ORDINANCE NO. 2326 END CITY OF SOUTH GATE LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH GATE ADDING NEW CHAPTER 7.80 (MARIJUANA DISPENSARY) AND SECTIONS 7.80.010 (DEFINITIONS) AND 7.80.020 (PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES) TO TITLE 7 (PUBLIC SAFETY & MORALS) OF THE SOUTH GATE MUNICIPAL CODE; AND AMENDING SECTIONS 11.21.020 (GENERAL REQUIREMENTS) AND 11.21.030 (LAND USE PERMISSION TABLES) OF CHAPTER 11.21 (LAND USE TYPES) AND AMENDING SECTION 11.60.160 ("M" DEFINITIONS) OF CHAPTER 11.60 (DEFINITIONS) OF TITLE 11 (ZONING) OF THE SOUTH GATE MUNICIPAL CODE, ALL PERTAINING TO MARIJUANA CULTIVATION, PROCESSING AND DELIVERY WHEREAS, the People of the State of California enacted Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 (codified in Health and Safety Code section 11362.5, et seq.), which allows the possession and cultivation of marijuana for medical use by certain qualified persons; and WHEREAS, in May 2001, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Oakland Buyers' Cooperative, 532 U.S. 483, holding that distribution of medical marijuana is illegal under the Compassionate Use Act and there is no medical necessity defense allowed under federal law; and WHEREAS, the 2003, California Legislature enacted Senate Bill 420, the Medical Marijuana Program (codified in Health and Safety Code sections 11362.7 through 11362.83), to clarify the scope of the Compassionate Use Act and to permit qualified patients and their primary caregivers to associate collectively or cooperatively to cultivate marijuana for medical purposes without being subject to criminal prosecution under state law; and WHEREAS, neither the Compassionate Use Act nor the Medical Marijuana Program require cities to allow, authorize, or sanction the establishment of facilities that cultivate or process medical marijuana within their jurisdictions; and WHEREAS, in 2013, the California Supreme Court issued its decision in City of Riverside v. Inland Empire Patients Health and Wellness Center, Inc. (2013) 56 Cal.4th 729, holding that cities have the authority to ban medical marijuana land uses; and 4354835.1 -- L235.0 WHEREAS, in Maral v. City of Live Oak (2013) 221 Cal. App. 4th 975, the California Court of Appeal upheld the city's total ban on all marijuana cultivation; and WHEREAS, notwithstanding the passage of the Compassionate Use and the Medical Marijuana Program , the cultivation, distribution, possession, and use of marijuana is prohibited by federal law, specifically the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. section 801 et seq.); and WHEREAS, on October 9, 2015, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law the "Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act" ("Act") which is comprised of the following California legislative bills: Assembly Bill 243, Assembly Bill 266, and Senate Bill 643; and WHEREAS, the Act becomes effective January 1, 2016, and contains provisions that govern the cultivating, processing, transporting, testing, and distributing of medical cannabis to qualified patients; and WHEREAS, the Act establishes a state licensing scheme for commercial medical marijuana uses while protecting local control by requiring all such businesses to have a local license or permit to operate in addition to a state license; and WHEREAS, the Act contains statutory provisions that allow local governments to enact ordinances expressing their intent to prohibit the cultivation of marijuana and their intent not to administer a conditional permit program for the cultivation of marijuana (Health and Safety Code section 11352.777(c)(4)); and WHEREAS, the Act also expressly provides that the Act does not supersede or limit local authority for local law enforcement activity, enforcement of local ordinances, or enforcement of local permit or licensing requirements for marijuana (Business and Professions Code section 19315(a)); and WHEREAS, the Act further expressly provides that the Act does not limit the authority or remedies of a local government under any provision of law regarding marijuana, including but not limited to a local government's right to make and enforce within its limits all police regulations not in conflict with general laws (Business and Professions Code section 19316(c)); and WHEREAS, the Act also requires a local government that wishes to prevent marijuana delivery activity, as defined in Business & Professions Code section 19300(m) of the Act, from operating within the local government's boundaries to enact an ordinance affirmatively banning such delivery activity (Business and Professions Code section 19340(a)); and WHEREAS, several California cities have reported negative impacts of marijuana cultivation, processing, and distribution activities, including offensive odors, illegal sales and distribution of marijuana, trespassing, theft, robberies and attempted robberies, fire hazards, and problems associated with mold, fungus, and pests; and 4354835.1 -- L235.0 WHEREAS, the City Council finds that commercial medical marijuana activities, as well as cultivation for personal medical use as allowed by the Compassionate Use Act and the amp Medical Marijuana Program can adversely affect the health, safety, and well-being of City residents; and WHEREAS, Citywide prohibition of cultivation of marijuana is proper and necessary to avoid the risks of criminal activity, degradation of the natural environment, malodorous smells, and attractive nuisances that may result from such activities; and WHEREAS, indoor cultivation of marijuana has potential adverse effects to the structural integrity of the building and the use of high wattage grow lights and excessive use of electricity increases the risk of fire which presents a clear and present danger to the building, its occupants, and neighboring properties and persons; and WHEREAS, the Attorney General's August 2008 Guidelines for Security and Non-Diversion of Marijuana Grown for Medical Use recognizes that the cultivation or other concentration of marijuana in any location or premises without adequate security increases the risk that nearby homes or businesses may be negatively impacted by nuisance activity such as loitering or crime; and WHEREAS, based on the experiences of other cities, these negative effects on the public health, safety, and welfare are likely to occur in the City due to the establishment and operation of marijuana cultivation, processing, and distribution activities; and imp WHEREAS, prior to the effective date of this ordinance, the cultivation, processing, delivery, and distribution of medical marijuana are prohibited in the City to the extent such activities are prohibited by the Controlled Substances Act or other law; and WHEREAS, while the City Council believes that marijuana cultivation and all commercial medical marijuana uses are prohibited under the City's permissive zoning regulations, it desires to enact this ordinance to expressly make clear that all such uses are prohibited in all zones throughout the City; and WHEREAS, based on the findings above, the potential establishment of the cultivation, processing and distribution of medical marijuana in the City without an express ban on such activities poses a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety, and welfare in the City due to the negative impacts of such activities described above; NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH GATE DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. New Chapter 7.80 (Marijuana Dispensary) and Section 7.80.010 (Definitions) setting forth applicable definitions and Section 7.80.020 (Prohibited Activities) prohibiting marijuana cultivation, processing and delivery in the City of South Gate are hereby added in its EON entirety to Title 7 (Public Safety & Morals) of the South Gate Municipal Code to read as follows: 4354835.1 -- L235.0 Chapter 7.80 MARIJUANA DISPENSARY Sections: 7.80.010 Definition. 7.80.020 Prohibited Activities. 7.80.010 Definition. For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply: A. "Delivery" shall have the same meaning as set forth in Business and Professions Code section 13900.5(m). B. "Marijuana" or "cannabis" means any or all parts of the plant Cannabis sativa Linnaeus, Cannabis indica, or Cannabis ruderalis, or any hybrids, derivatives or strains. thereof, whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin or separated resin, whether crude or purified, extracted from any part of the plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant, its seeds or resin, including marijuana infused in foodstuff or other ingestible or consumable product containing marijuana. The term "marijuana" shall also include "medical marijuana" as such phrase is used in the August 2008 Guidelines for the Security and Non-Diversion of Marijuana Grown for Medical Use, as may be amended from time to time, that was issued by the office of the Attorney General for the state of California or subject to the provisions of California Health and Safety Code section 11362.5 (Compassionate Use Act of 1996) or the California Health and Safety Code sections 11362.7 to 11362.83 (Medical Marijuana Program Act). C. "Marijuana Cultivation" means growing, planting, harvesting, drying, curing, grading, trimming, or processing of marijuana. D. "Marijuana Processing" means any method used to prepare marijuana or its byproducts for commercial retail and/or wholesale, including but not limited to: drying, cleaning, curing, trimming, packaging, testing, and extraction of active ingredients to create