AgdaPkt 2011-10-10 - Laserfiche WebLink

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7.A. - Page 1 RE PO RT To the Honorable Mayor and City Council From the Cit Mana er October 10, 2011 SUBJECT Zoning Ordinance Amendment Regulating Medical Marijuana Facilities RECOMMENDATION 1. Hold a public hearing regarding the proposed Zoning Ordinance text amendment. 2. By motion, adopt the proposed amendment to the Redwood City Zoning Ordinance regulating medical marijuana distribution facilities (Attachment 1). BACKGROUND In 1996, California voters enacted Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act (CUA), now codified in California Health and Safety Code section 11362.5. The CUA permits possession and cultivation of marijuana for limited medical treatment purposes, subject to certain procedural requirements. On January 1, 2004, the California legislature enacted SB 420, the Medical Marijuana Program (MMP), codified in Health and Safety Code section 11362.7, in an effort to clarify the scope of the CUA. The MMP specifically provides that cities or other local governments may adopt and enforce laws consistent with these state laws. Further, on August 31, 2011, the legislature enacted AB 1300, codified in Health and Safety Code section 11362.83, which further empowers local government to regulate marijuana distribution facilities by enforcing local zoning regulations. Redwood City code does not allow medical marijuana distribution facilities. In November 2009, the City Council implemented a 45-day moratorium on the establishment and operation of inedical marijuana collectives/cooperatives pursuant to California Government Code section 65858. The moratorium broadly defined collectives as "any site, facility, location, use, cooperative, dispensary, center, or business which distributes, sells, exchanges, processes, delivers, gives away, or cultivates marijuana for medical purposes" (Attachment 2). In adopting the ordinance, the City Council recognized that allowing medical marijuana collectives to operate without appropriate review and oversight of location, operation, and health and safety standards, could conflict with the requirements of the General Plan, the City Zoning Ordinance and state law. The adverse consequences to the community could create an irreversible incompatibility of land uses and secondary adverse impacts on residents and businesses. On January 25, 2010, the City Council extended the moratorium for an additional 22 months and 15 days in order to further resolve uncertainty regarding the legal and