Agenda Item
3
CITY OF YUBA CITYSTAFF REPORT
Agenda Item
3
Date:
March 6, 2012
To
:
Honorable Mayor & Members of the City Council
From:
Administration
Presentation By:
Steven R. Jepsen, City Manager
SummarySubject
: Adoption of an Interim Urgency Ordinance enacting developmentstandards/restrictions for medical marijuana cultivation.
Recommendation
: Adopt an Interim Urgency Ordinance that enacts developmentstandards/restrictions for medical marijuana cultivation as shown onExhibit A.
Fiscal Impact
: The cost of regulating marijuana cultivation has not been determined;the cost of registration would be nominal and the cost of enforcementwould be dependent on the level of enforcement required.
Purpose:
To establish standards and restrictions for the cultivation of medical marijuana.
Background
:Currently, the City of Yuba City has no restrictions in place regarding the cultivation ofmarijuana within the City limits. Legal restrictions on the growing and possession ofmarijuana have relaxed over the last few years. The number of plants allowable forcultivation has changed from 6 plants, to 12 plants, or any number of plants justifiablebased on individual patient need. Courts have been very generous in their interpretation ofthis issue, often deferring to patient’s rights/needs to grow any number of plants to be justified by personal consumption.Medical marijuana was first approved by California voters in 1996 with the passage of theProposition 215, “Compassionate Use Act”. To help clarify issues related to Proposition215, the California Legislature passed Senate Bill 420 in 2004 to provide patients andcaregivers, who collectively or cooperatively grow marijuana for medical purposes, defenselimitations by establishing limits for cultivation and possession of marijuana. Althoughallowed by California law, the cultivation, possession, use and/or sale of marijuana remainsa crime under the Federal Law “Controlled Substances Act”.The issue of marijuana cultivation was brought before the City Council on August 16,2011 by concerned residents of Yuba City. A petition was presented at this meeting
requesting that the City Council develop an ordinance to “ban” (prohibit) marijuanacultivation within Yuba City limits.
Stakeholder Meetings
The City Council directed the City Manager to look into the issue of medical marijuanacultivation in some depth with the intent to meet with stakeholders, develop a range ofalternatives consistent with other jurisdictional ordinances in California, and return to theCouncil for further discussion and public input. Councilmember John Buckland wasassigned as liaison to the City Manager on this issue.Four Workshop meetings have been held with Medical Marijuana Cultivation stakeholders:1) December 13, 2011 the first Public Workshop was held in front of the CityCouncil.2) January 10, 2012 a Workshop meeting was held focusing primarily onproponents.3) January 12, 2012 a Workshop meeting was held focusing primarily onopponents.4) February 27, 2012 an additional Workshop was held in front of the City Councilto review and comment on staff recommendations and alternatives.
Analysis
:If the cultivation of Marijuana in Yuba City is going to be allowed it needs to both ferretout the existing abuses and address the concerns of those who are negatively impacted.As such Proposition 215 and SB 420 do not supersede Federal law – rather they provide aprocess for the cultivation of marijuana for medical purposes. The laws and the courtsallow local jurisdictions to adopt regulations that control the manner in which marijuana isgrown or to even ban the growing of marijuana as necessary to protect the safety andwelfare of the community.The cultivation of marijuana for individual use can be restricted by local laws withsupportable findings. The enforcement of such laws would be either through normal lawenforcement channels or through a compliant driven code enforcement/citation process.Although there is an acknowledge benefit to patients of need; the negative issuesmarijuana growing need to be addressed and mitigated. The identifiable and real issuescontinue to focus primarily on public safety and odor.The following issues and alternatives were discussed and considered in the formation ofthe Medical Marijuana Ordinance for Yuba City.
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Safety -The value of the marijuana plants is such that extreme measures have been used toprotect backyard crops. This in turn raises the potential for violent confrontation(s)and is a particular concern in the attractiveness of the crop for both recreationalusers and others looking to benefit from the cash value of the plants.
3
Personal safety is also an issue as home invasions and robberies have increased inrelationship to backyard marijuana growth in the community. Increased policeresponse is necessary to address safety and theft issues related to marijuanagrowth in some Yuba City neighborhoods.The elimination of growing opportunities through prohibition would also eliminatethe safety issues associated with cultivation. Other restrictions such as limiting thesize, visibility and outdoor odor of marijuana crops would lessen enforcementissues.
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Odor -The smell of the mature marijuana plant is best described as a sweet ‘skunkish’odor. Mature marijuana plants flower for up to two months, producing anextremely strong odor. This odor is noted by many residents as offensive anddetectable well beyond property boundaries of the cultivation’s residence.The only way to effectively eliminate odor would be through the limiting marijuanacultivation in Yuba City to indoor and/or greenhouse spaces with mechanical airventilation/filtration. However, the use of indoor grow lights could potentially createa secondary issue of fire safety without limitations on electrical usage.
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Diminished Property Values – The impact of marijuana cultivation related to the issue of smell likely diminishes thevalue of adjacent property for sale next to a marijuana cultivation property or couldpotentially reduce the pool of buyers available to purchase the property if marijuanagrow was properly disclosed.
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Visibility -The visibility of marijuana plants from the street raises the possibility of theft orrelated property crimes in the immediate vicinity. Obvious solutions would be thosethat eliminate the visibility of marijuana cultivation from the street.
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Plant Numbers -Cooperative cultivation has, in many cases, placed a large number of plants onsmall parcels in the community. In other cases it appears that the number of plantslikely exceeds the amount of medical marijuana that any one individual couldconsume either through smoking or oral consumption. Possible solutions would limitthe number of mature plants and/or size of the cultivation area.
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Proximity -Distance between budding marijuana plants and adjacent homes may exacerbaterelated issues noted above. Setback restrictions and limitations on distancesbetween cultivations and adjacent homes will help minimally but will not eliminatethe odor issues.In addition, the proximity of marijuana grows to areas were youth congregateprovide not only an attractive nuisance but also exposes youth unnecessarily tocriminal impacts.
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Yuba City -- Urgency marijuana cultivation ordinance
Urgency ordinance prohibiting the outdoor cultivation of medical cannabis in Yuba City, Calif., passed in March 2012.
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