(A) Findings.
(1) Under the Act, law enforcement officers and city officials are prevented from securing the information necessary to determine whether the cultivation, distribution, and use of marijuana are being conducted lawfully and whether all codes and regulations associated with such activities are being followed. Accordingly, the registration of a particular location as the site of cultivation, which need not undermine the privacy and confidentiality of the patient-caregiver relationship, could be critical to law enforcement and city officials in order to identify and distinguish sites of lawful activity from sites of unlawful and potentially hazardous activity.
(2) The experience in the State of California, a state that approved the medical use of marijuana in 1996, is that concentrations of marijuana distribution activity lead to serious secondary effects, including: resales of medical marijuana, sharing of "just-purchased" marijuana, street dealers lurking in neighborhoods to offer a lower price for marijuana to arriving patients, marijuana smoking in public and in front of children in the vicinity of medical marijuana locations, acquiring marihuana and/or money by means of robbery of patients going to or leaving a caregiver's location, and loitering and an increase in burglaries at or near such locations.
(3) Unauthorized installations of plumbing and electrical equipment relating to the cultivation of marijuana plants may create mold conditions and/or a fire risk, or may interfere with neighboring properties and create nuisance conditions in a residential neighborhood.
(B) For these reasons, no growing, cultivation, or harvesting of medical marijuana shall be lawful at a location within the city until the location has been registered under this chapter.
(1) Exception: Registration is not required for the principal residence or homestead of a qualifying patient where marijuana is cultivated for such patient's personal use.
(C) A registration form shall be submitted to the City Clerk for any location where medical marijuana will be grown, cultivated, harvested, and stored. The registration form shall be in a form approved by the City Clerk and shall require the emergency and non-emergency contact information for the owner of the property and a proxy in the event of the owner's lack of availability during an emergency. The completed registration form must be accompanied by the following:
(1) A photocopy of the current and valid caregiver registry card issued by the state to the person who is permitted to grow, cultivate, harvest, and store medical marijuana and who will be doing so at the registered location. Upon expiration of the card, the registration form shall be updated and a new copy of the renewed card shall be provided to the City Clerk.
(2) A floor plan, with dimensions, illustrating the enclosed and locked location in the building where marijuana will be grown, cultivated, harvested, and stored, and detailing the security measures related to that location and the building.
(3) Specification of the number of qualifying patients for whom marijuana will or may be grown, cultivated, harvested, and stored.
(4) Details regarding electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and any other code-related improvements and installations or facilities that will be used for growing, cultivating, harvesting, and storing the marijuana.
(5) Any additional information that the Police Chief, Fire Chief, Building Official, or their designees deems necessary for evaluating code compliance and public safety associated with the proposed growing, cultivating, harvesting, and storing of marijuana at the registered location in the manner proposed in the registration materials.
(6) Payment of the registration fee established by the city's annual appropriations ordinance.
(D) All information provided to the city pursuant to this section shall be deemed confidential due to the confidentiality requirements of the Act and shall not be subject to public disclosure unless required by law or court order.
(E) Upon submission of all required documents, information, and payment, the individual submitting the form shall be provided with a copy of the requirements of this section relating to medical marijuana.
(F) Upon receipt of all required documents, information, and payment, the City Clerk shall circulate the documents and information to the Police Chief, Fire Chief, and Building Official, or their designees, for review. If, after review, the Police Chief, Fire Chief, and/or Building Official or their designees require any additional information relating to security measures, fire safety, code compliance, or compliance with this chapter, the property owner shall be advised in writing of the additional information required and the owner shall provide such information before any growing, cultivation, harvesting, or storage of marijuana may occur at the proposed location.
(G) When the Police Chief, Fire Chief, and Building Official or their designees have sufficient information about the marijuana operations proposed for the registered property, the police department, fire department, and building department shall each schedule an inspection of the proposed operations unless they advise the City Clerk in writing that no inspection is required. Upon successful completion of all inspections and the issuance of all required permits, the City Clerk shall issue a registration certificate for the property, which shall be prominently and conspicuously displayed on or within the enclosed, locked facility approved during the review process and where medical marijuana will be grown, cultivated, harvested, and/or stored.
(H) All marijuana-related uses of the registered property subsequent to issuance of the registration certificate shall be in accordance with the information upon which the reviews and inspections were based, and any material changes to the operations, facilities, or information shall first be reviewed and, if necessary, inspected by the appropriate city official within 14 days of advising the City Clerk of the proposed change. Annual inspections may be scheduled by the city to ensure ongoing code and ordinance compliance.
(I) Properties within the city that are being utilized for growing, cultivating, harvesting, and/or storing of medical marijuana on the effective date of this section must file the completed registration form, required information, and payment with the City Clerk within 30 days.
(J) Appeals of any code-related compliance deemed necessary by any city official as part of the registration process shall be made to the Board of Code Appeals. However, appeals of any law enforcement security requirements imposed as part of the registration process shall be to a court of competent jurisdiction.
(K) A property owner shall not be deemed to have any vested rights or nonconforming use rights that would serve as a basis for failing to comply with the requirements of this chapter.
(L) The owner of the property, as identified by the city's property tax rolls, shall be presumed to be the party responsible for compliance with the registration and regulatory requirements of this chapter.
(Ord. No. 436, § 2, 8-19-14)