Title
Public Hearing: Approval of an Ordinance to Extend for an Additional Six Months the Moratorium on Medical Marijuana Collective Gardens (First and Final Reading)
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
Not referred to a committee.
City Manager Recommendation:
* Hold the public hearing.
* After closing the Public Hearing and if Council has enough information for a decision, move to suspend Council's usual Guideline and approve on first and final reading the ordinance extending the moratorium on medical marijuana collective gardens for an additional 6 months, to a total of 547 days. [Two-thirds affirmative vote is needed for first and final reading = 5 members if all are present.]
Report
Issue:
Should the City Council extend the City's existing moratorium on new, non-Initiative 502 cannabis related land uses.
Staff Contact:
Chris Grabowski, Code Enforcement Officer, 360.753.8168
Darren Nienaber, Deputy City Attorney, 360.753.8044
Presenter(s):
Chris Grabowski, Code Enforcement Officer, 360.753.8168
Darren Nienaber, Deputy City Attorney, 360.753.8044
Background and Analysis:
In November of 2012, Washington State voters passed Initiative 502 legalizing the sale of recreational cannabis the Washington State. Subsequently, on May 7, 2013, the Olympia City Council established a moratorium on all new cannabis related land uses. The moratorium was for one year and is scheduled to expire May 7, 2014.
Since the adoption of the moratorium, there have been no new cannabis related land uses in the City. The only complaints to the City's code enforcement division about the existing collective gardens have been nuisance smells, which have been dealt with under the City's existing nuisance laws. Anecdotal evidence suggests that there has been no reduction in the availability of medical cannabis to patients, and that they are amply served by the existing shops that hold themselves out as collective gardens. The City has no mad...
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