HomeMy WebLinkAbout1067 moratorium marijuana growingORDINANCE NO. 1067
URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF UKIAH IMPOSING AN INTERIM
MORATORIUM ON THE OUTDOOR GROWING OF
MARIJUANA AND THE GROWING OF
MARIJUANA WITHIN 300 FEET OF SCHOOLS
WITHIN THE CITY OF UKIAH.
The City Council of the City of Ukiah hereby ordains as follows.
SECTION ONE.
While this interim ordinance is in effect, it shall be unlawful and constitute a violation of
this Ordinance for any person to grow marijuana within the City of Ukiah, except as
provided below:
1. The cultivation of marijuana must be lawful under state and federal law.
2. No more than six plants may be grown on a lot.
3. No outdoor marijuana cultivation shall be permitted. Growing marijuana shall
only be permitted in a fully enclosed greenhouse or structure that must be locked and
secure against unauthorized entry.
4. Marijuana shall not be grown on lots the exterior boundaries of which are
within 300 feet of the exterior of any lot containing a school, whether public, private or
chartered.
A tenant or owner of real property in the City shall be deemed in violation of this
ordinance, if he or she knowingly allows the lot of which he or she is the tenant or owner
to be used to grow marijuana in violation of this ordinance.
SECTION TWO.
A violation of this ordinance is subject to the enforcement and penalty provisions
contained in Division 9, Chapter 2, Article 22 of this Code, commencing with Section
9350.
SECTION THREE.
The City Council of the City of Ukiah hereby finds as follows.
1. The City Council has directed the Planning Commission to conduct a public hearing
and make recommendations to the City Council concerning a draft zoning ordinance that
would regulate the cultivation of marijuana within the City of Ukiah, when grown
pursuant to the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 and in compliance with applicable
federal law.
2. The City Council anticipates that it could take several months before it receives those
recommendations from the Planning Commission.
3. The unregulated cultivation of marijuana in the City of Ukiah has and will continue to
create a serious public nuisance and serious public safety risks, particularly in residential
areas.
4. This ordinance will become effective early in the growing season before marijuana
can begin to create a public and attractive nuisance and harm the public safety.
5. If no action is taken, marijuana plants will likely mature to the point where they begin
to cause these adverse effects. If detailed regulations are adopted after that, the difficulty
of enforcement will be greatly compounded.
6. It is necessary, therefore, to adopt this moratorium ordinance on an urgency basis in
order to protect the public health, safety and general welfare.
SECTION FOUR.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason
determined by a court to be invalid or unenforceable, such decision shall not affect the
remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council declares that it would have
passed this Ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, and phrase thereof
irrespective of the fact that any one or more such provision be declared invalid or
unenforceable.
SECTION FIVE.
This Ordinance shall become effective immediately as an urgency ordinance adopted
pursuant to Government Code Section 65858 and is repealed and of no further force or
effect 45 days thereafter, unless extended as provided in Section 65858(a).
Adopted on May 4, 2005, at a duly called meeting of the City Council of the City of
Ukiah by the following roll call vote:
AYES:
Councilmembers Crane, McCowen, Rodin, Baldwin, and Mayor Ashiku
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
ATYEST:
Marie Ulvila, City Clerk
/Mark Ashiku, Mayor