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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-06-09 City CouncilCity of Palo Alto C ty Manager’s Report TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT:POLICE/ PLANNING AGENDA DATE: SUBJECT: June 9, 1997 CMR:269:97 URGENCY ORDINANCE DECLARING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES TO BE PROHIBITED UNDER EXISTING ZONING REGULATIONS REOUEST The passage of Proposition 215, which added Section 11362.5 to the California Health and Safety Code, enables persons who are in medical need of marijuana to cultivate and use it without fear of state criminal prosecution. As a result, facilities at which marijuana is dispensed are beginning to multiply. Staffhas recently received some inquiries from an individual who is interested in opening such a medical marijuana dispensary in Palo Alto. Due to concerns about the inability to effectively regulate such dispensaries trader the current provisions in the City’s Municipal Code, and in efforts to safeguard neighborhoods, staff requests that Council adopt the attached urgency ordinance which declares that the City’s existing zoning ordinance does not permit the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries. RECOMMENDATIONS. Staff recommends that Council adopt an urgency ordinance which declares that the City’s existing zoning regulations do not permit the establishment of medical marijuana establishmems to give staff the time needed to study the issue in greater detail. POLICY IMPLICATIONS The approval of the urgency ordinance would clarify that existing zoning regulations do not permit establishment or operation of a medical marijuana dispensary. Thus, any such use would be prohibited until such time that staff returns to Council with an ordinance that establishes zoning regulations for such facilities. CMR:269:97 Page 1 of 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY As a result of the recent passage of Proposition 215, which allows the medical use of marijuana, individuals throughout the area have announced plans to open "cannabis clubs" or medical marijuana dispensaries. While City staff has not received formal notification of such an opening in Palo Alto, an individual has made several inquiries about the process he would need to follow in order to open such a facility in Palo Alto. One of the stated purposes of Proposition 215 is to provide for the safe and affordable distribution of marijuana to all patients who have a medical need. While respecting the humanitarian purposes of the Proposition and the message voters in the state overwhelmingly voiced with its passage, staffhas concerns about where these facilities might be appropriately located. Under the language provided in the Proposition, the only people who are allowed to legally transport the marijuana purchased at such establishments are those who have bought the marijuana. This means the cultivation of the marijuana would need to occur at the site at which the substance is sold. This requirement significantly increases the potential for individuals growing large amounts of marijuana in neighborhoods and in Close proximity to schools. The security risk associated with these levels of cultivation is of significant concern to City staff. Staffbelieves that if the distribution of marijuana for medical purposes is to occur in Palo Alto, it should occur in appropriate locations that are subject to easy monitoring and control. As a result, revisions to the Municipal Code’s zoning regulations are needed. The zoning ordinance does not address such activities because dispensation of marijuana has been a violation of State chemical laws. In addition to zoning regulations, the City may wish to adopt regulations administered by the Police Department as well. However, additional time is needed for staff to develop the zoning and operational regulations before any marijuana dispensaries are permitted to open for business in the City. Furthermore, there is pending legislation in Sacramento that, if approved, could result in dispensary restrictions statewide. As an example, AB 610, currently being discussed, would authorize the distribution of marijuana for medical purposes by licensed pharmacists only. Staff needs additional time to see what develops at the State level and to study the issue in more detail for the purposes of developing regulations. Recently, the City of San Jose adopted an urgency ordinance which established a zo ~ning category and criteria for medical marijuana dispensaries and prohibits the operation of such businesses out of homes. Its ordinance regulates location, hours of operation, prohibition against marijuana consumption on the premises, and requires all owners to comply with ¯ regulations set forth by the Police Department. San Jose Police Department regulations: 1) mandate substantial recordkeeping associated with sales, 2) allow for unannounced and warrantless inspections, 3) restrict cultivation, storage, packaging and distribution, and 4) require alarm systems and other security devices at the facilities. Staff would review these and other municipalities’ new regulations in the process of drafting an ordinance for presentation to Council. Staff anticipates this process will not take longer than 18 months to complete. FISCAL IMPACT There is no fiscal impact associated with this urgency ordinance. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT This project is exempt from the provisions of the Califomia Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). ATTACHMENT Draft Urgency Ordinance PREPARED BY: Lyrme Johnson, Assistant Police Chief ~ DEPARTMENT HEAD REVIEW: ~.~t~’/.- DURKIN, Police Chief CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: cc Manley J. Simning III KENNETH R. SCHREIBER, Director of Planning and Community Environment CMR:2~69:97 Page 3 of 3 ORDINANCE NO. ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO DECLARING THE ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES TO BE A PROHIBITED USE UNDER THE ZONING ORDINANCE, AND DECLARING THE URGENCY THEREOF, TO TAKE EFFECT IMMEDIATELY The City Council of the City of Palo Alto does ordain as follows: SECTION I. Findings. The Council finds and declares: A. In November 1996 the voters of the State of California approved an initiative measure known as Proposition 215, which added Code Section 11362.5 to the California Health and Safety Code. Proposition 215 created a defense to the criminal laws forbidding possession and cultivation of marijuana, for persons possessing or cultivating the drug for personal medical purposes upon the written or oral recommendation or approval of a physician. The defense also extends to the individual’s primary caregiver as defined by law. B. Since enactment of Proposition 215, persons throughout the State have expressed a desire to establish locations where marijuana can be dispensed to those persons who qualify for its use under state law. Because possession and cultivation of marijuana was illegal until enactment of Proposition 215, cities.and counties had not addressed in their zoning and other regulations the requirements for establishment and operation of facilities at which medical marijuana would be dispensed. Some cities and counties have responded to Proposition 215 by enacting ordinances which establish new zoning and police regulations governing medical marijuana dispensaries, or impose a limited-term moratorium on the opening of such facilities, to allow time for study and development of appropriate regulations. C. The District Attorney’s Office of Santa Clara County has announced its intent to interpret Propertion 215 in a manner which takes into account the humanitarian purposes of the Proposition, allowing for some reasonable production and distribution for medicinal purposes only. The nature and extent of cultivation and distribution which may lawfully be undertaken by private parties other than the medical marijuana users themselves is thus an open question. Special zoning and perhaps other regulations would therefore be necessary in order to adequately control such uses in Palo Alto. D. The State Legislature is currently considering bills which would regulate the distribution of medical marijuana.~ Any. city regulations of such activities may be required to be consistent with such state laws, once enacted. 970603bdc 0080520 E. It is necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety to enact as an urgency measure an ordinance, declaratory of existing law, prohibiting the establishment and operation of medical marijuana dispensaries. The reasons for the urgency are as follows: I. The City has in recent weeks received inquiries about establishment of a medical marijuana dispensary in the City. 2. Such inquiries should be taken seriously, inasmuch as nearby communities have also received such requests and experienced high interest by persons wishing to establish such facilities. The City of San Jose, for example, has recently obtained a court order requiring closure of an illegal medical marijuana dispensary, and is processing permit requests for two other facilities for which applications were filed under a recently-enacted ordinance regulating medical marijuana dispensaries. 3. While the City’s zoning ordinance (Title 18, Palo Alto Municipal Code) allows various kinds of medical and related uses as permitted or conditional uses in specified zoning districts, it does not provide ~for the medicinal distribution of marijuana. Because cultivation and possession of marijuana in California was illegal until passage of Proposition 215, facilities dispensing medical marijuana are not an enumerated use under the zoning ordinance. 4. Experience in other communities suggests that a number of regulatory issues should be carefully considered prior to allowing establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries in order to prevent crime and ensure compatibility with other uses, including residential uses and schools. These issues include security requirements, appropriate zoning designations and development standards, and monitoring and reporting requirements. Study of these issues and development of recommendations will require prioritization with other projects currently being undertaken by the Police Department and the Department of Planning and Community Environment.~ 5. Because dispensation of medical marijuana is not an activity currently addressed in the Municipal Code, the City can expect to experience enforcement problems if persons attempt to dispense medical marijuana in Palo Alto, in the absence of regulations specifically governing such uses. In light of the expressed interest in establishing a medical marijuana dispensary in Palo Alto,. and the time required to study and develop appropriate regulations, an urgency ordinance is necessary to provide a clear statement of existing law and to protect the public peace, health and safety. SECTION 2. Definitions. For the purposes of this Ordinance, the following definition shall apply: 970603bdc 0080520 "Medical Marijuana Dispensary" is a facility where marijuana is made available for medical purposes in accordance withHealth and Safety Code Section 11362.5 (Proposition 215). This does not include the cultivation or possession of marijuana, by a single patient or caregiver, for medical use in accordance with Health and Safety Code Section 11362.5. SECTION 3.Establishment and Operation Prohibited. (a) No person shall operate or allow or suffer the operation of a Medical Marijuana Dispensary within the City of Palo Alto. (b) No permit or certificate of use and occupancy shall be issued for a Medical Marijuana Dispensary. (c) This section is declaratory of existing law. SECTION 4. Effective Date. effective immediately upon adoption. This ordinance shall be SECTION 5.The Council finds that this project is exempt from the provisions of the Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that this project, which consists of a declaration of existing law, will have a significant effect on the environment. This ordinance was passed at a regular meeting of the Council of the City of Palo Alto onMonday, June 9, 1997, and was passed by a four-fifths vote of all Council members present at the meeting as follows: INTRODUCED AND PASSED: AYES: NOES: ABSTENTIONS: ABSENT: ¯ ATTEST:APPROVED: City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: Senior Assistant City Attorney Mayor City Manager Director of Planning and community Environment 970603bdc 0080520