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ATTACHMENT 1 <br />ATTY/ORD.420/MORATORIUM ON MARIJUANA CULTIVATION FACILITIES <br />REV: 01-21-16 RL <br />Page 2 of 7 <br /> WHEREAS, in Maral v. City of Live Oak (2013) 221 Cal.App.4th 975, the Third <br />District Court of Appeal held, based on Inland Empire, that there was no right to cultivate <br />medical marijuana and that a city could implement and enforce a complete ban on this <br />activity, including a ban on personal cultivation; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, on October 9, 2015, Assembly Bills 243 and 266 and Senate Bill 643 <br />(collectively, the “Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act” or “MMRSA”) were <br />enacted to create a state regulatory and licensing system governing the cultivation, <br />testing, and distribution of medical marijuana, the manufacturing of medical marijuana <br />products, and physician recommendations for medical marijuana. The new law also <br />recognizes a range of medical marijuana businesses referred to as “commercial cannabis <br />activities,” including cultivation businesses, marijuana product manufacturers, marijuana <br />distributors and transporters, marijuana testing laboratories, and dispensaries, and <br />provides immunity to marijuana businesses operating with both a state license and a local <br />permit; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, while the new legislation expressly preserves local control over <br />medical marijuana facilities and land uses, including the authority to prohibit all medical <br />marijuana businesses and cultivation completely, newly-added Health & Safety Code <br />section 11362.777(c)(4) provides that if a city does not have a land use regulation or <br />ordinance regulating or prohibiting marijuana cultivation, either expressly or otherwise <br />under principles of permissive zoning, or chooses not to administer a conditional permit <br />program under that section, then commencing March 1, 2016, the state Department of <br />Food and Agriculture will become the sole licensing authority for marijuana cultivation in <br />that jurisdiction; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the author of AB 243, which added Health & Safety Code section <br />11362.777(c)(4), has stated that this preemption provision was left inadvertently in the <br />final version of AB 243 and introduced legislation to delete subdivision (c)(4) ; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the clean-up legislation is pending, but it is not certain whether it will <br />become effective prior to the March 1, 2016 deadline regarding marijuana cultivation, nor <br />is it certain what the ramifications would be for a city that does not have a marijuana <br />cultivation regulation or ordinance in place by that deadline; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the City anticipates that MMRSA will encourage the establishment of <br />marijuana cultivation sites and commercial cannabis activities throughout the State, <br />including in Redwood City; and <br /> <br />9.A. - Page 8