Laserfiche WebLink
Zoning Ordinance Amendment No. 2007-04 <br />Ordinance Amendment No. 2007-02 <br />October 1, 2007 <br />Page 2 <br />Court decision, many cities, including Santa Ana, enacted moratoriums to <br />study the issue of medical marijuana dispensaries. Currently, many <br />cities are facing the same predicament that Santa Ana is facing with <br />their moratoriums about to expire, because under state law, such <br />moratoria cannot generally be extended beyond two years. <br />The proposed ordinance would permanently ban medical marijuana <br />dispensaries. The proposed ban is directed toward storefront operations <br />that deal medical marijuana to many people. The ordinance would not <br />apply to qualified patients who have a direct, one-to-one relationship <br />with an individual caregiver, as provided by the voters in Proposition <br />215. Nor does the ordinance apply to state licensed hospitals, <br />residential care facilities, hospices or home health agencies, because <br />these uses offer generalized medical care or supportive services to <br />patients. <br />Because the City's Zoning Code has a very broad definition of retail and <br />service uses, the proposed ordinance would also list medical marijuana <br />dispensaries as a prohibited use in the city's commercial (C) zones. <br />In Orange County, the cities of Tustin, Anaheim, Fullerton and Costa Mesa <br />have all adopted ordinances banning medical marijuana dispensaries from <br />their cities. Anaheim recently enacted its ban and also decreed that any <br />dispensaries already in existence would have to immediately close. The <br />City of Huntington Beach initially allowed medical marijuana dispensaries <br />in general and limited industrial zones but is considering deleting this <br />permission for medical marijuana dispensaries in its zoning code. On <br />July 17, 2007, the Board of Supervisors for the County voted to approve a <br />fee for the issuance of identification cards for patients and primary <br />caregivers, which each county is mandated to issue under the state <br />Medical Marijuana Program Act. The County has not addressed them from a <br />land use perspective in the unincorporated areas. <br />Elsewhere, Pasadena, Fresno, Susanville, and Concord, among others, have <br />also banned medical marijuana dispensaries. All of the aforementioned <br />cities were sued by a non-profit group called the American Medical <br />Marijuana Association (ANNA) that promotes the use medical marijuana. <br />Susanville and Concord prevailed at the demurrer stage and the lawsuit <br />against Pasadena was filed but never served. The lawsuit against Fresno <br />has been stayed and during the stay, Fresno enacted an ordinance which <br />appears to allow medical marijuana dispensaries and cooperatives in any <br />zone district designated for medical offices but only if consistent with <br />State and Federal law (therefore, it really bans them). <br />According to the League of California Cities about 40 cities in <br />California have adopted ordinances banning medical marijuana <br />75A-2 <br />