HomeMy WebLinkAboutSR - ORD-10-15 - PROHIBITING SELLING CULTIVATING DISTRIBUTINGOF o�
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AGENDA ITEM
December 8, 2015
TO: Honorable Mayor and
Members of the City Council
THRU: Rick Otto
City Manager
FROM: Wayne W. Wintherso"'I/
City Attorney
ReviewedNerified B :
City Manager
Finance Directo
To Be Presented By: Wayne Winthers
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1. SUBJECT
Ordinance No. 10 -15. An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Orange Amending Chapter
5.89 of the OMC Prohibiting the Business of Selling, Cultivating or Distributing Cannabis.
2. SUMMARY
The City of Orange has historically prohibited commercial cannabis activity. The City of Orange
is amending Chapter 5.89 of the Orange Municipal Code which shall be deleted in its entirety and
replaced with a new Chapter 5.89 in order to continue such prohibition.
3. RECOMMENDATION /ACTION
Adopt Ordinance No. 10 -15 for first reading.
4. FISCAL IMPACT
None anticipated.
5. STRATEGIC PLAN GOAL (S
1. Provide for a safe community
d) Assure the development of the City occurs in a fashion that maximizes public safety.
6. DISCUSSION and BACKGROUND
In 2010, the City Council adopted Ordinance 07 -10 prohibiting businesses related to medical
marijuana, including dispensaries. Since that time case law and legislative action has supported a
city's right to decide if such business is permitted in your city. Governor Brown recently signed
three (3) bills into law (AB266, AB 243 and SB 643) which, among other things, allows cities to
ITEM q.y 1 12/8/15
completely prohibit commercial medical cannabis activities but does require that local laws clearly
delineate what is prohibited.
The proposed new Chapter 5.89 is consistent with prior city council direction but specifically
prohibits each category of business such as, cultivation, delivery and dispensaries.
7. ATTACHMENTS
• Ordinance No. 10 -15
• Existing OMC Chapter 5.89
ITEM 2 12/8/15
ORDINANCE NO. 10 -15
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF ORANGE AMENDING CHAPTER 5.89 OF
THE OMC PROHIBITING THE BUSINESS OF
SELLING, CULTIVATING OR DISTRIBUTING
CANNABIS.
WHEREAS, the City of Orange has historically prohibited commercial cannabis
activity; and
WHEREAS, in 1996 California voters approved Proposition 215, the Compassionate
Use Act ( "CUA "), which provides that a patient or the patient's primary caregiver who possesses
or cultivates marijuana for the personal medical purpose of the patient upon an oral or written
recommendation from a physician may assert these facts as an affirmative defense to prosecution
under California's marijuana laws; and
WHEREAS, except as provided above, possession, distribution, cultivation and
transportation of marijuana is still a violation of state law and can be prosecuted as such; and
WHEREAS, in January 2004, the state legislature enacted the Medical Marijuana
Program (MMP) to clarify the scope of the CUA; and
WHEREAS, notwithstanding the CUA and MMP, the Federal Controlled Substances
Act classifies marijuana as a Schedule I narcotic and under federal law the manufacture,
distribution, or possession of marijuana is a criminal offense and physicians are still prohibited
from prescribing marijuana because the federal Food and Drug Administration regulates
prescription drugs; and
WHEREAS, in City of Riverside v. Inland Empire Patients Health and Wellness Center,
Inc., (2013) 56 Cal.4 h 729, the California Supreme Court held that nothing in the CUA or the
MMP limits the inherent authority of a local jurisdiction, by its own ordinances, to regulate the
use of its land; and
WHEREAS, Governor Brown has recently signed three (3) bills into law (AB266, AB
243 and SB 643) which, among other things, allow the City to completely prohibit commercial
medical cannabis activities.
NOW THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Orange hereby ordains as follows:
SECTION I
Chapter 5.89 of the Orange Municipal Code shall be deleted in its entirety and replaced
with a new Chapter 5.89 to read as follows: