Title
Public Hearing to Consider Zoning Amendments to Conditionally Permit Specific Types of Cannabis Businesses in Certain Zoning Districts
Body
Public Hearing to Consider Zoning Amendments to Conditionally Permit Specific Types of Cannabis Businesses in Certain Zoning Districts
BACKGROUND
On November 1, 2016, the City Council approved a referral directing staff to study updated regulations for, and potential taxation of, commercial cannabis activities. The referral specifically directed staff to look at conditionally allowing cultivation, manufacture, testing, distribution, transport, and dispensing medicinal cannabis and recreational cannabis. In addition, the referral directed staff to analyze potential fees and taxes related to cannabis business activities.
On July 5, 2017, a second referral related to cannabis business activities was approved by the City Council. The July 5, 2017 referral directed staff to propose regulations to permit convenient and safe cannabis businesses in Alameda including dispensaries, cultivation, manufacturing, purity and potency testing labs and quality control facilities, and other activities associated with the medicinal cannabis activities now legally permitted in California, including temporary licenses for recreational cannabis businesses.
On September 5, 2017 the City Council held a public meeting to review draft amendments to the Alameda Municipal Code (AMC) to implement the Council referrals.
On October 21, 2017, the City Council held a special public meeting to continue review and discussion of the proposed amendments. At the meeting, the Council requested a series of changes to the draft amendments and directed staff to prepare the final ordinances for adoption. The draft amendments to the AMC include:
• An ordinance amending the AMC to add a new Article XVI (Cannabis Businesses) to Chapter VI (BUSINESSES, OCCUPATIONS, AND INDUSTRIES). This new article covers all aspects of regulating the operations of cannabis businesses.
• An ordinance amending AMC Sections 24-11 (Smoking Prohibitions in Places of Employment and Unenclosed Public Places) and 24-12 (Smoking Prohibitions in Housing) to address smoking of cannabis in the City of Alameda; and
• An ordinance amending AMC Chapter 30 (the Zoning Code) to repeal the current prohibition on cannabis business activities and to specify the zones where certain types of cannabis businesses may locate in the City.
To amend the Zoning Code on its own initiative, the City Council is referring the proposed amendments to the Planning Board. At this time, staff is requesting that the Planning Board review and make a recommendation to the City Council on the draft amendments to the Zoning Code in time to have a first reading on the amendments at the Council’s regular meeting on December 5, 2017. The draft amendments to Chapter 30 are attached as Exhibit 1.
To inform the Planning Board recommendation, the November 7, 2017 staff report to the City Council describing in more detail the City Council’s current objectives for the regulation of cannabis businesses in Alameda is attached as Exhibit 2.
DISCUSSION
The proposed amendments to the Zoning Code (Exhibit 1) would allow:
• Up to two (2) retail dispensaries within the City limits. The dispensaries would be limited to sale of medicinal cannabis. Under the Council’s proposal, on-site consumption would be allowed in the two medicinal dispensaries, the dispensaries would be allowed to provide delivery services, and the two dispensaries would need to be at least one mile apart.
• Up to four (4) commercial manufacturing companies that use cannabis as an ingredient in a product manufactured on the site.
• Up to two (2) commercial cannabis testing laboratories, where cannabis would be tested, as required by State law.
• Up to one (1) commercial nursery for the production of clones, immature plants, seeds, etc.
To operate in Alameda, a permitted cannabis business would be required to obtain a Use Permit and an Operator’s Permit.
The following activities would remain prohibited in Alameda:
• commercial cannabis cultivation (aside from a permitted nursery);
• retail sale of cannabis for adult, non-medical use;
• cannabis microbusinesses; and
• dispensaries that are closed to the public and do delivery only.
The proposed amendments allow a medicinal cannabis dispensary to apply for a use permit in the following zoning districts:
• C-C, Community Commercial Zoning District (Park Street and Webster Street commercial districts);
• NP-G, North Park Street Gateway District (Park Street from Lincoln to Blanding Street);
• NP-W, North Park Street Workplace District (properties along Blanding Street from Oak Street to Tilden Way including the Park Street Plaza and the Blanding Shopping Center); and
• AP-AR, Alameda Point Adaptive Reuse District.
A use permit for a nursery, a manufacturing business, or a testing laboratory may be approved in the following zoning districts:
• C-M, Commercial Manufacturing District (Harbor Bay Business Park, Wind River Campus);
• AP-E1, AP-E2, Alameda Point Enterprise Districts 1 and 2;
• AP-AR, Alameda Point Adaptive Reuse District; and
• Office, Research and Development, and Light Industrial zones in the Marina Village Master Plan area.
Exhibit 3 depicts the location of the zones where allowable cannabis businesses may be located in Alameda. It should be noted that:
• The draft ordinance regulating cannabis businesses prohibits approval of a use permit on federal land or city-owned land. Currently, most of the land at Alameda Point is still federal land or City-owned land;
• State Tidelands limitations would prohibit use of the Ballena Isle C-M zoned lands for cannabis businesses; and
• The draft ordinance regulating cannabis businesses prohibits dispensaries and nurseries from locating within 1,000 feet of a sensitive use. Manufacturing facilities and testing labs would be prohibited from locating within 600 feet of a sensitive use. A sensitive use is defined as K-12 schools, licensed day care centers (excluding family day care homes) and youth centers. Youth centers are defined as any public or private facility that is primarily used to host recreational or social activities for minors, including, but not limited to, private youth membership organizations or clubs, social service teenage club facilities, video arcades, or similar amusement park facilities. The definition of “youth centers” also includes any facility determined by the Alameda Recreation and Parks Department to be a recreation center in a City park.
The draft ordinance amending the Zoning Code revises the current City of Alameda regulations related to cultivation of cannabis for personal use by:
• Maintaining the existing provisions allowing for 100 square feet of cultivation for personal adult use and a maximum of 500 square feet for personal medicinal use (the 100-square foot limit applies to each qualified patient), but requiring any cultivation area to be located indoors (outdoor cultivation for person use is prohibited);
• Establishing a six-plant maximum, where no maximum currently exists, for adult and medicinal use alike; and
• A primary caregiver may cultivate for up to five patients and up to 30 plants for the medical needs of the patients. This 30-plant maximum applies even though a qualified patient may have a physician’s recommendation granting limited immunity from criminal prosecution for possession and use of more than this threshold; and
• The cultivation limits for adult and medicinal use cannot be combined to exceed the 6-plant and 30-plant maximums.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Adoption of the Zoning Code amendments is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to Business and Professions Code section 26055(h) as discretionary review and approval, which shall include any applicable environmental review pursuant to Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources Code, shall be required in order to engage in commercial cannabis activity within the City of Alameda under such amendment to the Zoning Code. Adoption of the amendments is additionally exempt from CEQA pursuant to section 15061(b)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the adoption of these amendments may have a significant effect on the environment.
RECOMMENDATION
Hold a public hearing and recommend approval of the draft Zoning text amendments (Exhibit 1).
Respectfully submitted,
Debbie Potter
Community Development Director
Exhibits:
1. Draft Ordinance
2. November 7, 2017 City Council Staff Report
3. Zoning Map