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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1077 marijuana moratorium may 06-may07ORDINANCE NO. 1077 AN URGENCY INTERIM ZONING ORDINANCE EXTENDING A MORATORIUM ON NEW MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES FROM MAY 17, 2006 THROUGH AND INCLUDING MAY 17, 2007, TO TAKE EFFECT IMMEDIATELY WHEREAS, 1. The voters of the State of California approved Proposition 215, codified as Health and Safety Code section 11362.5 and entitled "The Compassionate Use Act of 1996" (the "Compassionate Use Act"); and 2. The State Legislature enacted SB 420, codified at Health & Safety Code Sections 11362.7 et seq., to establish a voluntary statewide identification card program for medical marijuana patients and related matters; and 3. The existing City zoning regulations do not provide for the location and regulation of medical marijuana dispensaries and such uses, if allowed by applicable state and federal laws, might be permissible in any zone that allows retail uses, drug stores, or medical uses; and 4. A new medical marijuana dispensary could be established in the City, with or without prior inquiry to the City Planning Department and without the opportunity to exercise discretionary approval authority of such use; and 5. The United States Department of Justice's California Medical Marijuana Information Report has advised that large-scale drug traffickers have been posing as primary caregivers to obtain and sell marijuana; and 6. Numerous problems have been associated with medical marijuana dispensaries in other jurisdictions. Some examples include: a. Reports of several armed robberies and a shoot out in San Leandro and Hayward between February and August 2005 involving the Compassionate Collective on Mission Boulevard near San Leandro, the Hayward Patient Resource Center, a Natural Source medical marijuana dispensary on Foothill Boulevard in unincorporated San Leandro, and the Health Center on East 14th Street. A detective with the Alameda County Sheriff's Department was quoted as blaming these incidents on the large amount of cash kept on the premises of these businesses; b. More locally, within the last year, a medical marijuana dispensary on Talmage was the subject of an undercover marijuana buy and resulting arrests; c. Within the last three months, the owner of a business on North State Street, purporting to deal with marijuana, was killed by unknown assailants in his Laytonville home; d. A report to the Davis City Council in August 2004 described numerous problems in cities with marijuana dispensaries, including the cities of Arcata, Roseville, Oakland, Hayward, Fairfax, Berkeley and in Lake County; e. In reaction to these problems, nineteen cities have adopted permanent bans on medical marijuana dispensaries, 56 have adopted interim moratoria and 23 have adopted permanent regulations. 7. Based on the potential impacts on the City of unregulated marijuana dispensaries, beginning on May 18, 2005, the City Council adopted a moratorium on the establishment of new marijuana dispensaries in the City and directed City staff to prepare, and the Planning Commission to consider and make a recommendation on, a proposal to regulate and/or prohibiting medical marijuana dispensaries; and 8. In adopting the moratorium, the City Council declared that it did not intend to allow persons to engage in conduct that endangers others or causes a public nuisance, permits or allows persons to use marijuana for non-medical purposes or allows any activity related to the cultivation, distribution or consumption of marijuana that is otherwise illegal; and 9. The City Council did intend to prevent the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries in the City, to prevent such uses from being established and conducted without appropriate regulation in portions of the City currently unaffected by such uses, and to avoid potential conflicts with the requirements of the General Plan, uses which are inconsistent with surrounding uses, or uses which could be detrimental to the public health, safety and welfare; and to prevent such uses from conflicting with, and defeating the purpose of, the proposal to study and adopt new regulations regarding medical marijuana dispensaries; and 10. Unresolved legal issues under California law and involving the potential conflict between the Compassionate Use Act, SB 420 and the federal Controlled Substances Act warrant an extension of the moratorium to allow more time for the resolution of these issues; and 10. The urgency ordinance was adopted and is being extended pursuant to the requirements of Government Code section 65858; NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF UKIAH DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Finding~ Declaration of Urgency. The City Council of the City of Ukiah hereby finds and declares that there is a need to enact an urgency interim ordinance establishing a moratorium on all new medical marijuana dispensaries, subject to the findings and conditions set forth in this Ordinance. One medical marijuana dispensary was in operation prior to May 17, 2005, and opened in the City without any discretionary review. Based on the secondary effects of medical marijuana dispensaries in other jurisdictions and concerns raised by recent events in Mendocino County, as described in recitals 5-6,above, if additional medical marijuana dispensaries are allowed to proceed without appropriate review of location and operational criteria and standards, the dispensaries could have potential adverse secondary effects on currently unaffected neighborhoods and the City that present a clear and immediate danger to the public health, safety and welfare. The City finds that if establishment or development of medical marijuana dispensaries were allowed to proceed while the City is studying zoning proposals and regulations for this use, it would defeat the purpose of studying and considering zoning proposals to regulate and/or prohibit this use. Failure to enact this moratorium during the stated period may result in significant irreversible change to neighborhood and community character. Based on the foregoing, the City Council does hereby declare that this urgency ordinance is necessary to protect the public health, safety, and welfare while considering revisions to the zoning regulations related to medical marijuana dispensaries. Section 2. Moratorium. (a) The City Council hereby declares a moratorium on any and all new medical marijuana dispensaries established on or after May 17, 2005, the effective date of Ordinance 1069, and any and all modifications to existing uses to add or expand a medical marijuana dispensary. (b) During this moratorium and any extension of the moratorium, the establishment or expansion of an existing medical marijuana dispensary shall constitute a violation of this Ordinance and shall be deemed a violation of the City Zoning Ordinance. (c) A tenant or owner of real property in the City shall be deemed in violation of this ordinance, if he or she knowingly allows property of which he or she is the tenant or owner to be used in violation of this ordinance. (d) During this moratorium and any extension of the moratorium, no building permit or zoning permit shall be issued for a medical marijuana dispensary. (e) This moratorium is extended to and including May 17, 2007. Section 3. Definitions. As used herein the term "Medical Marijuana Dispensary" or "Dispensary" means any facility or location where marijuana is made available to and/or distributed by or to two or more persons in the following categories: a primary caregiver, a qualified patient, or a person with an identification card, in strict accordance with California Health and Safety Code Section 11362.5 et seq. A "medical marijuana dispensary" shall not include the following uses, as long as the location of such uses are otherwise regulated by this Code or applicable law: a clinic licensed pursuant to Chapter 1 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code, a health care facility licensed pursuant to Chapter 2 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code, a residential care facility for persons with chronic life-threatening illness licensed pursuant to Chapter 3.01 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code, a residential care facility for the elderly licensed pursuant to Chapter 3.2 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code, a residential hospice, or a home health agency licensed pursuant to Chapter 8 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code, as long as any such use complies strictly with applicable law including, but not limited to, Health and Safety Code Section 11362.5 et seq. and the City of Ukiah City Code, including but not limited to the City's Zoning Code. Section 4. Conflicting Laws. During the continuation of the effectiveness of this ordinance, the provisions of this ordinance shall govern. If there is any conflict between the provisions of this ordinance and any provision of the Ukiah City Code, or any City ordinance, resolution or policy, the provisions of this ordinance shall control. Section 5. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or word of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid and/or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. Section 6. Effective Date. This extension of Ordinance 1069 shall become effective and shall remain in force and effect from and including April 19, 2006, through and including May 17, 2007, unless extended prior to the expiration date. PASSED AND ADOPTED THIS 19th DAY OF APRIL 2006, BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE: AYES: Councilmembers Crane, McCowen, Rodin, Baldwin, and Mayor Ashiku NOES: None ABSENT: None ~M-~k Ashiku, Mayor ATTEST: Marie Ulvila, City Clerk