries from customers and the number of incomplete applications. When ready to start the application, all required steps (from filling out forms to paying fees) are completed directly in Clariti and submitted to staff for review.
"Clariti Launch improved our ability to better serve our customers. It made the process of obtaining a non-retail license clearer, the ability to understand what could be permitted on a parcel more transparent and the submission of an application more streamlined.”
Melodye Serino
Deputy County Administrative Officer
Results
-
Less time spent answering questions
90% of questions about cannabis eligibility can be automatically addressed using the county’s online guide. -
Businesses receive licenses and are operational at least 75% faster than before
Average time for a cannabis business to become operational decreased from 1-2 years to 2.5 months. -
Clariti aids the county in increasing cannabis business tax revenue
After one fiscal year, cannabis business tax revenue increased by 46% (1.97 million), exceeding projections by over $1 million.