REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Action on an Amendment to Zoning Code Chapter 18.102 - Regulation of Marijuana (Cannabis) [Council Pillar: Enhance Community Engagement and Transparency]
Report
BACKGROUND
The passage of Proposition 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA), on November 8, 2016, legalized personal recreational use by persons 21 and over, and regulated commercial activities related to cannabis. Subsequently, the State legislature passed Senate Bill 94, the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA), unifying regulations on medical and non-medical commercial cannabis activities and the personal use of cannabis.
Prior to January 2018, the California State Bureau of Cannabis Control ("State") adopted regulations allowing for six general license types for commercial cannabis businesses: retail (including delivery); cultivation; manufacturing; transportation; distribution; and testing. For issuance of a State license the State requires, among other items, a local license if local regulations have been enacted. The State regulations would apply to any local jurisdictions which did not have local regulations in place prior to January 1, 2018. A local jurisdiction could subsequently relax their regulations to align with the State's, but not adopt regulations more stringent than those in place on January 1, 2018.
To maintain the City's ability to develop a local regulatory approach, on November 21, 2017 the City Council adopted an Ordinance which temporarily prohibited all commercial cannabis activity until January 1, 2019 and which also imposed reasonable restrictions on marijuana growth for personal use. (The terms marijuana and cannabis are identified as interchangeable in the Municipal Code.) This Ordinance was further amended on November 27, 2018 and May 21, 2019 to extend the temporary ban of all commercial cannabis activity until June 30, 2020. These extensions were made to allow staff additional time to conduct res...
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