HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Ord 1565 2007-12-10
ORDINANCE NUMBER 1565
AN INTERIM ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH
EXTENDING INTERIM ORDINANCE NO. 1556, PROHIBITING
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES IN
ANY ZONING DISTRICT WITHIN THE CITY AND DECLARING
THE URGENCY THEREOF
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE 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 9, 2008. 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, twelve (12) months after the date of
adoption. pursuant to California Government Code Section 65858.
SECTION 4. CEOA Finding. The City Council hereby finds that it can be seen
with 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.
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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 shaH 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 Califomia 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 landlord in an application to rent business space. If any of these
Ordinance Number 1565
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 marijuana 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 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 marijuana 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 marijuana
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 establishment 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 emergency
ordinance within the meaning of the City Charter and 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 10th day of December ,2007.
jb/tV Ufm.-
Mayor
Ordinance Number 1565
STATE OF CALIFORNIA }
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 Urgency Ordinance Number 1565 on file in the
office of the City Clerk, passed, approved and adopted by the City Council of the City of
Seal Beach, pursuant to the City Charter and Government Code Section 36967(b), at a
meeting held on the 10th day of December ,2007 by the following vote:
Council members ~, ~/.Jf)f),~:ctI, ~;M~
Councilmembers ~V
~
~
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
Councilmembers
ABSTAIN:
Council members
and do hereby further certify that Urgency Ordinance Number 1565 has been published
pursuant to the Seal Beach City Charter and Resolution Number 2836.
~ ~jVl't~
City lerk ~
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Ordinance Number 1565
PROOF OF PUBLICATION
(2015.5 C.C.P.)
STATE OF CALIFORNIA,
County of Orange
This space is for the County
Clerk's Filing Stamp
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 aEAL 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
dlr' to-wk
lJ DWI11 V J9
all in the year 2007.
Proof of Publication of
...............................................
................................11.............
NariC:e is HERUYOivEN lhld
the Cily Council of tho City of
. Seal Beach WIll.h~~bJIC
~onMcniay. 10,
2007, at 7:00 p.m. In the City
, CoUllClI Chainbonl, 211 Eighth.
Str8ot, Soaneo..h, CoItfoinlo,
.to CC?nslder the foI~ng hem:
"-'. .... I'. I
EXTENSION OF 11I1E.
INTERIM ORDINANCE NO. .
'1558 . '.'
!. MO~ATORlUM PR~HI~mN~
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF .-
r 'MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES
. IN ANY ZONING DISTRICT. ,
I WITHIN THE CITY OF SEAL: .
BEACH" . .
I a1l>_lho-
, of "OnfInanco No 1558, An
I ntBrlm Ordinance of the Cdv of
r Seal Beach Prohibiting the
Eslabllshment of Marlr=r.~
1 1lIspa_lb.h OIlY Zaq .
wIIhIn tho CIIy and DocI~1l u.:
UIgoncylhBnlol'.foron
twBlve (12) months. pursuant to
Government Code Section
65858(0).. .
Envlronmental'Revlew: This
rPlOJoct i. cotoqoricolly 0Jl0IlIPI
from CECA f8Y1BW. .
Code Sections: Government.
Codo _ 65858(0); Code of
lhoCllyof_-..l!8-1252(4)
'Appllcont; CIIy of SooI_
At the.9bove tlme'and plaoe
all Interested persons may be
hoonf II .. doslrod. n you chel-
Ilnge the proposed actions In
ClUl, jIlU moybo _lDniBhg
orIy__jIlUorocmoono
.188 raised at ttMi public hnrI~
d..crtbed In thle notic., or'ln
wrIIlen~.Jb,I!ooad81ver8d
"'hcay-ofSOlllIlBoi:h... orprfcr
to, tho publIC hearing.
DATED .Thlo 29th doy of
November. 2007 '
linda DevI,.' :" ,',
CltyClork ...
S8'I94 _ ..'
,PublBhodlnlho __ Sun
~11f.!912OO7 .. .
I certify (or declare) under penalty of
perjury that the foregoing is true and
correct.
ignature
PUBLICATION PROCESSED BY:
THE SEAL BEACH SUN
216 Main Street
Seal Beach, CA 90740
(562) 430-7555
Ordinance Number 1565
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