§ 7-1406. DEFINITIONS.

The following words and phrases shall have the meanings set forth below when used in this Article:

(a)

"Business" shall include all activities engaged in or caused to be engaged in within the City, including any commercial or industrial enterprise, trade, profession, occupation, vocation, or livelihood, whether or not carried on for gain or profit, but shall not include the services rendered by an employee to his or her employer.

(b)

"Cannabis" means all parts of the Cannabis sativa Linnaeus, Cannabis indica, or Cannabis ruderalis, whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin, whether crude or purified, extracted from any part of the plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant, its seeds, or resin. It also means the separated resin, whether crude or purified, obtained from cannabis. It does not include the mature stalks of the plant, fiber produced from the stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds of the plant, any other compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the mature stalks (except the resin extracted therefrom), fiber, oil, or cake, the sterilized seed of the plant which is incapable of germination, or "industrial hemp" as defined by Section 11018.5 of the Health and Safety Code.

(c)

"Cannabis product" means raw cannabis that has been transformed into a concentrate, an edible product, or a topical product. It also means marijuana products as defined by Section 11018.1 of the California Health and Safety Code and is not limited to medical cannabis products.

(d)

"Canopy" means all areas occupied by any portion of a cannabis plant whether contiguous or noncontiguous on any one site. When plants occupy multiple horizontal planes (as when plants are placed on shelving above other plants) each plane shall be counted as a separate canopy area.

(e)

"Cannabis Business" means any business activity involving cannabis, including but not limited to cultivating, transporting, distributing, manufacturing, compounding, converting, processing, preparing, storing, packaging, delivering, testing, dispensing, retailing and wholesaling of cannabis, of cannabis products or of ancillary products and accessories, whether or not carried on for gain or profit.

(f)

"Cannabis Business License Tax" means the tax due pursuant to this Article for engaging in Cannabis Business in the City.

(g)

"Commercial cannabis cultivation" means cultivation in the course of conducting a Cannabis Business.

(h)

"City permit" means a commercial cannabis business permit issued by the City to a person to authorize that person to operate or engage in a commercial cannabis activity pursuant to Chapter 9, Article 33, as may be amended.

(i)

"Cultivation" means any activity involving the planting, growing, harvesting, drying, curing, grading, or trimming of cannabis and includes, but is not limited to, the operation of a nursery.

(j)

"Employee" means each and every person engaged in the operation or conduct of any business, whether as owner, member of the owner's family, partner, associate, agent, manager or solicitor, and each and every other person employed or working in such business for a wage, salary, commission, barter or any other form of compensation.

(k)

"Engaged in business as a Cannabis Business" means the commencing, conducting, operating, managing or carrying on of a Cannabis Business, whether done as owner, or by means of an officer, agent, manager, employee, or otherwise, whether operating from a fixed location in the City or coming into the City from an outside location to engage in such activities. A person shall be deemed engaged in business within the City if:

1.

Such person or person's employee maintains a fixed place of business within the City for the benefit or partial benefit of such person;

2.

Such person or person's employee owns or leases real property within the City for business purposes;

3.

Such person or person's employee regularly maintains a stock of tangible personal property in the City for sale in the ordinary course of business;

4.

Such person or person's employee regularly conducts solicitation of business within the City; or

5.

Such person or person's employee performs work or renders services in the City.

The foregoing specified activities shall not be a limitation on the meaning of "engaged in business."

(l)

"Gross receipts" shall include the total of amounts actually received from sales and the total of amounts actually received for the performance of any act or service, of whatever nature it may be, for which a charge is made or credit allowed, whether or not such act or service is done as a part of or in connection with the sale of materials, goods, wares, or merchandise. Included in "gross receipts" shall be all receipts, cash, credits and property of any kind or nature, without any deduction therefrom on account of the cost of the property sold, the cost of the materials used, labor or service costs, interest paid or payable, or losses, or other expense whatsoever. Excluded from "gross receipts" shall be the following:

1.

Cash discounts allowed and taken on sales.

2.

Any tax collected from the consumer or purchaser and which is separately stated at time of sale.

3.

Such part of the sale price of property returned by purchasers upon rescission of the contract of sale as is refunded either in cash or by credit.

4.

Amounts collected for others where the business is acting as an agent or trustee to the extent that such amounts are paid to those for whom collected, provided the agent or trustee has furnished the Director with the names and addresses of the others and the amounts paid to them.

5.

Receipts of refundable deposits, except that refundable deposits forfeited and taken into income of the business shall not be excluded.

6.

Retail sales of t-shirts, sweaters, hats, stickers, key chains, bags, books, posters or other personal tangible property which the Controller has excluded in writing by issuing an administrative ruling per Section 7-1407 shall not be subject to the cannabis business license tax under this Article. However, any retail sales not subject to this Article as a result of the administrative ruling shall be subject to the appropriate business tax or fee under Chapter 7, Article 12 or any other law as determined by the Controller.

(m)

"Lighting" means a source of light that is primarily used for promoting the biological process of plant growth. Lighting does not include sources of light that primarily exist for the safety or convenience of staff or visitors to the facility, such as emergency lighting, walkway lighting, or light admitted via skylights, windows or ventilation openings.

(n)

"Nursery" means a facility or part of a facility that is used only for producing clones, immature plants, seeds, and other agricultural products used specifically for the planting, propagation, and cultivation of cannabis.

(o)

"Person" means an individual, firm, partnership, joint venture, association, corporation, limited liability company, estate, trust, business trust, receiver, syndicate, or any other group or combination acting as a unit, whether organized as a nonprofit or for-profit entity, and includes the plural as well as the singular number.

(p)

"Sale" means and includes any sale, exchange, or barter.

(q)

"State" means the State of California.

(r)

"State license," "license," or "registration" means a state license issued pursuant to California Business & Professions Code Sections 26000, et seq. or other applicable state law.

(s)

"Controller" means the Controller of the City of Fresno or his or her designee.

(t)

"Testing Laboratory" means a cannabis business that (i) offers or performs tests of cannabis or cannabis products, (ii) offers no service other than such tests, (iii) sells no products, excepting only testing supplies and materials, (iv) is accredited by an accrediting body that is independent from all other persons involved in the cannabis industry in the state and (v) is registered with the State Department of Public Health.

(Added Res. No. 2018-134, § 2, eff. 6-19-18).