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Home My WebLink AboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 09/16/2014 - FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 128, 2014, ESTABLISAgenda Item 12 Item # 12 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY September 16, 2014 City Council STAFF Ginny Sawyer, Policy and Project Manager SUBJECT First Reading of Ordinance No. 128, 2014, Establishing Regulations for Persons Cultivating Marijuana in Non- Residential Structures. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this item is to prohibit two or more people from growing marijuana in a non-residential structure without having complete physical separation within the structure. Marijuana grown by caregivers and for personal use is not tracked or inventoried. The proposed ordinance is recommended by staff in an effort to prevent large, unregulated marijuana grows. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading.. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION Over the past 12 months the City of Fort Collins has been diligently and deliberatively enacting regulations and licensing mechanisms on both medical and retail marijuana businesses. The City has also addressed personal growing regulations by limiting plant counts and prohibiting growing in multi-family and shared-wall housing. All of these actions aim to protect the health and safety of citizens while allowing uses and businesses that are now legal. In a continuation of this balanced approach, staff is bringing forward this Ordinance which addresses personal and caregiver growing in non-residential structures. The proposed Ordinance was developed in an effort to prevent large, unregulated marijuana grows. From a safety and nuisance perspective, growing in an industrial/non-residential setting is preferable to growing in a residence. However, allowing any number of people to join together and grow a potentially large number of plants is concerning. Staff has received complaints about these unregulated grows, specifically about the odors. Poudre Fire Authority (PFA) is also concerned with the potential for larger unregulated grows, specifically due to the high electric and CO2 use and associated fire hazards. PFA staff has already encountered caregiver and personal use grows during their normal commercial inspection activities. Marijuana grown by caregivers and for personal use is not tracked or inventoried. This contributes to concerns about marijuana being diverted into black market sales both within the community, the state and neighboring states. The proposed ordinance would be a strong tool to meet the safety goals and to help interdepartmental groups work together to ensure building, fire, and police compliance. Additionally, the State of Colorado continues to pursue additional rules for caregivers and staff will be tracking these actions. The recommended Ordinance maintains previously adopted regulations, including no growing openly or publicly, no growing in outbuildings, no use of compressed gases or solvents. All growing must occur in a closed and locked space, and marijuana grown for personal use cannot be sold. Agenda Item 12 Item # 12 Page 2 Additions under this Ordinance require anyone growing marijuana in a non-residential structure to have legal possession of a fully enclosed, individual private space that is locked and that has dedicated entrances and exits. FINANCIAL / ECONOMIC IMPACTS The financial impacts to the City are minimal. The financial impacts to those who are, or who may consider growing in non-residential structures will likely increase. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS The Ordinance will help ensure proper and safe use of electricity, water, and fertilizers as well as help control any odor or emission issues. ATTACHMENTS 1. Powerpoint presentation (PDF) 1 Establishing Regulations for Persons Cultivating Marijuana in Non-Residential Structures City Council Regular Meeting September 16, 2014 ATTACHMENT 1 2 Background Medical and Recreational Marijuana Businesses: • State and Local regulations in place Personal Use and Growing: • State and Local regulations • Local growing regulations only address residential growing Caregivers: • Less regulated. 3 Background Current Residential Regulations: • Personal use no more than 6 plants per person • No more than 12 plants in a residence • No growing in multi-family • All growing must be in an enclosed locked space • No growing in detached outbuildings or outside • Not visible or perceptible from outside 4 Background Caregiver and Personal use Marijuana: • Not tracked • Not inventoried Caregivers and those growing for personal use are using non-residential space. 5 Proposed Ordinance Non-residential growing preferred to residential growing for safety and nuisance reasons. Limiting access and grow size to address: – Large plant counts/diversion – Electric and fire hazards – Nuisance issues 6 Proposed Ordinance • Any person growing in a non-residential structure must have legal possession of the space. • The space must be fully enclosed, private and lockable. • The space must have dedicated (not shared) entrances and exits. - 1 - ORDINANCE NO. 128, 2014 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS ESTABLISHING REGULATIONS FOR PERSONS CULTIVATING MARIJUANA IN NON-RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURES WHEREAS, Article XVIII, Section 14 of the Colorado Constitution allows a primary caregiver to cultivate, possess or dispense medical marijuana for use by patients approved for the use of medical marijuana; and WHEREAS, Article XVIII, Section 16 of the Colorado Constitution allows a person to possess one ounce or less of marijuana, and to grow no more than six marijuana plants; and WHEREAS, Chapter 15, Article XVII of the City Code currently regulates the cultivation of marijuana in dwellings, but fails to address such cultivation in non-residential structures; and WHEREAS, Police Services and the Poudre Fire Authority have advised the City Council of significant health and safety concerns raised by the growing of large quantities of marijuana in such non-residential structures; and WHEREAS, City staff recommended that the City Code be amended to regulate the cultivation of marijuana in non-residential structures; and WHEREAS, the City Council has determined that these proposed amendments to the City Code are in the best interests of the City. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That Section 12-141 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended by the addition of definitions of “Dwelling unit,” “Fully enclosed” and “Non- residential structure,” which definitions read in their entirety as follows: Dwelling unit shall mean one (1) or more rooms and a single kitchen and at least one (1) bathroom, designed, occupied or intended for occupancy as separate quarters for the exclusive use of a single family for living, cooking and sanitary purposes, located in a single-family, two-family or multi-family dwelling or mixed-use building. Fully enclosed shall mean an area separated from adjoining spaces by permanent architectural or engineered structural features including walls, floors and ceilings. Non-residential structure shall mean any structure that is neither a dwelling nor a building that contains a dwelling unit. Section 2. That Section 12-142 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: - 2 - Sec. 12-142. Marijuana cultivation. (a) Cultivation, generally. (1) No marijuana cultivation shall be conducted openly or publicly. (2) Marijuana cultivation shall comply with all applicable requirements of the laws and regulations of the City and the state. (3) Marijuana cultivation shall not occur in detached outbuildings. (4) In no event shall a person cultivating marijuana pursuant to this Article keep, cultivate or process more marijuana than such person is entitled to possess under Article XVIII, Sections 14 or 16 of the Colorado Constitution. (5) All marijuana cultivation shall take place in a locked and enclosed space. (6) All marijuana products kept on premises where marijuana plants are grown shall be stored in a locked and enclosed space. (7) No marijuana produced under this section shall be made available for sale. (8) Marijuana cultivation shall not be perceptible from the exterior of the dwelling or non-residential structure in which the cultivation occurs. (9) The use of compressed gases and solvents for marijuana cultivation is prohibited. (10) The use of any lighting for indoor marijuana cultivation shall be limited to light-emitting diodes (LEDs), compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) or other fluorescent lighting. All high-intensity discharge (HID) lighting, including, but not limited, to mercury-vapor lamps, metal-halide (MH) lamps, ceramic MH lamps, sodium-vapor lamps, high-pressure sodium (HPS) lamps and xenon short- arc lamps, is prohibited. (11) No marijuana cultivation activity shall result in the emission of any gas, vapors, odors, smoke, dust, heat or glare that is noticeable at or beyond the property line of the dwelling or non-residential structure at which the cultivation occurs. Sufficient measures and means of preventing the escape of such substances from a dwelling must be provided at all times. In the event that any gas, vapors, odors, smoke, dust, heat or glare or other substances exit a dwelling, the owner of the subject premises shall be liable for such conditions and shall be responsible for immediate, full clean-up and correction of such condition. The owner shall properly dispose of all such materials, items and other substances in a safe, sanitary and secure manner and in accordance with all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. In the event there is a lessee of the subject - 3 - premises, the owner and the lessee shall be jointly and severally liable for such conditions. (b) Cultivation within dwellings. (1) No dwelling shall be used primarily as a place to cultivate marijuana. (2) In no event shall more than twelve (12) marijuana plants of any size, or six (6) mature marijuana plants, be cultivated or kept within, or on the same legal parcel as, any single-family dwelling. (3) No marijuana plants may be cultivated within any dwelling unit in a two- family, multi-family or single-family attached dwelling. (4) Marijuana cultivation shall not be perceptible from the exterior of the dwelling in which the cultivation occurs. (5) The use of compressed gases and solvents for marijuana cultivation is prohibited. (6) The use of any lighting for indoor marijuana cultivation shall be limited to light-emitting diodes (LEDs), compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) or other fluorescent lighting. All high-intensity discharge (HID) lighting, including, but not limited, to mercury-vapor lamps, metal-halide (MH) lamps, ceramic MH lamps, sodium-vapor lamps, high-pressure sodium (HPS) lamps and xenon short- arc lamps, is prohibited. (7) No marijuana cultivation activity shall result in the emission of any gas, vapors, odors, smoke, dust, heat or glare that is noticeable at or beyond the property line of the dwelling at which the cultivation occurs. Sufficient measures and means of preventing the escape of such substances from a dwelling must be provided at all times. In the event that any gas, vapors, odors, smoke, dust, heat or glare or other substances exit a dwelling, the owner of the subject premises shall be liable for such conditions and shall be responsible for immediate, full clean-up and correction of such condition. The owner shall properly dispose of all such materials, items and other substances in a safe, sanitary and secure manner and in accordance with all applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations. In the event there is a lessee of the subject premises, the owner and the lessee shall be jointly and severally liable for such conditions. (c) Cultivation within non-residential structures. No person shall cultivate marijuana in a non-residential structure in which another person is cultivating marijuana except where each person has legal possession of and cultivates exclusively within a fully enclosed, separate, individual private space that is locked and maintains dedicated entrances and exits. - 4 - Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 16th day of September, A.D. 2014, and to be presented for final passage on the 7th day of October, A.D. 2014. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on the 7th day of October, A.D. 2014. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ City Clerk