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1 Ordinance 4037'
2
3 AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNTY OF BUTTE ADDING ARTICLE I, ENTITLED
4 "MARIJUANA DISPENSARTES,-r
OF CHAPTER 34B, ENTITLED "MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES," OF THE BUTTE
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COUNTY CODE
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~ The Board of Supervisors of the County of Butte ordains as
8 follows:
9 Section 1. Chapter 34B is added to the Butte County Code as
10 follows:
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CHAPTER 34B MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES REGULATION
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13 34B-~. Authority and Title. Pursuant to the authority granted
14 by Article XI, section 7 of the California Constitution, Health
15 and Safety Code sections 11362.83 and 11362.768, and Government
16 Code section 65800 et seq., the Board of Supervisors does enact
17 this Ordinance, which sha11 be known and may be cited as the
18 "Butte County Marihuana Aispensary Ordinance."
19 34B-2 Findings and Purpose. The Board of Supervisors of the
20 County of Butte hereby finds and declares the fallowing:
21 ~a) In 1996, the voters of the State of California approved
22 Proposition. 215 tcodified as California Health and Safety Cade
23 section 11362.5, and entitled "The Compassionate ~)se Act of
24 1996").
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fi(b) The intent of Proposition 215 was to enable persons who
are in need of marijuana for medical purposes to use it without
fear of criminal prosecution under limited, specified
circumstances. The Proposition further provides that "nothing
an this section shall be construed to supersede legislation
prohibiting persons from engaging in conduct that endangers
others, or to condone the diversion of marijuana for non-medical
purposes."
(c) In 2004, the Legislature enacted Senate Bill 420 (codified
as California Health and Safety Code sections 11362.7 et seq.)
to clarify the scope of Proposition 215, and to provide
qualifying patients and primary caregivers who collectively orl
cooperatively cultivate marijuana for medical purposes with a
limited defense to certain specified State criminal statutes.
(d) The Federal Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. §§ 801 et
seq., Class3f3es marijuana as a Schedule I Drug, which is
defined as a drug or other substance that has a high potential
'for abuse, that has no currently accepted medical use in
treatment in the United States, and that has not been accepted
as safe for use under medical supervision. The Federal
Controlled Substances Act makes it unlawful, under federal. law,
for any person to cultivate, manufacture, distribute or
dispense, or possess with intent to manufacture, distribute or
dispense, marijuana. The Federal Controlled Substances Act
contains no exemption for the cultivation., manufacture,
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.distribution, dispensation, or possession of marijuana for
medical. purposes.
(e) Proposition 215 and Senate Bi11 420 primarily address
criminal law, providing qualifying patients and primary
caregivers with limited immunity from state criminal prosecution
under certain identified statutes. Neither Proposition 215 nor
Senate Bill 420, nor the Attorney General's August 2008
Guidelines for the Secu.r~.ty and Non~I?iversion of Marijuana Grown
for Medical Use adapted pursuant to Senate Bill 420, provides
comprehensive land use regulation of facilities and premises at
which marijuana is dispensed.
(f) Operating dispensaries in Butte County have contributed to a
higher concentration of marijuana in the area, as some persons
grow and process marijuana specifically with the intent to
provide the marijuana to dispensaries. Further, law enforcement
has made an arrest in an alleged attempted murder of a
dispensary operator. Organized crime has arrived in the County',
with the intention of establishing a marijuana dispensary and''
eliminating competition. Organized crime members have committed
home invasion robberies to steal marijuana for sale in a
marijuana dispensary. The County has experienced a significant
increase in arrests for marijuana-related crime and specifically
in arrests of juveniles for marijuana-related crime.
(g) Proposition 215 and Senate Bill 420 do not preempt local
zoning ar nuisance regulations affecting marijuana-related land
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uses; rather, Health and Safety Code Section 11362.83 wash
recently amended to provide that local agencies may (1) enact
ordinances that regulate the location, operation or
establishment of a medical marijuana cooperative or collective,
(2) may enforce such, local ordinances civilly and criminally and
(3) enact other laws consistent with the article. Local
regulatory authority over such land uses has been recognized and
affirmed in such cases as City of Claremont v. Kruse (2009) 177
Cal.App.4t~' 1153, County of Los Angeles v. Hi1~. (2011) 192
Cal.App.4th 861. and Qualified Patients Assoc. v. City of Anaheim
(07CC09524).
(h) The Board of Supervisors hereby finds that marijuana
dispensaries are not substantially similar to other permitted,
conditional or accessory uses in any zone in the County and
therefore are prohibited in any zone consistent with Section 24~-
65 of the Butte County Cade. The Board of Supervisors further
finds that marijuana dispensaries previously established in this
County are unlawful. and a public nuisance, and shall be abated,
eliminated or enjoined as provided by the Butte County Code or
state law.
(i) Nothing in this Ordinance shall be construed to allow the
use of marijuana for non-medical purposes, or allow any activity
relating to the cultivation, distribution or consumption of
marijuana that is otherwise illegal under State or federal law.
No provision of this Ordinance shall be deemed a defense or
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immunity to any action brought against any person by the Butte
County District Attorney, the Attorney General of State of
California, or the United States of America.
34B--3 Definitions .
Except where the context clearly indicates otherwise, the
following definitions shall govern the construction of the words
and phrases used in this Ordinance:
(a} "Facility" includes any facility, building, structure,
premises, storefront, or location, whether fixed or mobile,
permanent or temporary, and any delivery service.
(b} "Marijuana Dispensary" means any facility meeting any or all
of the following criteria:
(1} A facility where marijuana is made available for medical.
purposes pursuant to Health and Safety Code sections 13362.5
and/or 11362.7 et seq. or otherwise; provided, however, that a
"Marijuana Dispensary" shall nat include the following
facilities pursuant to the following provisions of Division 2 of
the Health and Safety Code:
a clinic licensed pursuant to Chapter 1; a health care facility
licensed pursuant to Chapter 2; a residential care facility for
persons with chronic life-threatening illness licensed pursuant
to Chapter 3.01; a residential care facility for the elderly
licensed pursuant to Chapter 3.2; or a home health agency
licensed pursuant to Chapter 8, as long as any such use complied
strictly with applicable law, including, but not limited to,
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Health & Safety Code Sections 11362.5 et seq. and 11362.7 et
seq. and the Butte County Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 24 of the
Butte County Code).
"Marijuana Dispensary" includes any medical marijuana collective
or cooperative that meets any or all of the foregoing cr~.teria.
This Ordinance shall in no way limit the right to possess, use
or cultivate marijuana for medicinal purposes as is presently
authorized by the laws of the State of California as set forth
in the Health and Safety Code.
34B-4 Prohibit~.on of Marijuana Dispensaries. Notwithstanding
any other provision of this Code, the establishment,
development, construction, maintenance, or operation of a
Marijuana Dispensary is hereby prohibited, and is not a
permitted or conditionally permitted use in any zoning district,
even if located within an otherwise permitted use. No person
shall establish, develop, construct, maintain, or operate a
Marijuana Dispensary, and no application for a building permit,
use permit, variance, or any other entitlement authorizing the
establishment, development, construction, maintenance, or
operation of any Marijuana Dispensary shall be approved by the
County of Butte or any officer or employee thereof.
34B-5 Enforcement. When a person violates any provision of
this Ordinance, the County may use any and all remedies
available to it, including those set out in Butte County Code
Chapter 1 (General Provisions), Chapter 41. (Code Enforcement
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Policies and Procedures), Chapter 24 (Zoning), Chapter 32A
(Property Maintenance and Abatement of Nuisances} and all other
applicable sections of the Butte County Code.
Section 2. The County finds that this Ordinance is not subject
to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA} pursuant to
Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct
or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the
environment) and 15061 (b}(3} (there is no possibility the
activity in question may have a significant effect on the
environment). In addition to the foregoing general. exemptions,
the following categorical exemptions apply: Sections 15308
(actions taken as authorized by local ordinance to assure
protection of the environment) and 15321 (action by agency for
enforcement of a law, general rule, standard or objective
administered or adopted by the agency, including by direct
referral to the County Counsel as appropriate for judicial
enforcement}.
Section 3.
If any provision of this Ordinance ar the
application thereof to any person ar circumstances is for any
reason held to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction,
such provisions shall be deemed severable, and the invalidity
thereof shall not affect the remaining provisions ar other
applications of the Ordinance which can be given effect without
the invalid provision ar application thereof.
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Section 4. This Ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) days
after the date of its passage. The Clerk of the Board of
Supervisors is authorized and directed to publish this ordinance
before the expiration of fifteen (15) days after its passage.
This Ordinance shall be published once, with the names of the
members of the Board of Supervisors voting for and against it,
in the Chico Enterprise Record, a newspaper of general
circulation published in the County of Butte, State of
California."
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PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of Supervisors of the County of
Butte, State of California, on the 25th day of October 20.1, by
the following vote:
AYES: Supervisors Connelly, Kirk, Wahl, Yamaguchi and Lambert
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
NOT VOTING: None
STEVE LAMB Chair of the
Butte County Board of Supervisors
ATTEST:
Paul Hahn,
Chief Administrative Officer and
Cler
IBY:
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