HomeMy WebLinkAbout562 ORDINANCE 562
AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS AMENDING
SECTIONS 10-1.202, 10-1.701 AND 10-1.801 AND ADDING SECTIONS 10-
1.706 AND 10-1.804 TO THE LOS ALTOS HILLS MUNICIPAL CODE
PROHIBITING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA
DISPENSARIES, MEDICAL MARIJUANA OR CANNABIS
CULTIVATION, INCLUDING PERSONAL CULTIVATION, AND ALL
COMMERCIAL MEDICAL MARIJUANA OR CANNABIS OPERATIONS
WITHIN THE TOWN LIMITS
WHEREAS, in 1996, the voters of the State of California approved Proposition 215
(known as the Compassionate Use Act("CUA")), adding section 11362.5 to the California Health
& Safety Code; and
WHEREAS, on January 1, 2004, the State Legislature enacted the "Medical Marijuana
Program" ("MMP"), codified as Health & Safety Code sections 11362.7 to 11362.83, clarifying
the scope of the CUA and establishing a voluntary program for identification cards issued by
counties for qualified patients and primary caregivers, and provide criminal immunity to qualified
patients and primary caregivers for certain activities involving medical marijuana, including the
collective or cooperative cultivation of medical marijuana; and
WHEREAS, the California Supreme Court ruled unanimously in City of Riverside v.
Inland Empire Patients Health and Wellness Center, Inc. (2013) 56 CalAth 729,that the CUA and
the MMP do not preempt local ordinances that completely and permanently ban medical marijuana
dispensaries, collectives, and cooperatives; and
WHEREAS, in Maral v. City of Live Oak(2013) 221 Cal.App.4th 975, the Third District
Court of Appeal held, based on Inland Empire, that there was no right to cultivate medical
marijuana and that a city could implement and enforce a complete ban on this activity, including
a ban on personal cultivation; and
WHEREAS, on"October 9, 2015, Governor Brown signed Assembly Bills 243 and 266
and Senate Bill 643 (collectively known as the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act or
"MMRSA"), which taken together create a broad state regulatory and licensing system governing
the cultivation, testing, and distribution of medical marijuana, the manufacturing of marijuana
products, and physician recommendations for medical marijuana, and provide immunity to
marijuana businesses operating with both a state license and a local permit; and
WHEREAS, while the new legislation expressly preserves local control over medical
marijuana facilities and land'uses, including the authority to prohibit all medical marijuana
businesses and cultivation, newly-added Health & Safety Code section 11362.777, subdivision
(c)(4) provides that if a city does not have a land use regulation or ordinance regulating or
prohibiting marijuana cultivation in place, either expressly or otherwise under principles of
permissive zoning, or chooses not to administer a conditional permit program under that section,
Ordinance 562 Page 1
then,commencing March 1, 2016, the State Department of Food and Agriculture will become the
sole licensing authority for marijuana cultivation in that jurisdiction; and
I
WHEREAS, medical marijuana and cannabis businesses, dispensaries, commercial
operations, and delivery operations are not listed in the Zoning Code as either permitted or
conditionally permitted land uses and are, therefore, prohibited under the Town's permissive
zoning provisions,as set forth in Section 10-1.309,subdivision(a)of the Los Altos Hills Municipal
Code; and
WHEREAS, "agriculture"' is defined in the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code as "animal
husbandry, livestock farming, flower growing, crop and tree fanning, and viticulture" and is a
permitted use throughout the Town, and the growing and cultivation of medical marijuana or
cannabis could be classified as "crop fanning;" and
WHEREAS, many California communities have experienced adverse impacts and
negative secondary effects from medical marijuana establishments and cultivation sites,including
hazardous construction, unsafe electrical wiring, noxious odors and fumes affecting neighboring
properties and businesses, increased crime in and around such land uses, and the diversion of
medical marijuana to minors; and
WHEREAS, it is reasonable to conclude that medical marijuana dispensaries, marijuana
cultivation facilities, commercial medical marijuana or cannabis operations could cause similar
adverse impacts on the public health, safety, and welfare of the residents of the Town of Los Altos
Hills; and
WHEREAS, it is in the interests of the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of the
Town of Los Altos Hills to prohibit, in express terms, medical marijuana and cannabis
dispensaries, cultivation, and commercial operations; and
WHEREAS,the Planning Commission of the Town of Los Altos Hills conducted a public
hearing on January 6, 2016 and recommended prohibiting cannabis cultivation and commercial
operations but permitting the delivery of medical cannabis to qualified individuals; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the Town of Los Altos Hills conducted public hearings
on January 27, 2016 and February 18, 2016, accepted public comment, waived the first reading
and introduced the ordinance prohibiting cannabis cultivation and commercial operations but
permitting the delivery of medical cannabis to qualified individuals*; and
WHEREAS, the City Council of the Town of Los Altos Hills finds that this project is
exempt from California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to "general exemptions"
described in Section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines, since the ordinance would not have
any significant effects on the environment.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the Town of Los Altos Hills does hereby
ORDAIN as follows:
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SECTION I. FINDINGS.
Based on the entirety of the record as described above, the City Council for the Town of
Los Altos Hills hereby makes the following findings:
I The foregoing recitals are true and correct and made a part of this Ordinance.
2. This project is: exempt, from California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
pursuant to "general exemp"tions"describedinSection 15061(b)(3)of the CEQA Guidelines,since
the ordinance would not have any significant effects on the environment.
3. The proposed Zoning Ordinance amendments are consistent with the adopted
General Plan because the prohibited uses are not compatible with the low density, semi-rural
atmosphere of the community.None of the amendments will conflict with or impede achievement
of any of the objectives, goals, policies,programs, or general land.use designations established in
the General Plan and are compatible with such General Plan objectives,policies,general land uses,
and programs.
SECTION 11. AMENDMENTS.
The City Council hereby amends the following sections of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code to
read as follows. Sections and subsectionsiliat are not amended by this ordinance are not included
below, and shall remain in full force and effect.
I Section 10-1.202 Designated. is hereby amended by adding the following definitions
placed in alphabetical order:
Cannabis means all parts of the plant Cannabis sativa Linnaeus, Cannabis indica or
Cannabis ruderalis,whether growing or not;the seeds thereof; the resin,whether crude or
purified, extracted from any part of the plant; and every compound, manufacture salt,
derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant, its seeds, or resin. "Cannabis" also means
the separated resin, whether crude or purified, obtained from marijuana. "Cannabis" also
means marijuana as defined by Section 11018 of the Health and Safety Code as enacted by
Chapter 1407 of the Statutes of 1972. "Cannabis"does not include the mature stalks of the
plant, fiber produced from the stalks, oil or cake made from the seeds of the plant, any
other compound,manufacture, salt, derivative,mixture, or preparation of the mature stalks
(except the resin extracted therefrom), fiber, oil, or cake, or the sterilized seed of the plant
which is incapable.of germination. For the purpose of this chapter, "cannabis" does not
mean"industrial hemp" as defined by Section 81000 of the Food and Agricultural Code or
Section 11018.5 of the Health and Safety Code.
Cannabis cultivation means any activity involving the planting, growing, harvesting,
drying, curing, grading, or trimming of cannabis.
Cannabis delivery operations means the commercial transfer of medical cannabis or
medical cannabis products from a dispensary, up to an amount determined by the Bureau
Ordinance 562 Page 3
of Medical Marijuana Regulation to a primary caregiver or qualified patient as defined in
Section 11362.7 of the California Health and Safety Code, or a testing laboratory.
"Delivery" also includes the use by a dispensary of any technology platform owned and
controlled by the dispensary, or independently licensed under the state that enables
qualified patients or primary caregivers to arrange for or facilitate the commercial transfer
by a licensed dispensary of medical cannabis or medical cannabis products.
Commercial cannabis activity includes cultivation,possession,manufacture,processing,
storing, laboratory testing, labeling, distribution, or sale of medical cannabis or a medical
cannabis product.
Dispensary means a facility where medical cannabis, medical cannabis products, or
devices for the use of medical cannabis or where medical cannabis products are offered,
either individually or in any combination, for retail sale, including an establishment that
delivers, pursuant to express authorization by local ordinance, medical cannabis and
medical cannabis products as part of a retail sale.
2. Section 10-1.701 Primary uses permitted (R-A),is hereby amended to read as follows:
Section 10-1.701 Primary uses permitted (R-A).
The following primary uses shall be permitted in the Residential-Agricultural District:
(a) Primary dwellings; and
(b) Agriculture, except those uses identified as prohibited under Section 10-1.706.
3. Section 10-1.706 Prohibited uses, is hereby added to read as follows:
Section 10-1.706 Prohibited uses.
The following uses are prohibited in the Residential-Agricultural District(R-A):
(a) Medical marijuana or cannabis cultivation, including cultivation for personal use;
(b) All commercial medical marijuana or cannabis activities except delivery by legally
licensed operators;
(c) Medical marijuana or cannabis dispensaries;
(d) Processing of medical marijuana or cannabis;
4. Section 10-1.801 Primary uses permitted(OSR),is hereby amended to read as follows:
Section 10-1.801 Primary uses permitted (OSR).
The following primary uses shall be permitted in the Open Space Reserve District:
(a) Agricultural uses, including horticulture and grazing, except those uses identified
as prohibited under Section 10-1.804.
Ordinance 562 Page 4
(b) Forest preserves; and
(c) Other open space uses.
5. Section 10-1.804 Prohibited uses, is hereby added to read as follows:
Section 10-1.804 Prohibited uses.
The following uses are prohibited in the Open Space Reserve District(OSR):
(a) Medical marijuana or cannabis cultivation, including cultivation for personal use;
(b) All commercial medical marijuana or cannabis activities except delivery by legally
licensed operators;
(c) Medical marijuana or cannabis dispensaries;
(d) Processing of medical marijuana or cannabis;
SECTION III. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance
is held invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder of this ordinance, including the application of
such part or provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby and shall
continue in full force and effect. To this end, provisions of this ordinance are severable. The City
Council of the Town of Los Altos Hills hereby declares that it would.have passed each section,
subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase hereof irrespective of the fact that
any one or more sections, subsections, subdivisions, paragraphs, sentences, clauses, or phrases be
held unconstitutional, invalid, or unenforceable.
SECTION IV. EFFECTIVE DATE AND PUBLICATION.
This ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) days after adoption. Within fifteen days after
the passage of this ordinance the City Clerk shall cause this ordinance or a summary thereof to be
published once, with the names of those City Councilmembers voting for or against it in a
newspaper of general circulation in the Town of Los Altos Hills, as required by law.
INTRODUCED: January 27, 2016
PASSED: May 19, 2016
AYES: Harpootlian, Waldeck, Corrigan,Radford, Spreen
NOES: None
ABSTENTIONS: None
ABSENT: None
Ordinance 562 Page 5
BY: /
J-1layor
ATTEST:
ity Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
City Attome
Ordinance 562 Page 6