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Home My WebLink AboutORD 1109ORDINANCE NO. 1109 AN INTERIM URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA, EXTENDING FOR TEN MONTHS AND FIFTEEN DAYS ORDINANCE NO. 1106 RELATING TO THE ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM DESERT DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Purpose The purpose of this interim urgency ordinance is to extend Ordinance No. 1106, which established a temporary moratorium on the establishment and operation of medical marijuana dispensaries in the City, for ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days. SECTION 2. Authority The City Council enacts this interim urgency ordinance under the authority granted to cities by Article XI, Section 7 of the California Constitution and Section 65858 of the California Government Code. SECTION 3. Findings A. Pursuant to Government Code Section 65858, on December 24, 2005, the City Council adopted interim urgency Ordinance No. 1106 establishing a temporary moratorium on the approval or issuance of any use permit, variance, building permit, business license or other applicable entitlement for the establishment or operation of a medical marijuana dispensary for a period of forty-five (45) days. B. Pursuant to Government Code Section 65858, on January 24, 2006, the City Council issued a written report describing the measures taken to alleviate the condition which led to the adoption of Ordinance No. 1106. SECTION 4. Restatement of Findings The City Council hereby incorporates by reference and restates the findings contained in Ordinance No. 1106, as follows: 1. In 1996, the voters of the State of California approved Proposition 215, which was codified as Health and Safety Code Section 11362.5, et seq., and entitled the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 ("the Act"). 2. 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 Poll'""circumstances. F, 3. On January 1, 2004, SB 420 went into effect. SB 420 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. ORDINANCE NO. 1109 4. The Palm Desert Municipal Code, including the Palm Desert Zoning Code, does not address or regulate in any manner the existence or location of medical marijuana dispensaries. 5. 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. 6. 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. 7. A medical marijuana dispensary has already located in the City of Palm Desert and another is seeking to locate in the City as well. 8. Other California cities that have permitted the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries have witnessed an increase in crime, such as burglaries, robberies, and sales of illegal drugs in the areas immediately surrounding such dispensaries. 9. The United States Supreme Court addressed marijuana use in California in United States v. Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, (2001) 532 US 483. The U.S. Supreme Court held that the federal Controlled Substances Act continues to prohibit marijuana use, distribution, and possession, and that no medical necessity exception exists to these prohibitions. Further, according to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Raich v. Ashcroft, (2003) 352 F.3d 1222, federal law presently prohibits the use of medical marijuana. However, since the U.S. Supreme Court was not presented with and did not address the issue of whether federal law preempts state law with respect to medical marijuana dispensaries, it did not resolve the conflict between federal law and California laws regarding the legality of medical marijuana dispensaries. 10. To address the apparent conflict in laws, as well as 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. SECTION 5. Extension of Deadline The City Council hereby extends Ordinance No. 1106 for an additional ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days. The expiration date for Ordinance No. 1106 is thus extended from February 7, 2006, to December 22, 2006. SECTION 6. Effective Date This interim urgency ordinance shall take effect immediately upon its adoption by at least a fourth -fifths (4/5) vote of the City Council. This interim urgency ordinance shall continue in effect for ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days upon its adoption and shall thereafter be of no further force and effect. 2 ORDINANCE NO. 1109 SECTION 7. 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 defined 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 8. 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 competentJu sdiction or preempted by state legislation, such decision or legislation shall not affect thl valid�'ty 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 sei '66n subsection, sentence, clause or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to y such decision or preemptive legislation. SECTION 9. Effective DateA This ordinance shall become effective immediately upon adoption if adopted by at a least `four - fifths (4/5) vote of the City Council and shall be in effect for ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days from the date of adoption unless extended by the City Council as provided for in the Government Code. SECTION 10. Publication The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this ordinance and cause it, or a summary of it, to be published once in a newspaper of general circulation printed and published within the County of Riverside and circulated within the City of Palm Desert. 3 ORDINANCE NO.1109 PASSED, APPROVED, and ADOPTED this 3rd day of February, 2006, by the City Council of the City of Palm Desert, California, by the following vote, to wit: AYES: BENSON, CRITES, SPIEGEL, and FERGUSON NOES: NONE ABSENT: KELLY ABSTAIN: NONE ATTEST: Rachellq.;D. Klassen, City Clerk City of Palm Desert, California ;vid ;J.in, AS TO FORM: City Attorney City of Palm Desert, California W Z/11" 1 4 FE , MAYOR CERTIFICATION STATEMENT I, Rachelle D. Klassen, City Clerk of the City of Palm Desert, do hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance is a true and correct copy of Ordinance No. 1109, passed by the people of the City of Palm Desert, as declared by the City Council on the day and year set forth above, and published pursuant to law. Rachelle D. Klassen, City lerk City of Palm Desert, California 4