Correspondence - Item 21 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Union of Medical Marijuana Patients, Inc. a City of San Diego, 7 Cal.5th 1171, 1198 (Cal. 2019), the California Supreme Court held that San Diego's medical marijuana ordinance was a CEQA project because it was capable of causing indirect physical changes in the environment, including changed traffic patterns. The court explained that "restrictions on the siting of dispensaries would require thousands of patients to drive across the City to obtain medical marijuana." (Id. at 1182.) Potential changes to traffic and circulation were enough to require CEQA review. (Id. at 1200-01.)' The City must also analyze the potential increased greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the additional vehicle trips, the potential land use impacts from increased construction of alternative overnight accommodations (hotels and motels) to make up for the loss in overnight accommodations that STRs currently provide, and the potential urban decay if the prohibition ultimately makes it impossible for homeowners to afford their homes and causes business to shutter given decline in revenue. The City must find to a certainty that the STR prohibition will result in no possibility of significant environmental impacts prior to determining the Ordinances are exempt from CEQA. (Davidon Homes, 54 Cal. App. 4th at 119-120.) Here the City has provided no evidence or evening reasoning to support its exemption determination. If the City Council were to move forward with adopting the Ordinances without this support, it would constitute an abuse of discretion. There is No Evidence Before the City Council That STRs Cause Nuisance Impacts or Affect Housing AvailabilitX The extreme approach of prohibiting STRs is also unsupported by the record before the City Council. The staff report of less than three pages claims without support that the Ordinances are "necessary for preserving the public peace, health, safety, and welfare ... and to declare such uses as a public nuisance." (See, e.g., Urgency Ordinance at 2.) This conclusory approach does not meet the standard for informed, rational decision making. Because the City lacks any justification for adopting the Ordinances, such an action would be arbitrary and capricious. Nuisance There is nothing in the record before the City Council that STRs in Santa Ana constitute a public nuisance. The staff report notes that STRs "are often associated with excessive noise, parking problems, trash, and degradation of a neighborhood's character." (Staff Report at 2). Yet, the only alleged negative impacts the City points to are "112 confirmed active cases of STRs that have received enforcement notices and citations," noting that 36 involve owners residing on -site, and 84 involve properties that are not owner -occupied. (Staff Report at 2). The City does not ' Fullerton Joint Union High School District a State Board of Education, 32 Cal.3d 779 (1982) provides another example. There, the court found a school district secession plan "will change bus routes and schedules, and affect traffic patterns. Although it is uncertain whether the total impact will be significant enough to require an environmental impact report, it is clear that it is sufficient to require at least an initial study to inquire into the need for such a report." (Id. at 794.) C1