The council first reviewed the permit requested by Earth and Roots CBD owner Kushal Bastakoti to open one of his stores at 4209 Colleyville Blvd., Ste. B, at its Dec. 7 meeting.
Several council members had voiced concerns about the changing legality of products like delta-8 at the Dec. 7 meeting. But Bastakoti had assured Council that the store would not sell any delta-8 products.
In addition, the Colleyville Planning and Zoning Commission recommended the City Council deny the permit at its Nov. 8 meeting, but Bastakoti appealed that decision Nov. 9.
Because of the commission’s recommendation, a supermajority—or three-fourths—of the City Council needed to vote in favor of the permit for it to be approved.
When the Council voted at the Dec. 21 meeting, six council members voted against it, which was not enough to grant Bastakoti the permit. Place 3 City Councilor Kathy Wheat was not in attendance at the meeting, so her vote was abstained. Bastakoti also did not attend the meeting.
City Manager Jerry Ducay referenced how a CBD dispensary based in Austin filed suit against the Texas Department of State Health Services for posting an online notice in October announcing that delta-8 is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance. A judge granted a temporary injunction in early November, temporarily removing delta-8 from Texas’ Schedule I drug list.
“It is a little premature in that process to determine if it's actually going to be something that stays or ends up being prohibited,” Ducay said.
Both Mayor Richard Newton and Place 4 City Councilor George Dodson said they denied the permit because not enough is known about the legality surrounding CBD and other hemp products.
“I agree with Planning and Zoning, so I will not be voting for this, personally,” Newton said. “I think in terms of the CBD, it's a little—to have a store here, to me, it's a little early in the process. A lot of legislative changes [are] still going on. I'm not sure I completely understand everything that's going on.”
When Newton opened the public hearing on the item, Colleyville resident Kathy Hadley spoke, saying she supported the city approving the permit for the CBD store because of how the product has helped her fight chronic and severe headaches from a “traumatic brain stem injury.”
“Whenever I get a bad, bad headache, I get out my good-old trustee CBD, and I put a few drops under my tongue ... and my headaches go away,” Hadley said. “I asked my neurologist, I said, ‘Is this gonna be OK?’ He goes, ‘Kathy, if it helps you, that is my No. 1 concern.’ I'm not a druggie because I do CBD when I need to.”
Newton clarified that the city is not against the use of CBD or people getting it. He noted that many local businesses sell CBD.
“We haven't prohibited it,” Newton said. “It's available for people to get.”
If approved, the special-use permit would’ve had a laundry list of requirements, according to the proposed ordinance. Earth and Roots CBD would not have been allowed to sell any paraphernalia related to smoking or vaping; smoking would not have been allowed inside or outside the building; a “no smoking” sign would have had to be posted; no CBD products with over 0.3% THC could have been sold; and no delta-8, delta-10 or THCO—artificial marijuana—could have been sold.
