HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance - 2563 - Urgency Marijuana Ordinance ORDINANCE NO. 2563
AN UNCODIFIED INTERIM URGENCY ORDINANCE PURSUANT TO
CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65858 TO
TEMPORARILY PROHIBIT THE OUTDOOR CULTIVATION, INDOOR
CULTIVATION IN EXCESS OF SIX (6) PLANTS, MANUFACTURE OF
MARIJUANA PRODUCTS, PROCESSING, LABORATORY TESTING,
STORAGE, DELIVERY TO DESTINATION POINTS WITHIN THE CITY
OF REDDING, AND RETAIL SALE OF NON-MEDICAL MARIJUANA
AND MARIJUANA PRODUCTS IN ALL AREAS OF THE CITY
WHEREAS, Proposition 64 (the "Adult Use of Marijuana Act") was submitted to the
California electorate at the November 8, 2016, general election; and
WHEREAS, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act ("AUMA") passed and took effect on
November 9, 2016; and
WHEREAS, the AUMA immediately made legal the possession, non-retail transfer, and
use of non-medical marijuana for private consumption; and
WHEREAS, the AUMA further permits the State of California to regulate and license
the cultivation, testing, labeling, and retail sale of non-medical marijuana, including marijuana
products, as well as establish state-wide taxes for the commercial cultivation and retail sale of
non-medical marijuana; and
WHEREAS, it is not anticipated that the State of California will commence licensing
commercial cultivation and retail sale of non-medical marijuana and its derivative products until
late 2017; and
WHEREAS, the AUMA reserves local control to cities for purposes of regulating
outdoor cultivation, indoor cultivation in excess of six (6) plants, manufacture of marijuana
products, processing, laboratory testing, storage, delivery to destination points within the City of
Redding, and retail sale of non-medical marijuana; and
WHEREAS, the Redding Municipal Code ("RMC") makes no provision for outdoor
cultivation, indoor cultivation in excess of six (6) plants, manufacture of marijuana products,
processing, laboratory testing, storage, delivery to destination points within the City of Redding, 0
and retail sale of non-medical marijuana; and
WHEREAS, RMC 18.43.100 permits the cultivation of six (6) marijuana plants (whether
indoor or outdoor) for medicinal consumption as an accessory use to private residences so long
as other restrictions relating to cultivation standards, security, screening and proximity to
schools, parks, libraries and youth-oriented facilities are honored; and
WHEREAS, Chapter 6.12 of the RMC prohibits the operation of medical marijuana
collectives or cooperatives, as defined in RMC 6.12.010; and
WHEREAS, the immediate prohibition of all commercial or industrial marijuana
activities will enable the City of Redding to study the AUMA in greater detail and to
subsequently develop a comprehensive approach to the regulation or prohibition of both medical
and non-medical marijuana; and
WHEREAS, Government Code section 65858(a) provides that the legislative body of a
city, to protect the public safety, health, and welfare, may adopt as an urgency measure an
interim ordinance prohibiting any uses that may be in conflict with a contemplated general plan,
specific plan, or zoning proposal that the legislative body, planning commission or the planning
department is considering or studying or intends to study within a reasonable time; and
WHEREAS, Government Code section 65858 provides that adoption of an interim
ordinance as an urgency measure requires a four-fifths (4/5)vote of the legislative body; and
WHEREAS, Government Code section 65858(a) provides that an interim urgency
ordinance shall be of no further force and effect forty-five (45) days after its date of adoption, but
that the interim urgency ordinance may be extended by a vote of four-fifths (4/5) of the members
of the City Council; and
WHEREAS, on December 20, 2016, the City Council enacted Ordinance No. 2562 as an
interim urgency ordinance which prohibited the outdoor cultivation, indoor cultivation in excess
of six (6) plants, manufacture of marijuana products, processing, laboratory testing, storage,
delivery to destination points within the City of Redding, and retail sale of non-medical
marijuana and marijuana products within the City of Redding; and
WHEREAS, to protect the public health, safety and welfare, it is the desire of the City
Council to adopt an interim urgency ordinance to temporarily prohibit all allowances for non-
medical marijuana permitted by the AUMA except those relating to indoor cultivation of six (6)
or fewer plants, and the personal possession, transfer without compensation, and use of non-
medical marijuana for persons twenty-one (21) years of age or older; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Government Code section 65858, the City Council desires to
extend the prohibitions set forth in Ordinance No. 2525 until 12:01 a.m. on December 1, 2017, as
more particularly set forth herein.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF REDOING AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Findings.
The City Council of the City of Redding adopts and finds as true and correct the aforementioned
recitals and the following findings:
A. There is a current and immediate threat to the public peace, health, welfare and safety
occasioned by the adoption of the AUMA without appropriate local ordinances to
mitigate or eliminate the impacts by the unfettered outdoor cultivation, indoor cultivation
in excess of six (6) plants, manufacture of marijuana products, processing, laboratory
testing, storage, delivery to destination points within the City of Redding, and retail sale
of non-medical marijuana within the City of Redding which the AUMA may permit
absent the exercise of local control.
B. Whether to permit or regulate the above activities within the City of Redding requires
significant study and consideration, and the adoption of ordinances addressing the above-
mentioned activities will require appropriate public input.
C. Careful consideration of the impacts of these activities is the only appropriate means by
which the City of Redding can adequately zone for such uses to mitigate secondary
effects on neighborhoods and businesses.
D. The establishment of retail spaces for the commercial sale of non-medical marijuana is
presently inconsistent with the values expressed in Chapter 6.12 of the Redding
Municipal Code, as it relates to the prohibition of medical marijuana collectives and
cooperates.
E. The unregulated proliferation of sites for the retail sale of marijuana and marijuana
products will likely have a negative impact the esthetic appeal of neighborhoods and
businesses.
F. Unregulated commercial retail sales of marijuana may have a negative impact on the
economic viability and business operations of neighboring businesses.
G. The proliferation of non-medical marijuana cultivation without regulation and in excess
of the allowances presently made for medical marijuana cultivation creates and
exacerbates the public nuisance occasioned by marijuana odor thereby creating an
immediate need to consider such impacts on neighborhoods and businesses.
H. The scale and magnitude of marijuana cultivation inconsistent with RMC 18.43.100 will
likely result in an attractive nuisance for children and increases the likelihood of
offensive odors traveling off of the premises, thereby negatively impacting the quality of
life for those living proximate to the marijuana crop.
I. As recognized by the California Attorney General's August, 2008, Guidelines for the
Security and Non-Diversion of Marijuana Grown for Medical Use, the cultivation or
other concentration of marijuana in any location or premises without adequate security
increases the risk that surrounding homes or businesses may be negatively impacted by
nuisance activity such as loitering or crime.
J. Cultivation of any amount of non-medical marijuana at locations or premises within one
thousand (1000) feet of a library, public or private school, park or youth-oriented
establishment, as defined in Redding Municipal Code Chapter 6.12, creates unique risks
that the marijuana plants may be observed by juveniles and therefore be especially
vulnerable to theft or recreational consumption by juveniles while, at the same time,
posing a risk of harm to such juveniles.
K. Unregulated processing of marijuana by means of volatile or non-volatile compounds
poses an immediate threat to the public health and safety due to risk of explosion and fire.
L. The City of Redding needs sufficient time to understand whether any such manufacturing
of marijuana products is safe and appropriate for the City of Redding.
M. Commercial manufacture of marijuana products, processing, testing and storage of non-
medical marijuana and marijuana products in areas not compatible with existing zoning
ordinances will create an attractive nuisance due to odor, and the existence of large
amounts of marijuana at such locations without adequate security protocols creates an
attractive nuisance for children and a significant opportunity for criminal activity.
N. Without careful and appropriate regulation, delivery of non-medical marijuana to
distribution points within the City of Redding creates an economic incentive for
proliferation of unauthorized commercial activities both within and outside of the
jurisdictional boundaries of the City of Redding.
0. The City of Redding has an overriding interest protected by the Constitution of the State
of California in planning and regulating development of all uses of property within the
jurisdictional boundaries of the City of Redding.
P. Without well-planned neighborhoods, commercial, and industrial properties, areas of the
City will quickly deteriorate with detrimental consequences to social, environmental,
esthetic and economic values.
Section 2. Declaration of Urgency.
Pursuant to subdivision (a) of Government Code section 65858, the City Council of the City of
Redding hereby finds that there is an immediate threat to the public health, safety and welfare in
the unregulated outdoor cultivation, indoor cultivation in excess of six (6) plants, manufacture of
marijuana products, processing, laboratory testing, storage, delivery to destination points within
the City of Redding, and retail sale of non-medical marijuana.
Section 3. Prohibition.
No person shall engage in the outdoor cultivation, indoor cultivation in excess of six (6) plants,
manufacture of marijuana products, processing, laboratory testing, storage, delivery to
destination points within the City of Redding, or the retail sale of non-medical marijuana and
non-marijuana products.
Section 4. Enforcement.
A. Violation of this Interim Urgency Ordinance shall be deemed a public nuisance.
B. Violations of this Interim Urgency Ordinance are subject to civil penalties, costs of
enforcement and abatement pursuant to Chapters 1.14 and 1.15 of the RMC.
C. Violations of this Interim Urgency Ordinance are deemed a misdemeanor.
Section 5. Remedies and Penalties Not Exclusive.
The remedies and penalties set forth herein are cumulative, alternative and nonexclusive. The
use of one remedy does not prevent the use of any other civil, criminal or administrative remedy
set forth in the Redding Municipal Code or state statute which may be available to enforce this
Interim Urgency Ordinance or to abate a public nuisance. The City Council further states its
intent that nothing in this Interim Urgency Ordinance shall be construed to authorize or
encourage the cultivation, manufacture of marijuana products, processing, testing, storage or sale
of marijuana in violation of state or federal law.
Section 6. Severability.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or word of this Ordinance is for any reason
held to be unconstitutional, unlawful or otherwise invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction,
such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Interim Urgency
Ordinance. The Council hereby declares that it would have passed an adopted this Interim
Urgency Ordinance and each and all provisions thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or
more of said provisions be declared unconstitutional, unlawful or otherwise invalid.
Section 7. California Environmental Quality Act.
This Interim Urgency Ordinance is hereby found to be exempt from environmental review
pursuant to section 15061(b)(3) of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations ("General
Rule" exemption) as the action has no possibility to negatively impact the environment.
Section 8. Effectiveness and Construction.
A. This Interim Urgency Ordinance is hereby adopted, and is necessary, to protect the public
health, safety and welfare and is adopted as an urgency measure pursuant to the
provisions of Government Code section 65858 and shall, upon adoption by a four-fifths
(4/5) vote of the City Council, become effective and in full force and effect at 12:01 a.m.
on January 18, 2017, and shall remain in effect until 12:01 a.m. on December 1, 2017,
unless extended pursuant to Government Code section 65858.
B. This Interim Urgency Ordinance shall not be construed as having any impact whatsoever
on existing ordinances relating to the cultivation of medical marijuana.
C. This Interim Urgency Ordinance shall not be construed as restricting any person in the
possession, non-retail transfer and consumption of non-medical marijuana for personal
use as authorized by the laws of the State of California.
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing ordinance was introduced, read, and adopted
by the City Council at a regular meeting on the 17th day of January, 2017, by the following vote:
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: McElvain, Schreder, Sullivan, Winter, & Weaver
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None
ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None
ABSTAIN: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None
—
BRENT WEAVER, Mayor
ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
PAMELA MIZE, City Clerk BARRY E. De A , ity ttorney