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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 01152008 - D.2I OP __ S TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORSi ' ' Contra FROM: SUPERVISOR MARY N. PIEPHO Costa SUPERVISOR SUSAN A. BONILLA County MEDICAL MARIJUANA TASK FORCE DATE: JANUARY 15, 2008 SUBJECT: REPORT FROM THE MEDICAL MARIJUANA TASK FORCE INCLUDING RECOMMENDATION TO PROHIBIT THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES (ALL DISTRICTS) SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION I. RECOMMENDATION CONSIDER the report from the Medical Marijuana Task Force and DIRECT the Community Development Department and County Counsel to prepare an ordinance for the County Planning Commission's consideration and recommendation to the Board of Supervisors that would amend the County Code to prohibit all land uses that violate State or Federal law, including medical marijuana dispensaries in the unincorporated area. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: X YES SIGNATURE RECOMMENDATION OFC NTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE /� X OTHER SIGNATURES :\ SUP OR MARY N. PIEPHO SUPERVISOR SUSAN A. BONILLA ACTION OF BOARD APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER_ P+VV&,Q PUA& A-qA-C+1-r--D VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE AND UNANIMOUS(ABSENT CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AND A ES: NOES: ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF ABSENT: ABSTAIN: SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN Contact: Catherine Kutsuris(925-335-1210) ATTESTED dl / 15 /) R JOHN CULLEN,�RK OF THE BOARD OF Orig: Supervisorial Districts III & IV SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR cc: County Administrator County Counsel Community Development Department BY PUTY January 15, 2008 Board of Supervisors Medical Marijuana Task Force Report and Ordinance Recommendation Page 2 II. FISCAL IMPACT The Office of the County Counsel and the Community Development Department would incur costs related to the ordinance development and public hearings before the County Planning Commission and the Board. Depending on the number of public hearings and the range and quantity of public comments, the Community Development Department estimates the cost to be $8,000 to $12,000. III. BACKGROUND In response to the opening of medical marijuana dispensaries within the unincorporated area of the County, the Board of Supervisors, at the March 7, 2006 meeting, directed the District III Supervisor's office to work with the District IV Supervisor's office as well as with the Community Development Department, the District Attorney's Office, the Office of County Counsel, the Office of the Sheriff, the Health Services Department and other related departments to study and make recommendations on marijuana dispensaries operating in areas within the County's jurisdiction. The Medical Marijuana Task Force met on a number of occasions in calendar years 2006 and 2007. Comments and opinions were solicited from representatives of the medical marijuana community as well as from several County departments including the Office of the District Attorney, the Office of the Sheriff, the Community Development Department, County Counsel and the Health Services Department. The discussion also included a representative of the Pacheco Municipal Advisory Council, the community which was the site of two medical marijuana dispensaries. The Task Force heard from operators of medical marijuana dispensaries, as well as from other advocates of dispensaries, their perspectives regarding the benefits of local access to medical marijuana. The Task Force considered options for regulating medical marijuana dispensaries as a land use issue. One option would be to amend the County Code to allow some dispensaries in some zoning districts, as long as they were located specific distances from sensitive receptors, such as schools and parks. Another option would be to amend the County Code to prohibit all land uses that violate State or Federal law, including medical marijuana dispensaries. The Task Force recognizes that the cities within the County have employed various approaches in addressing medical marijuana establishments. The Task Force's recommendation is applicable to unincorporated areas only, and does not affect any establishments which are currently, or may be in the future, located within a city limit. The Task Force heard from a variety of sources about the adverse impacts of these land uses on local communities and their connection to criminal activity. The representatives of the District Attorney's Office explained their perspective regarding the adverse impacts of medical marijuana dispensaries. The District Attorney's Office expressed the strong preference that these types of uses not be allowed in the County, because of their connection with criminal activity. Citing enforcement concerns, the representatives from the Sheriff's Department also supported a ban on medical marijuana dispensaries. In April 2006, the Board of Supervisors adopted an urgency interim ordinance that established a moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries. Since the adoption of the urgency interim ordinance and two extensions of the ordinance, it appears that no new medical marijuana dispensaries have January 15, 2008 Board of Supervisors Medical Marijuana Task Force Report and Ordinance Recommendation Page 3 been established within the unincorporated area. The one remaining dispensary, located in EI Sobrante, was established in a Retail-Business zoning district prior to the adoption of the moratorium. The final extension of the urgency interim ordinance expires on April 10, 2008. The proposed recommendation would not change the EI Sobrante dispensary's status with respect to zoning conformance. The recommendation to prohibit the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries would affect any proposals for new establishments or any existing establishments that were not legally established as of the adoption of the moratorium. Should the Board agree with the Task Force's recommendations and ultimately adopt such an ordinance, the medical marijuana dispensary at the EI Sobrante location would be considered, for zoning purposes, a "legal, non- conforming use," which is a use that could continue since it was legally established under the County Zoning Ordinance as of the date the zoning code requirements were changed, as long as it is not expanded or extended. However, in December 2007, the property owner of the shopping center where the EI Sobrante dispensary is located received a letter from the United States Department of Justice notifying them that the dispensary on the property violates Federal law and that allowing medical marijuana to be dispensed from the property under the provisions of California Proposition 215 is not a defense to the crime. The stance of the federal government regarding the legality of medical marijuana dispensaries under Federal law has been made very clear in recent months with the raid and closure of numerous dispensaries throughout the State by the United States Department of Justice. The Task Force recognizes the challenges facing patients with ailments for which they report that medical marijuana provides relief. However, there is significant information regarding adverse impacts of medical marijuana dispensaries on the areas surrounding these types of establishments. Further, the federal government continues to classify marijuana as an illegal drug, and the federal government's position is that medical marijuana dispensaries violate federal drug laws. Given the range of reported adverse impacts resulting from dispensaries, the federal government's stance regarding medical marijuana, and Proposition 215's allowance for patients to grow medical marijuana for their own needs, the Task Force recommends that the Board direct the preparation of an ordinance that would prohibit all land uses that violate State or Federal law, including medical marijuana dispensaries. If the Board agrees with this recommendation, a public hearing on the proposed ordinance would be scheduled before the County Planning Commission on January 29th, and their recommendation would be brought to the Board for consideration in February. This schedule would ensure that a decision is made prior to the expiration of the moratorium on April 10, 2008. i ADDENDUM January 15, 2008 Agenda Item D.2 On this day,the Board of Supervisors received a report from the Medical Marijuana Task Force and considered directing the Community Development Department and County Counsel's Office to prepare an ordinance for the County Planning Commission's consideration and recommendation to the Board of Supervisors that would amend the County Code to prohibit all land uses that violate State or Federal law, including medical marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated areas,as recommended by Supervisors Piepho and Bonilla. Supervisor Piepho introduced the item and said she wanted to clarify that the proposed ordinance would affect only the unincorporated areas of the County and not the cites or incorporated areas. She added that she sees the unincorporated areas as particularly vulnerable because of factors such as the lack of strong police oversight. She said that while there may be a community benefit to medicinal marijuana,there are also community detriments that need to be addressed. She noted that if approved today,the item would then be scheduled to go before the County Planning Commission, after which it would be returned to the Board of Supervisors with the Planning Commission's recommendations. Supervisor Gioia said he believes there are still issues the Board could review. He said that while he does not philosophically disagree with the use of medical marijuana,there are other issues that arise such as when the drugs that begin in these dispensaries end up in our schools. He noted there could be discussion about whether there are ways to help prevent the abuse of the system. Supervisor Piepho noted that there are other resources for patients to obtain medical marijuana,and added that if the federal and state government find a way to work together on the issue the Board can revisit the matter. In the meantime, she noted the County has a moratorium that is set to expire. The Chair called for public comment and the following people spoke: Doug Steward,Pacheco Municipal Advisory Council, spoke on the issue of the criminal reselling of medical marijuana. By a unanimous vote with none absent, the Board of Supervisors took the following action: ACCEPTED a report from the Medical Marijuana Task Force and DIKECTED the Community Development Department and County Counsel's Office to prepare an ordinance for the County Planning Commission's consideration and recommendation to the Board of Supervisors that would amend the County Code to prohibit all land uses that violate State or Federal law, including medical marijuana dispensaries in unincorporated areas.