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Home My WebLink AboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 08/15/2017 - ITEMS RELATING TO THE SUBMISSION OF A CITY-INITIATAgenda Item 26 Item # 26 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY August 15, 2017 City Council STAFF Ginny Sawyer, Policy and Project Manager Bronwyn Scurlock, Legal SUBJECT Items Relating to the Submission of a City-Initiated Ordinance Relating to Medical Marijuana Businesses to a Vote of the Registered Electors of the City at the November 7, 2017, Special Municipal Election. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A. Possible Public Hearing and Motions Regarding Protest(s) of Ballot Language. B. Resolution 2017-079 Submitting a City-Initiated Ordinance Dealing with Medical Marijuana Businesses to a Vote of the Registered Electors of the City at the Special Municipal Election to be Held on November 7, 2017, in Conjunction with the Larimer County Coordinated Election. The purpose of this item is to submit a City-Initiated Ordinance to the registered electors of the City at the November 7, 2017 special election. The proposed Ordinance amends Section 15-491 (a) and (b) of Article XVI of the City Code to allow Council to change or add any provisions in Chapter 15, Article XVI in order to stay current with state laws, rules and regulations relating to medical marijuana. Any protest of the proposed ballot language must be received no later than Monday, August 14, 2017, at noon. The protest(s) shall be heard, considered, and resolved by Council prior to adoption of Resolution 2017-079. If protest(s) are received, copies will be included in Council’s “Read-before” packet. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Resolution. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION Chapter 15, Article XVI of the City Code regulating medical marijuana businesses is the result of a citizen- initiated ordinance approved by the voters in November 2012. As such, the provisions contained therein can only be amended by the voters. However, since that time, state laws concerning medical marijuana businesses have changed considerably, and will continue to do so for some time. In order to address changes in the state law and to make new types of licenses available in Fort Collins, the voters would have to vote frequently on issues relating to medical marijuana. To facilitate updates to the City Code to reflect the most current laws, staff is proposing submitting a question to the voters that would allow Council to change or add provisions in Chapter 15, Article XVI of the City Code in order to stay current with applicable state laws, rules and regulations without going to the voters each time. Some of the changes in state law that should be or are desirable to be added to the City Code include, by way of example, changes in types of ownership structures, medical marijuana testing facilities, and research licenses. Agenda Item 26 Item # 26 Page 2 Should the measure pass, Council is not obligated to make changes or add additional licenses. The measure is also written to clearly state that Council could only make changes in order to stay current with applicable state laws, rules and regulations, and not changes that would be contrary to or eliminate any of the original citizen language. According to the Colorado Municipal League. Fort Collins is the only municipality in Colorado that is operating under voter-approved licensing provisions. PUBLIC OUTREACH Staff met with representatives of the local marijuana business industry to discuss the limitation of a voter approved initiative, and to discuss staff’s desire to make it easier to amend the Code for consistency with State law. Original drafters of the citizen-initiated ordinance support updating the Code in order to stay current with applicable state laws, rules and regulations, and wanted to ensure that the referred ballot would not allow Code changes beyond the scope of staying current with state law. The proposed amendment to be put to the voters addresses both the needs of the City while protecting the original intent of the citizen-initiated ordinance. Staff does not anticipate any impact to the general public and staff informed TEAM Fort Collins of the initiative. A news release regarding the ballot measure was distributed to the news media on August 3, and subsequently posted on fcgov.com. ATTACHMENTS 1. Powerpoint presentation (PDF) August 15, 2017 City Council Regular Meeting Marijuana Related Ballot Initiative ATTACHMENT 1 Medical Marijuana Background § November 2010 - March 2011- temporary ban § March 2012 - licensing mechanism in place § October 2011 - 20 licensed medical marijuana centers § November 2011 - citizen initiated measure banning all marijuana businesses passes § February 14, 2012 - all businesses shut down § November 2012 - citizen initiated measure (#301) allowing medical marijuana businesses passes 2 Rationale § #301 was citizen initiated, no changes may be made without a vote of the people § State continues to update medical marijuana regulations and the City is unable to reflect these changes in our code without a vote § Measure would only allow changes to reflect state changes § If passed, Council still has the option to not add additional license types 3 Examples Examples of updates include additions of: § Types of ownership structures § Medical marijuana and research and testing facilities § Transporter licenses § Off-premise storage facilities 4 Amended Section Sec. 15-491. - Administrative regulations; action by City Council. (a) The City Manager is authorized to promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary to effectuate the implementation, administration and enforcement of this Article. (b) The City Council shall be permitted to lessen any restriction contained in this Article. (c) The City Council shall be permitted to adopt additional provisions in this Article or change any provision in this Article in order to conform this Article to applicable state laws, rules and regulations. 5 Ballot Question Shall the proposed Ordinance amending Section 15-491 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins be adopted, so as to allow the City Council to adopt additional provisions in or change any provision in Chapter 15, Article XVI of the City Code pertaining to Medical Marijuana Businesses in order to stay current with applicable state laws, rules and regulations? 6 -1- RESOLUTION 2017-079 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS SUBMITTING A CITY-INITIATED ORDINANCE DEALING WITH MEDICAL MARIJUANA BUSINESSES TO A VOTE OF THE REGISTERED ELECTORS OF THE CITY AT THE SPECIAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION TO BE HELD ON NOVEMBER 7, 2017, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE LARIMER COUNTY COORDINATED ELECTION WHEREAS, on November 6, 2012, the registered electors of the City approved a citizen- initiated measure that became Chapter 15, Article XVI, of the City Code which strictly regulates, controls and permits a limited number of State-authorized medical marijuana businesses within the City of Fort Collins; and WHEREAS, pursuant to City Charter, Article X, Section 4, a citizen-initiated measure submitted to the registered electors of the City by the City Council, and adopted by electoral vote, cannot be repealed or amended except by a subsequent electoral vote; and WHEREAS, Section 15-491 (b) of the City Code authorizes the City Council to lessen any restriction in the provisions related to medical marijuana, but does not specifically allow for modifications to the provisions in order to stay current with new or additional state law provisions; and WHEREAS, the state marijuana laws, rules and regulations are ever-evolving; and WHEREAS, staff recommends that the City Council submit an initiated ordinance to the registered electors to add a new subsection to Chapter 15, Article XVI, Section 15-491 to permit the City Council to make amendments or additions to the City Code that are not contrary to and do not eliminate any of the 2012 citizen-initiated provisions except as provided in Sec. 15- 491(b), and that are current with the state laws, rules and regulations; and WHEREAS, Article X, Section 6 of the City Charter requires that the City Council conduct a public hearing and adopt a resolution in order to set a ballot title and submission clause for an initiative or referendum measure; and WHEREAS, the ballot title for the measure must identify the measure as either a city- initiated or citizen-initiated measure; and WHEREAS, the submission clause must be brief, must not conflict with those selected for any petition previously filed for the same election and must unambiguously state the principle of the provision sought to be added. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That the City Council hereby makes and adopts the determinations and findings contained in the recitals set forth above. -2- Section 2. That there is hereby submitted to the registered electors of the City at the special municipal election to be held on Tuesday, November 7, 2017, the following proposed City-initiated ordinance: ORDINANCE NO. 117, 2017 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS ADOPTING A NEW SUBSECTION TO CHAPTER 15, ARTICLE XVI, SECTION 15- 491, OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS PERMITTING THE CITY COUNCIL TO MAKE AMENDMENTS OR ADDITIONS TO ARTICLE XVI OF CHAPTER 15 OF THE CITY CODE IN ORDER TO STAY CURRENT WITH THE COLORADO MEDICAL MARIJUANA CODE, RULES AND REGULATIONS WHEREAS, the State of Colorado’s medical marijuana laws, rules and regulations are ever-evolving; and WHEREAS, it is the intent and desire of the citizens of the City of Fort Collins, in an effort to keep up with the ever-evolving state medical marijuana laws, rules and regulations, that a new Subsection (c) be added to Chapter 15, Article XVI, Section 15- 491 of the City Code that would permit the City Council of the City of Fort Collins to make amendments or additions to Article XVI in order to stay current with the state laws, rules and regulations. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS, COLORADO, that a new Subsection (c) is added to Section 15-491 of Article XVI of the Code of the City of Fort Collins which reads in its entirety as follows: (a) The City Manager is authorized to promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary to effectuate the implementation, administration and enforcement of this Article. (b) The City Council shall be permitted to lessen any restriction contained in this Article. (c) The City Council, if it desires, shall be permitted to make amendments or additions to this Article in order to stay current with applicable state laws, rules and regulations, so long as such amendments or additions are not contrary to and do not eliminate any of the 2012 citizen-initiated provisions, except as provided in Sec. 15- 491(b). Section 3. That the foregoing proposed City-initiated ordinance is hereby submitted to the registered electors of the City at said special municipal election to be held on November 7, 2017, in substantially the following form: CITY-INITIATED PROPOSED ORDINANCE Shall the proposed Ordinance amending Section 15-491 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins be adopted, so as to allow the City Council, if it desires, to adopt amendments to or add provisions in Chapter 15, Article XVI of the City Code pertaining to Medical Marijuana Businesses in order to stay current with -3- applicable state laws, rules and regulations, so long as such amendments or additions are not contrary to and do not eliminate any of the 2012 citizen-initiated provisions, except as provided in Sec. 15-491(b)? ________ YES/FOR _______ NO/AGAINST Passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the Council of the City of Fort Collins this 15th day of August, A.D. 2017. _________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _____________________________ Interim City Clerk