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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2248ORDINANCE NO. 2248 AN INTERIM URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ARCADIA, CALIFORNIA, ESTABLISHING A MORATORIUM ON THE ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65858 THE CITY COUNCIL FOR THE CITY OF ARCADIA, CALIFORNIA, DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The purpose of this Interim Urgency Ordinance is to establish a moratorium on the establishment and operation of medical marijuana dispensaries in the City of Arcadia ("City") to study the potential impacts of medical marijuana dispensaries on the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the City. SECTION 2. The City Council enacts this Interim Urgency Ordinance under the authority granted to cities by Article XI, Section 7 of the California Constitution, Section 11.362.5, et seq. of the California Health & Safety Code, and Section 65858 of the California Government Code. SECTION 3. The City Council of the City of Arcadia hereby finds: A. The voters of the State of California approved Proposition 215, entitled the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 (the "Act"), the intent of which was to enable persons in need of medical marijuana for medicinal purposes to obtain and use it under limited, specified circumstances. B. On January 1, 2004, SB 420 went into effect and was enacted to clarify the scope of the Act and to allow cities and counties to adopt and enforce rules and regulations consistent with SB 420 and the Act. C. The Arcadia Municipal Code does not specifically address or regulate the existence or location of medical marijuana dispensaries. D. California cities that have permitted the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries have witnessed an increase in crime, such as burglaries, robberies and sales of illegal drugs in the areas immediately surrounding such dispensaries. E. There is legal uncertainty between federal laws and California laws regarding medical marijuana dispensaries. Several cities and counties have recently filed lawsuits against the State Attorney General relating to the validity of the Act in light of a recent Supreme Court decision, Gonzales v. Raich (2005) 125 S. Ct. 2195 (holding that the federal Controlled Substances Act validly prohibits local cultivation and use of marijuana under all circumstances). 2 2248 SECTION 4. The purpose of this Interim Urgency Ordinance is to establish aforty-five (45) day moratorium on the approval or issuance of any use permit, variance, building permit, business license or other applicable entitlement for the establishment or operation of a medical marijuana dispensary in the City for the immediate preservation of the public health, safety and welfare. SECTION 5. For purposes of this Interim Urgency Ordinance, the terms defined below shall have the following meanings: A. "Medical marijuana dispensary" shall mean any facility or location where a primary caregiver intends to or does make available, sell, transmit, give or otherwise provide medical marijuana to two or more of the following: a qualified patient, a person with an identification card or a primary caregiver. B. "Primary caregiver," "qualified patient" and "identification card" shall have the meanings set forth in Health and Safety Code Section 11362.7. SECTION 6. The City Council hereby enacts this Interim Urgency Ordinance by not less than afour-fifths vote, and in light of the findings set forth in Sections 3 and 7, under the authority granted to it by Article XI, Section 7 of the California Constitution and Section 65858(a) of the California Government Code, which allows the City to adopt an interim urgency ordinance, in order to protect the public safety, health, and welfare, prohibiting any uses that may be in conflict with 3 2248 a zoning proposal that the City Council, planning commission or the planning department is considering or studying or intends to study within a reasonable time. SECTION 7. The City Council hereby finds and determines as follows: A. California cities that have permitted the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries have found that such dispensaries resulted in negative and harmful secondary effects, such as an increase in crime, including robberies, burglaries and sales of illegal drugs in the areas immediately surrounding medical marijuana dispensaries. B. Numerous cities in the State of California have adopted ordinances prohibiting or regulating such dispensaries. As a significant number of cities, including cities in Southern California, have prohibited or regulated medical marijuana dispensaries, there is a substantially increased likelihood that such establishments will seek to locate in the City of Arcadia. C. The Arcadia Municipal Code does not specifically address or regulate the existence or location of medical marijuana dispensaries. D. The United States Supreme Court addressed marijuana use in California in United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative (2001) 532 U.S. 483. The Supreme Court held that the federal Controlled Substances Act 4 2248 continues to prohibit marijuana use, distribution and possession and that no medical necessity exception exists to these prohibitions. Further, the Supreme Court recently held in Gonzales v. Raich (2005) 545 U.S. 1, that the federal Controlled Substances Act prohibits local cultivation and use of marijuana under all circumstances. Therefore, it appears there is currently a conflict between federal laws and California laws regarding the legality of medical marijuana dispensaries. E. To address the apparent conflict in laws, as well as the community and statewide concerns regarding Che establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries, it is necessary for the City of Arcadia to study the potential impacts such facilities may have on the public health, safety and welfare. F. Based on the foregoing, the City Council finds that issuing permits, business licenses or other applicable entitlements providing for the establishment and/or operation of medical marijuana dispensaries, prior to the completion of the City of Arcadia's study of the potential impact of such facilities, poses a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety and welfare and that, therefore, a temporary moratorium on the issuance of such permits, licenses and entitlements is necessary. 5 2248 SECTION 8. The City Council hereby directs the Development Services Department to consider and study possible means of regulating or prohibiting medical marijuana dispensaries, including zoning-based regulations and other regulations. SECTION 9. The City Council finds that this Interim Urgency Ordinance is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly. SECTION 10. If any provision of this Interim Urgency Ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the Ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this ordinance are severable. The City Council hereby declares that it would have adopted this Ordinance irrespective of the invalidity of any particular portion thereof. 6 2248 SECTION 11. This Interim Urgency Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon its adoption by at least afour-fifths vote of the City Council. This Interim Urgency Ordinance shall continue in effect for forty-five (45) days from the date of its adoption and shall thereafter be of no further force and effect unless, after notice and a hearing pursuant to California Government Code Section 65090, the City Council extends this Interim Urgency Ordinance pursuant to Govemment Code Section 65858. SECTION 12. The City Clerk shall certify the adoption of this Interim Urgency Ordinance and shall cause the same or a summary thereof to be published within fifteen (15) days after adoption in a newspaper of general. circulation. [SIGNATURES ON NEXT PAGE] 7 2248 Passed, approved and adopted this 16th day of September, 2008. ~~ s~~ Mayor of the City of Arcadia ATTEST: ~~ L ~~ ity Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORI~1: Stephen P. Deitsch City Attorney 2248 STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES) SS: CITY OF ARCADIA ) I, JAMES H. BARROWS, City Clerk of the City of Arcadia, hereby certifies that the foregoing Ordinance No. 2248 was passed and adopted by the City Council of the City of Arcadia, signed by the Mayor and attested to by the City Clerk at a regular meeting of said Council held on the 16th day of September, 2008 and that said Ordinance was adopted by the following vote, to wit: AYES: Council Member Amundson, Chandler, Kovacic, Wuo and Harbicht NOES: None ABSENT: None ~~~~ ity Clerk of the City of Arcadia 9 2248