HomeMy WebLinkAbout5159 ORDINANCE NO. S I S 1
AN ORDINANCE of the City Council of the City
of Bremerton, Washington, imposing a moratorium on the
acceptance of applications for any building, land use, or
development permit or approval for Medical Manjuana
Collective Gardens
WHEREAS, changes to Washington's medical manjuana law took effect
on July 22, 2011 following the passage of E2SSB 5073 by the state legislature creating a
state system of regulation for producing and dispensing manjuana for medical purposes,
and
WHEREAS, the law provides a new option for manjuana production in
the form of medical manjuana collective gardens ( "Collective Gardens ") which can serve
up to 10 qualified medical manjuana patients and can have up to 15 plants per patient,
but no more than 45 plants, and
WHEREAS, only qualified patients may participate in or receive
manjuana from a collective garden, and
WHEREAS, the City's zoning code does not adequately address the
impacts of the placement and uses of Collective Gardens within the City of Bremerton
and the lack of regulations creates a concern that a system of interconnected collective
gardens could effectively operate as commercial dispensaries, and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the zoning code, any use not listed as a permitted,
conditional or accessory use by the zone, or any use not determined to be a similar use or
any use not found to be an allowable accessory use to the principle use shall be prohibited
within that zone unless allowed otherwise by law, and
WHEREAS, the provisions of the zoning code create a potential conflict
with E2SSB 5073, and
WHEREAS, the City is facing the potential of applications for
development of Collective Gardens within the City and the City does not have adequate
provisions for the review and consideration of the same, and
WHEREAS, because the Bremerton Municipal Code does not adequately
address the placement of these uses and the impacts that these uses may present, the
protection of the public health, safety, and general welfare may be jeopardized by the
establishment of such facilities prior to a review of the matter or adoption of new
regulations by the City Council, and
WHEREAS, the citizens of Bremerton would be well -served if the City
more fully addressed and understood the potential impacts in the form of health, safety,
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Marijuana Collective Gardens
economics, hazards to traffic, and aesthetics relating to Collective Gardens may impose
upon neighboring properties and the community as a whole, and
WHEREAS, the City needs time within which to research its options and
to review existing information on the effects of these facilities and to review the
Bremerton Municipal Code in a comprehensive fashion to determine what code revisions
may be necessary to address the impacts of such uses, and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that the protection of the health,
safety, and welfare supports imposing a moratorium on the acceptance of all applications
for any building, land use, or development permit or approval under the Bremerton
Municipal Code for Collective Gardens within the City of Bremerton until additional
review has been completed and any necessary code revisions have been adopted by the
Bremerton City Council, and
WHEREAS, since the City does not currently have sufficient regulations
to properly review and consider Collective Gardens, the enactment of a moratorium on
processing applications prior to holding a public hearing is necessary to protect the public
health and welfare of the community, and
WHEREAS, RCW 35 63 200 and RCW 36 70A 390 authorize cities to
adopt moratoriums for a period not longer than six months provided a public hearing is
held within sixty (60) days of adoption, and
WHEREAS, the purpose of this moratorium is to provide time in which
the City Council may study its existing code, ordinances, and the impacts of such uses,
determine what, if any, reasonable regulation is necessary to mitigate the impacts, and
prepare for placement of Collective Gardens, NOW THEREFORE,
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BREMERTON,
WASHINGTON, DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS
SECTION 1. Recitals Incorporated The recitals set forth in this
resolution are hereby incorporated as if fully set forth herein
SECTION 2. Moratorium Due to the findings set forth herein and as
authorized pursuant and subject to RCW 35 63 200 and RCW 36 70A 390, the Bremerton
City Council does hereby declare a moratorium on the acceptance of applications for any
building, land use, or development permit or approval (including variances and rezones
and business licenses), or any other permit or approval required to occupy, site and/or
develop any Collective Gardens and other related services within the City of Bremerton
During said moratorium, no such building, land use, or development permit or approval
shall be issued nor shall any such permit application be accepted for any such use within
the City of Bremerton.
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Marijuana Collective Gardens
SECTION 3. Pending Applications Substantially completed
applications for any building, land use, or development permit or approval (including
variances and rezones), or any other permit or approval required to site and/or to develop
any Collective Gardens, filed and accepted by the City prior to the effective date of this
moratorium, shall not be affected by this moratorium
SECTION 4. Duration The moratorium established herein shall be for a
period of six months from adoption, unless extended as provided by law, subject to a
public hearing being held within sixty (60) days of adoption of this moratorium and
adoption of findings of fact justifying the moratorium This moratorium shall terminate
sixty (60) days from adoption if the City Council does not make findings of fact
justifying the moratorium during a public hearing(s) held within that time period This
moratorium may also be terminated earlier by motion of the City Council
SECTION S. Public Hearing - Scheduled Pursuant to RCW 35 63 200
and RCW 36 70A 390, the City Council shall hold a public hearing on this moratorium
A public hearing is scheduled to be held during its regular Council meeting on August 17,
2011 to hear public input on this matter Immediately after the public hearing, the City
Council shall adopt findings of fact on the subject of this moratorium, either justifying its
continued position or terminating the moratorium
SECTION 6. SeverabihU If any one or more sections, subsections, or
sentences of this Ordinance are held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such decision shall
not affect the validity of the remaining portion of this Ordinance and the same shall
remain in full force and effect
SECTION 7. Effective Date This ordinance shall take effect and be in
force ten (10) days from and after its passage, approval and publication as provided by
law
PASSED by the City Council the I t — day of v 9 2011
WILL MAUPIN,CounciWresident
Approved this ' day of 3 2011
0 40t�w
PATTY LE Zy mayor
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Marijuana Collective Gardens
ATTEST APPROVED AS TO FORM
CAROL EN, City tlerk R GER A JUBOVICH, City Attorney
PUBLISHED the n ✓ day of ,S , 2011
EFFECTIVE the day of , 2011
ORDINANCE NO 5I5q
R \Legal \Legal \Ordinances \Community Development\Moratonum - medical manjuana collective gardens doc
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