Laserfiche WebLink
ORDINANCE 561 <br /> AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS <br /> AMENDING SECTIONS 10-1.202, 10-1.701 AND 10-1.801 AND ADDING <br /> SECTIONS 10-1.706 AND 10-1.804 TO THE LOS ALTOS HILLS <br /> MUNICIPAL CODE PROHIBITING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF <br /> MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES, MEDICAL MARIJUANA OR <br /> CANNABIS CULTIVATION, INCLUDING PERSONAL CULTIVATION, <br /> AND ALL COMMERCIAL MEDICAL MARIJUANA OR CANNABIS <br /> OPERATIONS WITHIN THE TOWN LIMITS <br /> WHEREAS, in 1996, the voters of the State of California approved Proposition 215 <br /> (known as the Compassionate Use Act ("CUA")), adding section 11362.5 to the California <br /> Health& Safety Code; and <br /> WHEREAS, on January 1, 2004, the State Legislature enacted the "Medical Marijuana <br /> Program" ("MMP"), codified as Health & Safety Code sections 11362.7 to 11362.83, clarifying <br /> the scope of the CUA and establishing a voluntary program for identification cards issued by <br /> counties for qualified patients and primary caregivers, and provide criminal immunity to <br /> qualified patients and primary caregivers for certain activities involving medical marijuana, <br /> including the collective or cooperative cultivation of medical marijuana; and <br /> WHEREAS, the California Supreme Court ruled unanimously in City of Riverside v. <br /> Inland Empire Patients Health and Wellness Center, Inc. (2013) 56 CalAth 729, that the CUA <br /> and the MMP do not preempt local ordinances that completely and permanently ban medical <br /> marijuana dispensaries, collectives, and cooperatives; and <br /> WHEREAS, in Maral v. City of Live Oak(2013) 221 Cal.App.4th 975, the Third District <br /> Court of Appeal held, based on Inland Empire, that there was no right to cultivate medical <br /> marijuana and that a city could implement and enforce a complete ban on this activity, including <br /> a ban on personal cultivation; and <br /> WHEREAS, on October 9, 2015, Governor Brown signed Assembly Bills 243 and 266 <br /> and Senate Bill 643 (collectively known as the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act or <br /> "MMRSA"), which taken together create a broad state regulatory and licensing system <br /> governing the cultivation, testing, and distribution of medical marijuana, the manufacturing of <br /> marijuana products, and physician recommendations for medical marijuana, and provide <br /> immunity to marijuana businesses operating with both a state license and a local permit; and <br /> WHEREAS, while the new legislation expressly preserves local control over medical <br /> marijuana facilities and land uses, including the authority to prohibit all medical marijuana <br /> businesses and cultivation, newly-added Health & Safety Code section 11362.777, subdivision <br /> (c)(4) provides that if a city does not have a land use regulation or ordinance regulating or <br /> prohibiting marijuana cultivation in place, either expressly or otherwise under principles of <br /> permissive zoning, or chooses not to administer a conditional permit program under that section, <br /> Ordinance 561 Page 1 <br />