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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd 2009-3134-BORDINANCE NO. 3134-B URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA TO EXTEND AN INTERIM URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA EXTENDING BY 10 MONTHS AND 15 DAYS A MORATORIUM ON THE LEGAL ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES AND COOPERATIVES WITHIN THE CITY OF CHULA VISTA PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65858 WHEREAS, in 1996 the voters of the state of California approved Proposition 215 (codified as Health and Safety Code section 11362.5 et seq., and entitled "The Compassionate Use Act of 1996"); and WHEREAS, the intent of Proposition 215 was to enable seriously ill Californians to legally possess, use, and cultivate marijuana for medical use under state law; and WHEREAS, as a result of Proposition 215, individuals have established medical marijuana dispensazies in various cities; and WHEREAS, there is no state regulation or standard on the cultivation and/or distribution of medical marijuana and each local jurisdiction may establish local guidelines in accord with unique local concerns; and WHEREAS, in October 2005, the State Board of Equalization instituted a policy that allows medical marijuana dispensazies to obtain a seller's permit, thus enabling the state to collect sales tax on medical marijuana sales; and WHEREAS, in Mazch 2009, the US Attorney General stated that federal law enforcement officials would ease enforcement at California medical mazijuana establishments; and WHEREAS, the City of Chula Vista has not adopted rules and regulations specifically applicable to the establishment and operation of medical marijuana dispensazies and cooperatives and the lack of such controls may lead to a proliferation of dispensazies and the inability of the City to regulate these establishments in a manner that will protect the general public, homes and businesses adjacent to and neaz such businesses, and the patients or clients of such establishments; and WHEREAS, a medical marijuana dispensary and/or cooperative currently is expressly prohibited by an interim urgency ordinance; and WHEREAS, the establishment of a medical marijuana dispensaries and/or cooperatives in the City will result in a direct and immediate threat to the public health, safety and welfare because the City does not currently regulate the location and operation of medical marijuana dispensazies and does not have a regulatory program in effect that will appropriately regulate the location, establishment, and operation of dispensazies and/or cooperatives in the City; and Urgency Ordinance No. 3134-B Page 2 WHEREAS, forty-five days was insufficient for Staff to comprehensively review and consider options for the regulation of medical marijuana dispensaries in the City. The extension proposed would allow sufficient time to complete said report and make recommendations to the Planning Commission; and WHEREAS, the City Council now desires to adopt this Ordinance as an urgency ordinance, effective immediately, to continue the previously approved interim urgency ordinance placing a 45-day moratorium and prohibit the establishment of medical mazijuana dispensaries, as define hereafter, in any zone of the City of Chula Vista pursuant to the authority set forth in California Government Code Section 65858. The City Council of the City of Chula Vista, California, DOES HEREBY ORDAIN as follows: SECTION I. Definition. For purposes of this ordinance, "medical mazijuana dispensazy" shall mean any facility or location where a primary cazegiver 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 cazd, or a primazy cazegiver. For purposes of this ordinance, the terms "primary cazegiver," "qualified patient," and "a person with an identification cazd" shall have the same meaning as that set forth in Health and Safety Code Section 11362.5, et seq. A "medical marijuana dispensazy" does not include the following uses, as long as the location of such uses aze otherwise regulated by the City's Municipal Code: 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 & Safety code; a residential caze facility for persons with chronic life-threatening illness licensed pursuant to Chapter 3.01 of Division 2 of the Health & Safety Code; a residential caze facility 14 the elderly licensed pursuant to Chapter 3.2 of Division 2 of the Health & Safety Code, a residential hospice; or a home health agency licensed pursuant to Chapter 8 of the Health & Safety Code as long as any such use complies strictly with applicable law including, but not limited to, Health & Safety Code Section 11362.5 et seq. SECTION 2. There is a current and immediate threat to the health, safety and welfaze of the citizens of the City of Chula Vista if a medical mazijuana dispensary locates in the City prior to the completion of the comprehensive report addressing appropriate rules and regulations of same. For the period of this ordinance a medical marijuana dispensary shall be considered a prohibited use in any zoning district of the City, even if located within an otherwise permitted use. No permits or authorizations for a medical mazijuana dispensary shall be issued while this ordinance is in effect. SECTION 3. The City Council finds that this ordinance is not subject to environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations (CEQA Guidelines) § 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) because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly, it prevents changes in the environment pending the completion of the contemplated Municipal Code review. Urgency Ordinance No. 3134-B Page 3 SECTION 4. The City Manager or his designee shall (1) review and consider options for the regulation of medical marijuana dispensazies in the City, including, but not limited to the development of appropriate rules and regulations governing the location and operation of such establishments in the City; (2) meet with medical patients, advocates, law enforcement representatives, and other interested parties; and (3) shall report back to Council describing the measures which the City should take to address the conditions which led to the adoption of this ordinance with the City Council ten (10) days prior to the expiration of this interim ordinance, or any extension thereof. SECTION 5. This interim ordinance is extended pursuant to Section 65858 of the California Government Code. SECTION 6. The City Council declares this Ordinance is necessazy as an urgency measure to preserve and address existing and immediate threats to the public health, safety, and welfaze. Thus urgency ordinance is adopted pursuant to Section 65858 of the California Government Code. SECTION 7: Effective Date. This ordinance is hereby declared to be an urgency measure pursuant to Government Code section 36937 and City Charter section 3ll(d), and shall take effect immediately upon its adoption by not less than afour-fifths (4/5) vote of the City Council and shall extend the current 45 day moratorium by 10 months and 15 days pursuant to Government Code section 65858. The City Clerk shall certify passage and adoption of this ordinance by not less than afour-fifths (4/5) vote of the City Council, and shall make a minute of the passage and adoption in the records of the proceedings of the City Council at which this ordinance was passed and adopted. SECTION 8. Exniration. This moratorium shall be of no further force or effect upon the expiration of ten months and fifteen days from the date of expiration of the 45 day moratorium adopted July 21, 2009, unless extended in accordance with Government Code Section 65858. SECTION 9. Severability. If any section, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance is for any reason held to he invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this ordinance and adopted this ordinance and each section, sentence, clause or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid or unconstitutional. Presented by Approved as to form by C/-' Chance C. Hawkins Deputy City Attorney Urgency Ordinance No. 3134-B Page 4 PASSED, APPROVED, and ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Chula Vista, California, this 1st day of September 2009, by the following vote: AYES: Councilmembers: Bensoussan, Castaneda, Ramirez, and Cox NAYS: Councilmembers: None ABSENT: Councilmembers: McCann Cheryl Cox, ayor ATTEST: Illuua~ ~ o~S,~~ onna R. Norris, CMC, City Clerk STATE OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO CITY OF CHULA VISTA I, Donna R. Norris, City Clerk of Chula Vista, California, do hereby certify that the foregoing Urgency Ordinance No. 3134-B was duly published in summary form in accordance with the requirements of state law and the City Charter. Executed this 1st day of September 2009. Donna R. Norris, CM ,City Clerk