HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Ord 1557-U 2007-02-12
ORDINANCE NUMBER 1557-U
AN INTERIM ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH
ENACTED PURSUANT TO CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT CODE
SECTION 65858, EXTENDING INTERIM ORDINANCE NO. 1556-
U, PROHIBITING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MARIJUANA
DISPENSARIES IN ANY ZONING DISTRICT WITHIN THE CITY
AND DECLARING THE URGENCY THEREOF
TIffi CITY COUNCIL OF TIffi CITY OF SEAL BEACH DOES ORDAIN AS
FOLLOWS:
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SECTION 1. Moratorium established. Ordinance No, 1556 is hereby extended to and
including December 27, 2007. The Findings set forth in Ordinance No, 1556 are set forth
in Section 6, below, The City of Seal Beach hereby establishes a moratorium prohibiting
the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries in any zoning district within the
City,
SECTION 2. Moratorium defined, Notwithstanding any other ordinance or provision of
the Code of the City of Seal Beach no application for a building permit, conditional use
permit, business license. or any other entitlement for a medical marijuana dispensary
shall be approved during the term of the moratorium established in Section 1 above.
SECTION 3. Moratorium term. This Ordinance shall expire, and the moratorium
established hereby shall terminate, ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days after the date of
adoption unless extended by the City Council, at a regularly noticed public hearing,
pursuant to California Government Code Section 65858.
SECTION 4. CEOA Finding, The City Council hereby finds that it can be seen with I
certainty that there is no possibility the adoption of this Ordinance, and establishment of a
moratorium hereby, may have a significant effect on the environment, because the
moratorium will maintain the current environmental conditions arising from the current
land use regulatory structure. It is therefore exempt from California Environmental
Quality Act review pursuant to Title 14, Section 15061(b)(3) of the California Code of
Regulations.
SECTION 5. Penaltv, Violation of any provision of this Ordinance shall constitute a
misdemeanor and shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars
($1,000) or by imprisonment for a period not to exceed six (6) months, or by both such
fine and imprisonment. Each and every day such a violation exists shall constitute a
separate and distinct violation of this Ordinance, In addition to the foregoing, any
violation of this Ordinance shall constitute a public nuisance and shall be subject to
abatement as provided by all applicable provisions of law.
SECTION 6. Legislative Findings, The City Council finds that:
(a) In 1996 the California voters approved Proposition 215, the
Compassionate Use Act (the "CUA"), legalizing the use of marijuana for medical
purposes under certain conditions. In 2003, the California Legislature passed Senate Bill
420 ("SB 420"), which clarified the scope of the CUA and authorized cities and other
governing bodies to adopt and enforce rules and regulations consistent with SB 420 and
the CUA, Citing the authority of SB 420, numerous dispensaries have opened in
California to distribute marijuana to individuals with various illnesses.
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(b) In some cities containing medical marijuana dispensaries, there has been
an increase in crime, such as burglaries, robberies, and sales of illegal drugs in the areas
immediately surrounding such dispensaries. Furthermore. the United States Department
of Justice's California Medical Marijuana Information report has advised that large-scale
drug traffickers have been posing as "care givers" to obtain and sell marijuana, A
medicinal marijuana dispensary opened briefly in a city after providing false information
regarding the nature of the use to the city in a business license application and to its
Ordinance Number 1557-U
landlord in an application to rent business space, If any of these circumstances were
repeated in Seal Beach, it could increase the likelihood that parties would traffic in illegal
drugs in the City, thereby endangering the public health, safety and welfare.
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(c) There is a conflict between state and federal law with regard to the
possession and use of rnarijuana for medicinal purposes. This conflict is the subject of
pending litigation and legislative discussion. The County of San Diego, the State of
California and other public entities are currently involved in litigation regarding the scope
of local public agencies' authority to regulate medicinal marijuana, To fully understand
the impact of the apparent conflict between federal and state law, as well as the
community and statewide concerns regarding the impacts associated with the
establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries, and the fact that federal legislation and
enforcement is currently in flux, it is necessary for the City to continue to study the
potential impacts such facilities may have on the public health, safety, and welfare,
(d) The City has received recent inquiries regarding its requirements for
medical marijuana facilities, The establishment of medical marijuana facilities before
appropriate procedures and regulations are enacted has the potential to cause adverse
impacts to surrounding development and to risk the public health, safety and welfare of
the City's residents and the general public, It is therefore urgent that the City develop
regulations governing the location and operation of medical Il}arijuana facilities to
prevent adverse impact to the public health, safety and welfare that may result from
unregulated placement and operation of such uses in the City.
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(e) The City Council finds that additional planning and research are urgently
necessary to develop appropriate standards to regulate medical rnarijuana facilities. The
City intends to undertake such a study within a reasonable time, During the course of the
study and planning process, the City Council finds that operators of medical marijuana
facilities and others are likely to submit applications for such uses and the development
of medical marijuana facilities before appropriate regulations and safeguards are in place
may be incompatible with the result of this planning process. Given the time required to
undertake the study and planning this situation calls for, the City Council finds that it is
necessary that this temporary moratorium be declared to ensure that no medical
marijuana facilities that may be in conflict with the contemplated new development
policies are permitted in the interim, The City Council has the authority to adopt an
interim ordinance pursuant to the City Charter and Government Code Section 65858 in
order to protect the public health, safety, or welfare,
(f) Based on the foregoing, the City Council finds that the approval of use
permits, variances, building permits, business licenses or any other applicable entitlement
providing for the establishrnent and/or operation of marijuana dispensaries prior to (1)
resolving whether federal law will be routinely enforced against medical marijuana
dispensaries; (2) the City's completion of its study of the potential impact of such
facilities; and (3) resolving any zoning conflicts based on the fact that no zoning currently
exists in the City for such dispensaries; would result in a current and immediate threat to
the public health, safety, and welfare. This Ordinance is an urgency ordinance for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety within the meaning of
Government Code Section 36937(b) and therefore shall be passed immediately upon its
introduction and shall become effective immediately upon its adoption
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PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Seal Beach at a
meeting thereof held on the 12th day of Februarv ,2007.
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ity lerk
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ATTEST:
Ordinance Number 1557-U
STATEOFCALIFORNIA }
COUNTY OF ORANGE } SS
CITY OF SEAL BEACH }
I, Linda Devine, City Clerk of the City of Seal Beach, California, do hereby certify that
the foregoing ordinance is an original copy of Ordinance Number 1557-U on file in
the office of the City Clerk. and passed, approved and adopted by the City Council of the I
City of Seal Beach at a meeting held on the 12th day of Februarv , 2007 by the
following vote:
AYES: councilmembers_~/r!;0/1/.lF)n14dt; JJwdto, ~
NOES: Councilmembers '7 ~
ABSENT: Councilmembers ~
ABSTAIN: Councilmembers ~jI
and do hereby further certify that Ordinance Number 1557-U has been published
pursuant to the Seal Beach City Charter and Resolution Number 2836,
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Cit Clerk
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Ordinance Number 1557-U
REPORT RE: ONGOING STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF MEDICAL
MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES AND RELATED LEGAL ISSUES
Pursuant to Government Code Section 65858 (d), the City has prepared this written report
to describe the measures taken to alleviate the condition which led to the adoption of the
urgency moratorium ordinance,
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Since the January 22, 2007 enactment of the moratorium, staff has consulted with other
cities to determine their experience with medical marijuana clinics and dispensaries.
Staff has been reviewing and monitoring the actions of the Cities of Hawaiian Gardens,
Pasadena, Fairfield, Rocklin and San Francisco with respect to these facilities. Staff is
also reviewing the provisions of Proposition 215, the citizens' initiative that enabled
medical marijuana in California, the provisions of statutes that implemented it, Health
and Safety Code Section 11362.7 through 11362,83, and the effect of the recent U.S.
Supreme Court case in Gonzales v. Raich, 545 U.S, 1 (2005) in which the Court ruled
that the federal government's prohibition against marijuana applied to intrastate
manufacture and possession for medical purposes under California law,
CONSULTATION WITH LEGAL COUNSEL
Staff has also been working with the City Attorney's office to define and understand the
community health, safety and welfare issues associated with these uses and to develop
options for addressing those issues. According to the City Attorney, parties interested in
operating medical marijuana dispensaries have already sued California jurisdictions
(Pasadena and Fresno, among others) that have banned such dispensaries, Staff believes
that the courts' interpretation of recent Supreme Court decisions will evolve over time, as
will the disposition of current litigation regarding existing bans,
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LEGISLATIVE TRACKING
Legislative efforts related to the regualtion of medical marijuana are also continuing at a
national level. If federal law is modified to permit the use of marijuana for medical
purposes and it is determined that California law allows for the establishment of
commercial facilities designed to dispense marijuana, the need for proper regulation of
medical marijuana dispensaries is crucial so that these sites do not become magnets for
non-medical marijuana sales, drug dealings and other crimes, The City will continue to
track federal legislation on this issue,
CONSULTATION WITH POLICE DEPARTMENT
Staff and the City Attorney will soon begin discussions with the Police Department
regarding issues associated with medical marijuana dispensaries, Staff has been working
with the City Attomey to identify issues to discuss with the Police Department.
UPCOMING RESEARCH
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Over the next several months, staff intends to continue reviewing other cities' ordinances
pertaining to this issue, We will continue to work with the Police Department to identify
a recommendation for Council. In addition, the courts may provide further guidance that
we can use in crafting an appropriate ordinance.
Staff is currently evaluating the following long term options:
. Amend the Zoning Code to classify the use as a retail use and allow them in
commercial zones.
. Adopt a regulatory ordinance that regulates the operations of a dispensary but not
adopt a zoning restriction.
. Adopt a regulatory ordinance and zoning ordinance,
. Amend the Zoning Code to prohibit medical marijuana dispensaries city-wide.
Ordinance Number 1557-U
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PROOF OF PUBLICATION
(2015,5 C.C,P.)
STATE OF CALIFORNIA,
County of Orange
I am a citizen of the United States
and a resident of the county afore-
said; I am over the age of eighteen
years, and not a party to or inter-
ested in the above-entitled matter,
I am the principal clerk of the printer
of the SEAL BEACH SUN, a
newspaper of general circulation,
printed and published weekly in the
City of Seal Beach, County of
Orange and which newspaper has
been adjudged a newspaper of
general circulation by the Superior
Court of the County of Orange, State
of California, under the date of
2/24/75. Case Number A82583; that
the notice of which the annexed is a
printed copy (set in type not smaller
than nonpareil), has been published
in each regular and entire issue of
said newspaper and not in any
supplement thereof on the following
dates, to-wit:
febr"O l!4 cl;)..
all in the year 2007.
This space is for the County
Clerk's Filing Stamp
Proof of Publication of
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I certify (or declare) under penalty of
perjury that the foregoing is true and
correct,
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Signature
PUBLICATION PROCESSED BY:
THE SEAL BEACH SUN
216 Main Street
Seal Beach, CA 90740
(562) 430-7555