HomeMy WebLinkAbout1805 URGENCY ORDINANCE NO. 1805
AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PALM
SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA, CORRECTING BY AMENDMENT
SECTION 93.23.15 OF THE PALM SPRINGS MUNICIPAL
CODE RELATING TO "MEDICAL CANNABIS
COOPERATIVE AND COLLECTIVE SPECIAL
CONDITIONS." (415THS VOTE REQUIRED.)
City Attorney's Summary
This Ordinance corrects an error in Section 93.23.15 of the
Palm Springs Municipal Code relating to "Medical Cannabis
Cooperative and Collective Special Conditions"inadvertently
caused when an obsolete version of PSMC Section
93.22.00, relating to medical cannabis collectives and
cooperatives, was used as the base document for Ordinance
1799. The purpose of Ordinance 1799 was to consolidate in
one location in the Code, Conditions for Specific Uses that
previously had been scattered in various locations within the
City's Zoning Code. The provisions of Section 93.22.00
were relocated to the new Section 93.23.15 but did not
include amendments to Section 93.22.00. This Ordinance
corrects the medical cannabis cooperative and collective
special conditions to reflect Ordinances 1766, 1769, and
1776 that had been previously approved by the City Council
as amendments to the original medical cannabis ordinance.
This Ordinance is an urgency ordinance and is intended to
become effective immediately.
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA,
ORDAINS:
Section 1. This urgency ordinance is adopted pursuant to Section 312 of the Charter
of the City of Palm Springs.
Section 2. The City Council finds, determines, and declares that this urgency
ordinance is necessary because Ordinance No. 1799, an ordinance that was intended
to clean-up and consolidate various special zoning and land use special conditions
relating to certain specific uses, including the provisions of Section 93.22.00 of the Palm
Springs Municipal Code relating to medical cannabis collectives and cooperatives,
inadvertently used an obsolete version of Section 93.22.00, effectively repealing
previously approved amendments to the medical cannabis collectives and cooperatives
ordinance. This Ordinance is necessary to ensure that the previously approved
amendments remain in full force and effect and applicable to the City's enforcement of
its medical cannabis collectives and cooperatives ordinance. The City Council further
finds that this Ordinance does not substantially affect the City's medical cannabis
Ordinance No. 1805
Page 2
collectives and cooperatives regulatory program as previously approved by this City
Council, after review and recommendation from the Planning Commission and that this
Ordinance is primarily intended to correct inadvertent clerical errors and other non-
substantive changes consistent with the intent of Section 93.22.00 as initially adopted
and amended.
Section 3. Section 93.23.15 of the Palm Springs Municipal Code is amended to read:
Section 93.23.15 Medical Cannabis Cooperative or Collective Special Standards
(formerly 93.22.00)
A. No land use entitlement, permit (including building permit) approval, site plan,
certificate of occupancy, zoning clearance, or other land use authorization for a Medical
Cannabis Cooperative shall be granted or permitted except in conformance with this
Section.
B. Medical Cannabis Cooperatives or Collectives shall be permitted, upon
application and approval of a regulatory permit in accordance with the criteria and
process set forth in this Section.
C. No Medical Cannabis Cooperative or Collective shall be established, developed,
or operated within five hundred (500) feet of a school, public playground or park, or any
residential zone property, child care or day care facility, youth center, or church, or
within one thousand (1000) feet of any other Medical Cannabis Cooperative or
Collective, and shall not be located on any property that is occupied with a commercial
retail use where such use is the primary use on such property. All distances shall be
measured in a straight line, without regard to intervening structures, from the nearest
point of the building or structure in which the Medical Cannabis Cooperative or
Collective is, or will be located, to the nearest property line of those uses describe in this
Subsection. Administrative modifications for this standard may be granted by the City
Council pursuant to Section 94.06.01.13.
D. A Medical Cannabis Cooperative or Collective is not and shall not be approved
as an accessory use to any other use permitted by this Zoning Code.
E. A Medical Cannabis Cooperative or Collective shall be parked at a rate of 1
space for every 250 gross square feet of office space, and 1 space for every 800 square
feet of warehouse / cultivation space. Administrative modifications for this standard
may be granted by the City Council pursuant to Section 94.06.01.6.
F. No more than three (3) Medical Cannabis Cooperatives and/or Collectives shall
be maintained or operated in the City at any time. The City Council shall review and
evaluate all qualified applications and will approve issuance of regulatory permits to the
most qualified as determined through the Allotment Process described below. Where
the City Council has reviewed qualified applications within three (3) years of any review
and allotment proposal allowed under the provisions of this Section, the City Council
Ordinance No. 1805
Page 3
may limit its review to one or more of the qualified applications reviewed and considered
during such previous Allotment Process.
G. Prior to initiating operations and as a continuing requisite to conducting
operations, the legal representative of the persons wishing to operate a Medical
Cannabis Cooperative or Collective shall obtain a regulatory permit from the City
Manager under the terms and conditions set forth in this Section. The legal
representative shall file an application with the City Manager upon a form provided by
the City and shall pay a filing fee as established by resolution adopted by the City
Council as amended from time to time. An application for a regulatory permit for a
Medical Cannabis Cooperative or Collective shall include, but shall not be limited to, the
following information:
1. An estimate of the size of the group of primary caregivers and/or qualified
patients who will be served by the non-profit cooperative; this description should
include whether delivery service will be provide and the extent of such service.
2. The address of the location from which the cooperative for which
application is made will be operated;
3. A site plan and floor plan of the premises denoting all the use of areas on
the premises, including storage, cultivation areas, exterior lighting, restrooms,
signage, and parking; other tenant spaces if the cooperative or collective is
proposed for a multi-tenant building site.
4. A security plan including the following measures:
a. Security cameras shall be installed and maintained in good working
condition, and used in an on-going manner with at least 120 continuous
hours of digitally recorded documentation in a format approved by the City
Manager. The cameras shall be in use 24 hours per day, 7 days per week.
The areas to be covered by the security cameras include, but are not
limited to, the storage areas, cultivation areas, all doors and windows, and
any other areas as determined by the City Manager
b. The lease/business space shall be alarmed with a reliable, commercial
alarm system that is operated and monitored by a security company or
alarm business that is operating in full compliance with Chapter 5.02 of
this Code.
c. Entrance to the dispensing area and any storage areas shall be locked at
all times, and under the control of cooperative staff.
d. The business entrance(s) and all window areas shall be illuminated during
evening hours. The applicant shall comply with the City's lighting
standards regarding fixture type, wattage, illumination levels, shielding,
etc., and secure the necessary approvals and permits as needed.
e. All windows on the building that houses the cooperative or collective shall
be appropriately secured and all marijuana securely stored.
Ordinance No. 1805
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5. The name and address of any person who is managing or responsible for
the Medical Cannabis Cooperative or Collective's activities, and the names and
addresses of any employees, if any, and a statement as to whether such person or
persons has or have been convicted of a crime(s), the nature of such offense(s),
and the sentence(s) received for such conviction(s).
6. The name and address of the owner and lessor of the real property upon
which the business is to be conducted. In the event the applicant is not the legal
owner of the property, the application must be accompanied with a notarized
acknowledgement from the owner of the property that a Medical Cannabis
Cooperative or Collective will be operated on his/her property.
7. Authorization for the City Manager to seek verification of the information
contained within the application.
8. Evidence that the cooperative or collective is organized as a bona fide
non-profit cooperative, affiliation, association, or collective of persons comprised
exclusively and entirely of qualified patients and the primary caregivers of those
patients in strict accordance with the Compassionate Use Act.
9. A statement in writing by the applicant that he or she certifies under
penalty of perjury that all the information contained in the application is true and
correct.
10. Any such additional and further information as is deemed necessary by
the City Manager to administer this Section.
H. The City Manager shall conduct a background check of any applicant for a
regulatory permit, including any person who is managing or is otherwise responsible for
the activities of the cooperative or collective, and any employee, and shall prepare a
report on the acceptability of the applicant's background and the suitability of the
proposed location. Upon completing the review process, the regulatory permit shall be
deemed a qualified application subject to the final certification and approval by the City
Council pursuant to the allotment process, unless the City Manager finds that the
applicant:
1. Has made one or more false or misleading statements, or omissions on
the application or during the application process; or
2. The proposed cooperative or collective is not allowed by state or local law,
statue, ordinance, or regulation, including this Code, at a particular location.
3. Is not a Primary Caregiver or Qualified Patient or the legal representative
of the cooperative or collective; or
4. The applicant, or any person who is managing or is otherwise responsible
for the activities of the cooperative or collective, or any employee, if any, has been
Ordinance No. 1805
Page 5
convicted of a felony, or convicted of a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, or
the illegal use, possession, transportation, distribution or similar activities related to
controlled substances, with the exception of marijuana related offenses for which
the conviction occurred prior to passage of Compassionate Use Act. A conviction
within the meaning of this section means a plea or verdict of guilty or a conviction
following a plea of nolo contendere.
5. The applicant. Or any person who is managing or is otherwise responsible
for the activities of the cooperative or collective has engaged in unlawful,
fraudulent, unfair, or deceptive business acts or practices.
Based on the information set forth in the application and the City Manager's report, the
City Manager, or the City Council pursuant to the allotment process, may impose
reasonable terms and conditions on the proposed operations in addition to those
specified in this Section. A regulatory permit issued pursuant to this Section is not
transferable.
I. The City Manager will accept applications for Medical Cannabis Cooperatives or
Collectives during a ninety (90) day period commencing on the effective date of this
Section. Such 90 day time period plus an additional 30 days to complete the reviews
and the preparation of the reports called for in this Section shall be considered the
"Application Period." In the event there is no more than one qualified application for
each unallocated regulatory permit for a medical cannabis collective or cooperative as
allowed under Subsection (F) determined to be conditionally qualified by the City
Manager, the City Manager shall refer each such application to the City Council with a
recommendation that the City Council approve the issuance of a regulatory permit to the
applicants, subject to full compliance with the provisions of this Section and any
conditions of approval. In the event there are more than one applications submitted for
each unallocated regulatory permit for a medical cannabis collective or cooperative as
allowed under Subsection (F) during the Application Period, the City Manager shall
submit the qualified applications and the City Manager report on each application to the
City Council for review and consideration. The qualified applications shall be
considered concurrently by the City Council at a public hearing noticed and conducted
pursuant to the provisions of Section 94.02.00 C of this Code. The City Council shall
consider the qualified applications after evaluating the applications on their respective
merits and the City Council may conditionally approve each qualified application or deny
one or more of such applications if the Council makes one or more of the findings listed
in Subsection H. The City Council shall rank all qualified applications in order of those
that best satisfy the requirements of this Section and provide the highest level of service
and opportunities for residents of Palm Springs. The highest ranked qualified
applications equal to the number of available regulatory permits shall be granted
regulatory permits pursuant to this Section.
J. The obligations of the Medical Cannabis Cooperative or Collective, including all
on-going and continuing obligations required pursuant to any provision of this Section or
as may be provided in any conditional approval of the City Manager or the City Council,
Ordinance No. 1805
Page 6
shall be set forth in a covenant running with the land or the leasehold interest, approved
as to form by the City Attorney, and enforceable by the City. Such covenant shall also
provide that the cooperative or collective shall annually provide to the City Manager an
updated application containing the information contained in Subsection G. To the fullest
extent permitted by law, the City shall not assume any liability whatsoever, and
expressly does not waive sovereign immunity, with respect to medical cannabis, or for
the activities of any Medical Cannabis Cooperative or Collective. Upon receiving
possession of a regulatory permit as provided in this Section, the collective or
cooperative shall
1. Execute an agreement indemnifying the City;
2. Carry insurance in the amounts and of the types that are acceptable to the
City Manager;
3. Name the City as an additionally insured.
4. Agree to defend at its sole expense, any action against the City, its
agents, officers, and employees because of the issues of such approval.
5. Agree to reimburse the City for any court costs and attorney fees that the
City may be required to pay as a result of such action. The City may, at its sole
discretion, participate at its own expense in the defense of any such action, but
such participation shall not relieve the operator of its obligation hereunder.
K. No persons shall engage in, conduct, or be permitted to engage in or conduct a
Medical Cannabis Cooperative or Collective ("cooperative") unless each of the following
requirements is continually met:
1. The cooperative or collective shall comply fully with all of the applicable
restrictions and mandates set forth in state law, including without limitation the
Attorney General Guidelines.
2. The cooperative shall only be open between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and
7:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
3. Physician's referrals shall be verified by the cooperative prior to inclusion
into the cooperative and at least every six months thereafter.
4. Each member of the cooperative or collective shall be a patient or a
qualified primary caregiver. The cooperative shall maintain patient records in a
secure location within the City of Palm Springs, available to the City Manager to
review upon demand. Such records shall include without limitation a copy of the
physician's referral and, if using a primary caregiver, a notarized written
authorization from the patient to be represented by such primary caregiver.
Ordinance No. 1805
Page 7
5. Cannabis shall be kept in a secured manner during business and
nonbusiness hours.
6. Each cooperative or collective that prepares, dispenses, or in any manner
distributes food must comply with the provisions of all relevant State and local laws
regarding the preparation, distribution, and sale of food.
7. No cooperative or collective shall conduct or engage in the commercial
sale of any product, good, or service. All transactions between the cooperative or
collective and its members or the members' primary caregivers shall be made by
check or credit card; no cash transactions shall be allowed.
8. Any Medical Cannabis Cooperative or Collective must pay any applicable
sales tax pursuant to federal, state, and local law.
9. On-site smoking, ingestion, or consumption of cannabis or alcohol shall be
prohibited on the premises of the cooperative or collective. The term "premises" as
used in this Subsection includes the actual building, as well as any accessory
structures and parking areas. The building entrance to a cooperative or collective
shall be clearly and legibly posted with a notice indicating that smoking, ingesting,
or consuming marijuana on the premises or in the vicinity of the cooperative or
collective is prohibited.
10. Signage for the cooperative shall be limited to name of business only, and
no advertising of the goods and/or services shall be permitted.
11. Alcoholic beverages shall not be sold, stored, distributed, or consumed on
the premises. A cooperative or collective shall not hold or maintain a license from
the State Department of Alcohol Beverage Control to sell alcoholic beverages, or
operate a business that sells alcoholic beverages. In addition, alcohol shall not be
provided, stored, kept, located, sold, dispensed, or used on the premises of the
cooperative or collective.
12. Except as provided in Subsection G-4, windows and/or entrances shall not
be obstructed and must maintain a clear view into the premises during business
hours.
13. No one under 18 years of age shall be a member of a cooperative or a
collective without written authorization of a parent or legal guardian.
14. Physician services shall not be provided on the premises. "Physician
services" does not include social services, including counseling, help with housing
and meals, hospice and other care referrals which may be provided on site.
15. The building in which the cooperative or collective is located as well as the
operations as conducted therein shall fully comply with all applicable rules,
Ordinance No. 1805
Page 8
regulations, and laws including, but not limited to, zoning and building codes, the
City's business license ordinances, the Revenue and Taxation Code, the
Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Compassionate Use Act.
16. The cooperative or collective shall not distribute, sell, dispense, or
administer cannabis to anyone other than qualified patient members of the
cooperative or collective and their primary caregivers.
17. A Medical Marijuana Cooperative or Collective shall distribute only
cannabis cultivated on the premises or by a member of the cooperative or collective
or the member's primary caregiver. The cooperative or collective shall do an
inventory on the first business day of each month and shall record the total quantity
of each form of cannabis on the premises. These records shall be maintained for
two (2) years from the date created.
18. Provide the City Manager with the name, phone number, facsimile
number, and email address of an on-site community relations or staff person or
other representative to whom one can provide notice if there are operating
problems associated with the Cooperative. The Cooperative shall make every good
faith effort to encourage residents to call this person to try to solve operating
problems, if any, before any calls or complaints are made to the police or planning
departments.
19. Fully comply with and meet all operating criteria required pursuant to the
Compassionate Use Act, state law, the Attorney General Guidelines, the provisions
of this Section, and any specific, additional operating procedures and measures as
may be imposed as conditions of approval of the regulatory permit, and all
requirements set forth in the covenant as described in Subsection J, in order to
ensure that the operation of the cooperative or collective is consistent with the
protection of the health, safety, and welfare of the community, qualified patients,
and primary caregivers, and will not adversely affect surrounding uses.
L. Enforcement.
1. Recordings made by the security cameras shall be made available to the
City Manager upon verbal request; no search warrant or subpoena shall be needed
to view the recorded materials.
2. The City Manager shall have the right to enter the Medical Cannabis
Cooperative or Collective from time to time unannounced for the purpose of making
reasonable inspections to observe and enforce compliance with this Section and all
laws of the City and State of California.
3. Operation of the cooperative or collective in non-compliance with any
conditions of approval or standards of this Section shall constitute a violation of the
Municipal Code and shall be enforced pursuant to the provisions of this Code.
Ordinance No. 1805
Page 9
4. The City Manager may revoke a medical cannabis regulatory permit if any
of the following, singularly or in combination, occur:
a. The City Manager determines that the cooperative or collective has failed
to comply with any provision of this Code, any condition or approval, or
any agreement or covenant as required pursuant to this Section; or
b. Operations cease for more than 90 calendar days, including during
change of ownership proceedings; or
c. Ownership is changed without securing a regulatory permit; or
d. The cooperative or collective fails to maintain 120 continuous hours of
security recordings; or
e. The cooperative or collective fails to allow inspection of the security
recordings, the activity logs, or of the premise by authorized City officials.
5. Any decision regarding the approval, conditional approval, denial, or
revocation of a regulatory permit may be appealed to the City Council. Said appeal
shall be made by a notice of appeal from the person appealing within thirty (30)
days from the date of the decision. The appeal shall be accompanied by a fee,
which shall be established by resolution of the City Council amended from time to
time, and a written, verified declaration setting forth the basis for the claim that the
permit was improperly approved, denied, conditioned or revoked. Filing of an
appeal shall suspend the issuance of all regulatory permits until action is taken on
the appeal.
M. In the event a qualified cooperative or collective that receives an allotment under
Subsection I of this Section ceases to operate for any reason, the City Manager may or
shall reopen the allotment process and provide an opportunity for new applications to be
submitted. The time periods and process provided in Subsection I shall be applied to
the review and consideration of applications and the allotment of a regulatory permit.
The provisions of this Subsection shall not apply in those situations where the City
Council has reviewed qualified applications within three (3) years of a previous
Allotment Process and the City Council decides to limit its review to one or more
qualified applications reviewed and considered during such previous Allotment Process.
Section 4. This urgency ordinance shall take effect immediately upon its adoption by
a four-fifths (4/5) vote of the City Council. This urgency ordinance shall continue in
effect from the date of its adoption and until the effective date of Ordinance No. _
and shall thereafter be of no further force and effect.
Section 5. If any section or provision of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be
invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, or contravened by
reason of any preemptive legislation, then the provisions of Section 1 through 3,
inclusive, of this Ordinance shall be deemed invalid and unenforceable and the
dispensing of cannabis for any reason in any zone shall be deemed a prohibited use
under the City's Zoning Code. The City Council hereby declares that it would not have
adopted this Ordinance if any of the sections or provisions thereof may be declared
Ordinance No. 1805
Page 10
invalid or unconstitutional or contravened via legislation.
Section 6. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall certify to the passage and
adoption of this Ordinance and shall cause the same, or the summary thereof, to be
published and posted pursuant to the provisions of law and this Ordinance shall take
effect immediately.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this 7th day of March 2012.12
ATTEST: STEP N P. POUGNET, MAYOR
MES THOMPSON, CITY CLERK
CERTIFICATION
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE ) ss.
CITY OF PALM SPRINGS )
I, JAMES THOMPSON, City Clerk of the City of Palm Springs, California, do
hereby certify that Urgency Ordinance No. 1805 is a full, true, and correct copy, and
was adopted at a regular meeting of the Palm Springs City Council on the 7th day of
March, 2012, by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmember Hutcheson, Councilmember Lewin, Mayor Pro Tem Foat,
and Mayor Pougnet.
NOES: Councilmember Mills.
ABSENT: None.
ABSTAIN: None.
AMES THOMPSON, CITY CLERK
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