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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance - 2577 - Interim Urgency Marijuana Ordinance ORDINANCE NO. 2577 AN UNCODIFIED INTERIM URGENCY ORDINANCE PURSUANT TO CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65858 TO TEMPORARILY PROHIBIT THE OUTDOOR CULTIVATION OF MEDICAL AND NON-MEDICAL MARIJUANA, AND PROHIBIT 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 Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act ("MAUCRSA") was adopted into law on June 27, 2017; 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 and MAUCRSA further permit 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 anticipated that the State of California will commence licensing commercial cultivation and retail sale of non-medical marijuana and its derivative products on or about January 1, 2018; and WHEREAS, the AUMA and MAUCRSA reserve local control to cities for purposes of regulating outdoor cultivation, indoor cultivation in excess of six (6) plants, manufacture of 0 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, 'J processing, laboratory testing, storage, delivery to destination points within the City of Redding, 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, after notice was provided pursuant to Government Code section 65090, on January 17, 2017, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 2563, an extension to Ordinance No. 2562, and said extension expires on December 1, 2017; 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 and MAUCRSA 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(a) and to protect the public health, safety and welfare, it is the desire of the City Council to adopt an interim urgency to temporarily prohibit all allowances for the outdoor cultivation of medical marijuana under Redding Municipal Code 18.43.100; and WHEREAS, that part of this interim urgency to temporarily prohibit all allowances for the outdoor cultivation of medical marijuana under Redding Municipal Code 18.43.100 shall expire forty-five (45) calendar days after the adoption of this ordinance unless extended; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Government Code section 65858, the City Council desires to extend the prohibitions set forth in Ordinance Nos. 2562 and 2563 until 12:01 a.m. on December 1, 2018, and adopt an interim prohibition of the outdoor cultivation of medical marijuana pursuant to RMC 18.43.100, as more particularly set forth herein. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF REDDING 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 and MAUCRSA without appropriate local ordinances to mitigate or eliminate the impacts by the outdoor cultivation, indoor cultivation in excess of six (6) plants of medical and non-medical marijuana, 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 and MAUCRSA 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 and consideration. 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 cooperatives. E. The unregulated proliferation of sites for the retail sale of non-medical marijuana and non-medical 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 marijuana cultivation without regulation 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 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. 1. Outdoor cultivation of any amount of medical and 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. O. 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 of medical and non-medical marijuana as well as the 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 of medical and non-medical marijuana, and no person shall engage in the indoor cultivation in excess of six (6) plants of medical or non- medical marijuana, or engage in the 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 and 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. Except as provided in Subdivision (B), below, 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 when the previously adopted Ordinance No. 2563 expires at 12:01 a.m. on December 1, 2017, and shall remain in effect until 12:01 a.m. on December 1, 2018. B. With regard to medical marijuana cultivated out of doors under RMC 18.43.100 and hereby prohibited, 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 November 8, 2017, and shall remain in effect until 12:01 a.m. on December 22, 2017. 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 7th day of November, 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: ./ Y/. PAMELA MIZE, iy Clerk BARRY E. DeWALT, City ttor ne