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HomeMy WebLinkAbout574 ORDINANCE 574 AN INTERIM URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE TOWN OF LOS ALTOS HILLS EXTENDING FOR 10 MONTHS AND 15 DAYS A MORATORIUM PROHIBITING THE CULTIVATION OF MARIJUANA INCLUDING PERSONAL OUTDOOR CULTIVATION AND PROHIBITING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF ALL COMMERCIAL RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA OPERATIONS WITHIN THE TOWN LIMITS WHEREAS,on May 19, 2016,the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 562-2016, amending the Zoning Ordinance to prohibit the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries, marijuana cultivation, and all commercial marijuana operations; WHEREAS, on November 8, 2016, California voters approved the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act ("AUMA" or "Proposition 64") to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in California for individuals twenty-one(21) years of age and older; and WHEREAS,on June 27,2017,the Governor approved Senate Bill("SB 94")repealed the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act ("MMRSA") and included certain provision of MMRSA in the licensing provisions of AUMA; and WHEREAS,the new comprehensive regulatory system created by SB 94, intended to regulate all commercial cannabis uses, is called the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act ("MAUCRSA"); and WHEREAS, the MAUCRSA permits a city to enact and enforce "reasonable regulations" to regulate the personal possession, planting, cultivation, harvesting, drying, or processing of marijuana plants, including the complete prohibition of such activities outdoors; and WHEREAS, the MAUCRSA creates a licensing system whereby the State will issue licenses to businesses authorizing them to cultivate,distribute,transport, store,manufacture,process,and sell marijuana and marijuana products for adults 21 years of age and older, with such licenses to be issued by January 1, 2018; and WHEREAS, the MAUCRSA mandates that State licensing authorities shall not approve an application for a State license if approval of the State license will violate the provisions of any local ordinance or regulation adopted in accordance with the requirements of the MAUCRSA; and WHEREAS,the MAUCRSA states that nothing in it shall be interpreted to supersede or limit the authority of a local jurisdiction to adopt and enforce local ordinances to regulate businesses licensed under the MAUCRSA; and WHEREAS, many California communities have experienced adverse impacts and negative secondary effects from 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 marijuana to minors; and Ordinance 574 Page I WHEREAS, it is reasonable to conclude that outdoor personal marijuana cultivation and all commercial marijuana or cannabis operations for recreational marijuana use 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, outdoor personal marijuana cultivation and all commercial marijuana or cannabis operations; and WHEREAS, in light of the new state legislation that the State will issue licenses for commercial recreational marijuana operations by January I, 2018, the Town adopted an urgency ordinance imposing a 45-day moratorium on the cultivation of marijuana including personal outdoor cultivation, and the establishment of all commercial recreational marijuana operations within the town limits in accordance with Government Code Section 36934 and 65858 at a special meeting on December 14,2017, at which time the urgency ordinance received the requisite four-fifths(4/5) vote of the City Council for adoption in accordance with Government Code Section 65858(a) and took effect immediately for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety under Government Code Section 36937(b); and WHEREAS, the urgency ordinance may be extended for ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days upon notice, and the urgency ordinance subsequently may be extended a second time for one (I) year pursuant to Section 65090 and public hearing in accordance with Government Code Section 65858(a); and WHEREAS, in light of recent legal developments and the evolving regulatory landscape at the state level, and in order to address community concerns regarding the establishment of recreational marijuana activity and outdoor personal cultivation authorized by AUMA, the City Council finds that extension of the moratorium for 10 months and 15 days is necessary to protect the health, safety and welfare, specifically the Town and the public's interests in the Town 's aesthetic, economic, health, safety and community character,until additional staff review and study has been completed and any necessary local regulations or code revisions have been revised, adopted and otherwise made effective; and WHEREAS, the citizens of the Town will benefit from a comprehensive and thoughtful local regulatory scheme that addresses the potential impacts of indoor and outdoor marijuana cultivation for personal use, as authorized by AUMA, by Town residents; 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(6)(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: Ordinance 574 Page 2 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: 1. All of the facts and recitals above are true, corrected, incorporated herein and made a part hereof such that there exists a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety, and welfare requiring immediate implementation of an urgency ordinance to prohibit marijuana cultivation and commercial operations within the Town of Los Altos Hills. 2. The urgency ordinance is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety because the cultivation of marijuana in other cities and towns as resulted in calls for service to the police department, including calls for robberies and thefts; marijuana cultivation poses safety risks to surrounding neighbors,including but not limited to,risks of violent confrontation in connection with attempts to steal marijuana and risk of fire damage and loss from improper wiring within structures growing marijuana. The City Council of the Town of Los Altos Hills hereby finds that there continues to exist a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety and welfare that warrants the extension of the temporary moratorium on the cultivation of marijuana including personal outdoor cultivation and the establishment of all commercial recreational marijuana operation as described in this Ordinance. 3. By adopting the ordinance, the Town will satisfy the requirement under the new state legislation that an application for a state license for commercial recreational marijuana operations in the Town cannot be approved if approval of the state license would violate Town land use regulations or ordinances regulating or prohibiting commercial marijuana operations. 4. The Town of Los Altos Hills' Zoning Codes are hereby amended where and as necessary to prohibit cultivation of recreational marijuana and commercial recreational marijuana activity and businesses in the Town of Los Altos Hills. 5. 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. 6. 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 IL MORATORIUM EXTENDED. In accordance with the authority granted to the Town of Los Altos Hills under Article XI, section 7 of the California Constitution and California Government Code section 65858, from and after the date of this Ordinance, the temporary moratorium established and imposed by the Town as of December 14, 2017, is hereby extended for 10 months and 15 days and the Ordinance 574 Page 3 following sections of the Los Altos Hills Municipal Code will continue to read as follows(with additions indicated in double underline). Sections and subsections that are not amended by this ordinance are not included below, and shall remain in full force and effect. 1. Section 10-1.202 Designated. is hereby amended: Commercial cannabis activity includes cultivation,possession, manufacture,processing, storing, laboratory testing, packaaino_labeling, transportation delivery, distribution, or sale of medical cannabis or a medical cannabis product. 2. Section 10-1.706 Prohibited Uses. is hereby amended: The following uses are prohibited in the Residential-Agricultural District(R-A): (a) Medical and recreational marijuana or cannabis cultivation, including outdoor cultivation for personal use; (b) All commercial medical and recreational marijuana or cannabis activities delivery by legally licensed operators of medical marijuana un to an amount determined by theBureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation to a rn imary caregiver or qualified patient s defined in Section 11362 7 of the California g Health and Safety Code. or a testin laboratory; (c) Medical marijuana or cannabis dispensaries, either for recreational or medical marijuana use; (d) Processing of medical and recreational marijuana or cannabis. 3. Section 10-1.804 Prohibited Uses. is hereby amended: The following uses are prohibited in the Open Space Reserve District (OSP.): (a) Medical and recreational marijuana or cannabis cultivation, including outdoor cultivation for personal use; (b) All commercial medical and recreational marijuana or cannabis activities except delivery by legally licensed operators of medical marijuana un to an amount determined by the Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation to a nrimary caregiver or qualified patient as defined in Section 113627 of the Califomia Health and Safety_Code or a testinv la rtr ; (c) Medical marijuana or cannabis dispensaries, either for recreational or medical marijuana use; (d) Processing of medical and recreational marijuana or cannabis. Ordinance 574 Page 4 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 is an urgency ordinance enacted under California Government Code 36934 and 36937(b). This urgency ordinance is effective upon adoption by a four-fifths(4/5)vote of the City Council. This urgency ordinance shall remain in full force and effect until it is repealed by a new regulatory scheme by the City Council. 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: February 15, 2018 PASSED: February 15, 2018 AYES: Councilmember Corrigan, Councilmember Waldeck, Councilmember Wu, Mayor Pro Tem Spreen, Mayor Radford NOES: None ABSTENTIONS: None ABSENT: None BY Mayor ATTEd/ City Clerk APPROVV D AS TO FORM: % y ` City 1 - 2921101.1 Ordinance 574 Page 5