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HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD 1106it ORDINANCE NO. 1106 AN INTERIM URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA, MAKING FINDINGS AND ESTABLISHING ATEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON THE ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES WHEREAS, in 1996, the voters of the State of California approved Proposition 215, which was codified as Health and Safety Code Section 11362.5, of seq., and entitled the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 ("the Act"); and WHEREAS, the intent of Proposition 215 was to enable persons who are in need of medical marijuana for medical purposes to obtain and use it under limited, specified circumstances; and WHEREAS, SB 420, which went into effect on January 1, 2004, was enacted by the Legislature 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; and WHEREAS, the Palm Desert Municipal Code, including the Palm Desert Zoning Map, does not specifically address or regulate the existence or location of medical marijuana dispensaries; and WHEREAS, after receiving inquiries from persons interested in establishing medical marijuana dispensaries, numerous other cities in the State of California have adopted ordinances prohibiting or heavily regulating such dispensaries; and WHEREAS, because a significant number of cities have prohibited or heavily regulated medical marijuana dispensaries, there is a substantially increased likelihood that such establishments will seek to locate in the City of Palm Desert; and WHEREAS, a medical marijuana dispensary is currently seeking to locate to the City of Palm Desert; and WHEREAS, some California cities have a concern that the permitted establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries may create an increase in crime, such as burglaries, robberies, and sales of illegal drugs in the areas immediately surrounding such dispensaries; and WHEREAS, to address the community and statewide concerns regarding the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries, it is necessary for the City of Palm Desert to study the potential impacts such facilities may have on the public health, safety, and welfare; and WHEREAS, 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, (1) the City's completion of its study ORDINANCE NO. 1106 of the potential impact of such facilities; and (2) resolving any zoning conflicts based on the fact that no zoning currently exists in the City for such dispensaries, would pose a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety, and welfare, and that a temporary moratorium on the issuance of such permits, licenses, and entitlements is thus necessary. NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA, DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Imposition of Moratorium A. In accordance with the authority granted to the City of Palm Desert under Government Code Section 65858, from and after the date of this ordinance, no use permit, variance, building permit, business license, or other applicable entitlement for use shall be approved or issued for the establishment or operation of a medical marijuana dispensary for a period of forty-five (45) days. B. For purposes of this ordinance, the term "medical marijuana dispensary" shall mean any facility where marijuana is dispensed for medical purposes in accordance with Health and Safety Code Section 11362.5 or any state regulations adopted in furtherance thereof. For purposes of this ordinance, the word "marijuana" shall have the same meaning as that set forth in Health and Safety Code Section 11018. C. For purposes of this ordinance, a medical marijuana dispensary shall not include the following uses, as long as the location of such uses is otherwise regulated by applicable law and as long as such use complies strictly with applicable law, including, but not limited to, Health and Safety Code Section 11362.5 et seq.: (1) a clinic, licensed pursuant to Chapter 1 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code; (2) a health care facility, licensed pursuant to Chapter 2 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code; (3) a residential care facility for persons with chronic life -threatening illness, licensed pursuant to Chapter 3.01 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code; (4) a residential care facility for the elderly, licensed pursuant to Chapter 3.2 of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code; or (5) a residential hospice or home health agency, licensed pursuant to Chapter 8 of the Health and Safety Code. D. This ordinance is an interim urgency ordinance adopted pursuant to the authority granted to the City of Palm Desert by Government Code Section 65858, and is for the immediate preservation of the public health, safety, and welfare. The facts constituting the urgency are: (1) Some California cities that have permitted the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries claim that such dispensaries have 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; (2) after receiving inquiries from persons interested in establishing medical marijuana dispensaries, numerous other cities in California have adopted ordinances 2 ORDINANCE NO. 1106 prohibiting or heavily regulating such dispensaries, and because a significant portion of the region has prohibited or heavily regulated medical marijuana dispensaries, there is a substantially increased likelihood that such establishments will seek to locate in the City of Palm Desert; (3) a medical marijuana dispensary is currently attempting to locate to the City of Palm Desert; and (4) the City of Palm Desert does not currently have standards in its Municipal and Zoning Code relating to the location, operation, and concentration of medical marijuana dispensaries within the City; (5) absent the adoption of this interim urgency ordinance, the establishment and operation of medical marijuana dispensaries in the City of Palm Desert would result in the negative and harmful secondary effects other cities have experienced, as identified above; (6) currently the state and federal laws relating to medical marijuana dispensaries appear to be in conflict; and (7) as a result of the conflict in state and federal laws on the matter, coupled with negative and harmful secondary effects associated with medical marijuana dispensaries, the current and immediate threat such secondary effects pose to the public health, safety, and welfare, and the zoning conflicts that would be created by the establishment and operation of a medical marijuana dispensary, it is necessaryto establish a temporary, forty-five (45) day moratorium on the establishment and operation of new medical marijuana dispensaries in the City, pending completion of the City's study of the potential impacts of medical marijuana dispensaries, and possible amendments to the City's zoning ordinances. SECTION 2. Compliance with California Environmental Quality Act The City Council finds that this 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 identified 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; it prevents changes in the environment pending the completion of the contemplated municipal code review. SECTION 3. Severability If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction or preempted by state legislation, such decision or legislation shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. The City Council of the City of Palm Desert hereby declares that it would have passed this ordinance and each and every 3 ORDINANCE NO. 1106 section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to any such decision or preemptive legislation. SECTION 4. Effective Date This ordinance shall become effective immediately upon adoption if adopted by at least a four -fifths (4/5) vote of the City Council and shall be in effect for forty-five (45) days from the date of adoption unless extended by the City Council as provided for in the Government Code. SECTION 5. State Law This interim ordinance shall in no way limit the right to possess, use, or cultivate marijuana for medicinal purposes as is presently authorized by the laws of the State of California as set forth in the Health and Safety Code. SECTION 6. Federal Law Medical marijuana users in California may be subject to federal prosecution under existing federal law. SECTION 7. Publication The City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption of this ordinance and shall cause the same to be published once in The Desert Sun, a newspaper of general circulation, printed and published in the County of Riverside and circulated within the City of Palm Desert. PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED at a special meeting of the Palm Desert City Council held this 24th day of December, 2005, by the following vote, to wit: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: ATTEST: BENSON, KELLY, SPIEGEL, and FERGUSON NONE CRITES `lk"[QZI (� Z 2- L?'- a & a�� �' RAICHELLE D. KLASSE , CITY CLERK CITY OF PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA 112