This article shall be known as the Marijuana Ordinance.

(Ord. No. 680, 9-24-2019)

The California Compassionate Use Act of 1996 authorizes the use of marijuana for personal medical purposes by patients pursuant to physicians' recommendations and exempts certain acts by those patients and their primary caregivers related to that personal medical use. The Medical Marijuana and Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA later renamed MCRSA), effective January 1, 2016, established a comprehensive State licensing and regulatory framework for the cultivation, manufacturing, testing, distribution, transportation, dispensing, and delivery of medical cannabis and recognized the authority of local jurisdictions to prohibit or impose additional restrictions on any such medical cannabis activities. The Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA) enacted by voter approval of proposition 64 at the November 8, 2016, Statewide election, authorized persons twenty-one years of age or older to possess and use up to twenty-eight and one-half grams of marijuana and up to eight grams of concentrated cannabis, and to cultivate and possess up to six living marijuana plants and the marijuana produced by those plants for personal use and created a State licensing structure for commercial adult-use marijuana operations. On June 27, 2017, the state approved the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA), which aimed to reconcile the existing medical marijuana statutory framework under MCRSA and the adult-use statutory framework adopted under the AUMA and created a comprehensive system to legalize, control, and regulate the cultivation, processing, manufacture, distribution, testing, and sale of cannabis, including cannabis products, and to tax the commercial growth and retail sale of cannabis.

This article aims to permit access to cannabis by the citizens of the City of Corning to the extent allowed by California law, while imposing a complete ban on commercial cannabis operations in order to protect the health, safety, and general welfare of the community from the potential negative consequences associated with such operations. Further, this article imposes specific restrictions on the personal cultivation of cannabis allowed under state law in order to minimize potential safety, security, land use and nuisance issues associated with such activity.

(Ord. No. 680, 9-24-2019)

In enacting this chapter, it is the intent of the City of Corning to protect the safety and welfare of the general public by prohibiting medical and nonmedical marijuana facilities, commercial marijuana activities, the delivery of all marijuana, and the outdoor cultivation of marijuana within the city's corporate limits in a manner consistent with state law.

(Ord. No. 680, 9-24-2019)

The following words and phrases, whenever used in this chapter, are defined as follows:

A.

"Cannabis" has the same meaning as defined in Business and Professions Code section 26001.

B.

"Commercial marijuana activity" includes "commercial cannabis activity" as set forth in California Business and Professions Code sections 19300.5(j) and 26001(d), as may be amended from time to time, and includes the cultivation, possession, manufacture, distribution, processing, storing, testing, labeling, transportation, or sale of marijuana and marijuana products.

C.

"Cultivation" shall have the same meaning as set forth in California Business and Professions Code sections 19300.5(e) and 26001(e), as may be amended from time to time, and includes any activity involved in the planting, growing, drying, curing, grading, or trimming of marijuana.

D.

"Delivery" shall have the same meaning as set forth in California Business and Professions Code sections 19300.5(m) and 26001(h), as may be amended from time to time, and includes the commercial transfer of marijuana or marijuana products to another person, and also includes the use by a retailer of any technology or platform, whether owned or controlled by the retailer or independently licensed, that enables customers to arrange for or facilitate the commercial transfer of marijuana by a licensed retailer of marijuana or marijuana products.

E.

"Establish" or "operate" a medical or recreational marijuana facility means and includes: the opening or commencement of the operation of a medical marijuana or nonmedical marijuana facility; the conversion of an existing business, facility, use, establishment, property, or location to a medical marijuana or nonmedical marijuana facility; or the addition of a medical marijuana or nonmedical marijuana facility to any other existing business, facility, use, establishment, property, or location.

F.

"Marijuana" shall have the same meaning as set forth in California Health and Safety Code Section 11018 and Business and Professions Code Section 19300.5(f), as may be amended from time to time.

G.

"Medical marijuana" is marijuana used for medical purposes where that medical use is deemed appropriate and recommended by a physician who has determined that the person's health would benefit from the use of marijuana in the treatment of conditions such as acquired immune deficiency syndrome ("AIDS"), anorexia, arthritis, cancer, chronic pain, glaucoma, migraine, spasticity, or any other serious medical condition for which marijuana is deemed to provide relief as defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 11362.7(h), as may be amended from time to time.

H.

"Medical marijuana facility" means any business, facility, use, establishment, property, or location, whether fixed or mobile, where medical marijuana is sold, made available, delivered, and/or distributed by one or more of the following: a primary caregiver, a qualified patient, or a patient with an identification card. A "medical marijuana facility" shall not include the following uses: a clinic licensed pursuant to California Health and Safety Code division 2, chapter 1; a healthcare facility licensed pursuant to California Health and Safety Code division 2, chapter 2; a facility licensed pursuant to California Health and Safety Code division 2, chapter 2; a residential care facility for persons with chronic life-threatening illness licensed pursuant to California Health and Safety Code division 2, chapter 3.01; a residential care facility for the elderly licensed pursuant to California Health and Safety Code division 2, chapter 3.2; a residential hospice; or a home health agency licensed pursuant to California Health and Safety Code division 2, chapter 8.

I.

"Nonmedical marijuana facility" means any building, facility, use, establishment, property, or location where any person or entity establishes, commences, engages in, conducts, or permits another person or entity to establish, commence, engage in, or conduct any activity that requires a state license or nonprofit license under Business and Professions Code Section 26000 et seq., including but not limited to marijuana cultivation, distribution, transportation, storage, manufacturing of marijuana products, processing, the sale of marijuana or marijuana products, and the operation of marijuana microbusinesses. A "nonmedical marijuana facility" includes any "commercial marijuana activity" as defined by Business and Professions Code Section 26001(d).

J.

"Outdoors" means any location that is not within a fully enclosed and secure structure.

(Ord. No. 680, 9-24-2019)

A.

Medical marijuana facilities. Medical marijuana facilities are prohibited in all zones in the city and shall not be established or operated in the city.

B.

Nonmedical marijuana facilities. Nonmedical marijuana facilities are prohibited in all zones in the city and shall not be established or operated in the city.

C.

Commercial marijuana activity. Commercial marijuana activity is prohibited in all zones in the city and shall not be established or operated in the city.

D.

Property owners. A property owner shall not rent, lease, or otherwise permit any person, business, or entity that engages in commercial marijuana activity to occupy real property in the city.

E.

Deliveries. No person and/or entity may deliver or transport cannabis from any fixed or mobile location, either inside or outside the city, to any person in the city, except to the extent allowed under Business and Professions Code Section 26090.

F.

Outdoor cultivation. Outdoor marijuana cultivation is prohibited in all zones in the city.

G.

Indoor cultivation. Indoor marijuana cultivation is prohibited; provided, however, that a person may plant, cultivate, harvest, dry, or process cannabis plants to the extent allowed under California Health and Safety Code Sections 11362.1(a)(3) and 11362.77, subject to all restrictions under California State law inside a single private residence or accessory structure to the residence located on the grounds of that residence; provided, that the location is fully enclosed and secured against unauthorized entry, and provided that the following standards are met:

1.

Marijuana cultivation including any plumbing or electrical components shall comply with all applicable building and fire codes.

2.

Indoor grow lights shall not exceed 1,200 watts and shall be installed, maintained and operated in compliance with state and local law. Gas products (including, but not limited to, C02, butane, propane and natural gas), or generators producing electric power shall not be used within any detached, fully-enclosed and secure structure or residential structure for the purpose of indoor cultivation of cannabis.

3.

Marijuana shall not be detectable by sight or smell from adjacent properties or public spaces. This includes but is not limited to the requirement that any detached, fully enclosed and secure structure used for the cultivation of cannabis must have a ventilation and filtration system installed that shall prevent cannabis plant odors from detection on the property line. The ventilation and filtration system must be installed prior to commencing any indoor cultivation.

4.

The residential structure shall remain at all times an occupied residence, with legal and functioning cooking, sleeping, and sanitation facilities with proper ingress and egress. These rooms shall not be used for marijuana cultivation where such cultivation will prevent their primary use.

5.

The property owner must provide express written consent allowing marijuana cultivation in the event any nonowner occupant wishes to cultivate marijuana on the property.

6.

Marijuana cultivation shall not occur in both a detached structure and inside a residence on the same parcel. Only one cultivation area is allowed per parcel.

7.

Marijuana cultivation in any detached, fully-enclosed and secure structure or residential structure pursuant to this chapter is only permitted with a license from the City of Corning. A license will not be issued when the following occur:

a.

The license fee for cultivation at a private residence has not been paid. The fee for such a license shall be established by resolution of the city council.

b.

The applicant has failed to provide a written, notarized acknowledgement from the owner of the private residence that the owner consents to the cultivation on his or her property.

c.

The applicant has failed to provide the name or each person, owning, leasing, renting, occupying or having charge of the private residence where cannabis is cultivated.

d.

The property is subject to an open code enforcement case for any violation of the Corning Municipal Code.

(Ord. No. 680, 9-24-2019)

A.

The city may enforce this chapter in any manner permitted by law. Violation of this chapter shall be and is hereby declared to be a public nuisance and contrary to the public interest and shall create a cause of action for injunctive relief at the city's discretion.

B.

A person who violates, causes or permits another person to violate any provision of this chapter shall be subject to the enforcement provisions of chapter 8.25 of this Municipal Code.

C.

A property owner shall be given a reasonable period of time for the correction or remedy of the violation, but not more than thirty days, if all of the following are true:

1.

A tenant is in possession of the property that is the subject of the violation.

2.

The owner of the property can provide evidence that the rental or lease agreement prohibits the cultivation of marijuana.

3.

The owner of the property did not know the tenant was illegally cultivating marijuana and no complaint, property inspection, or other information caused the owner to have actual notice of the illegal cannabis cultivation.

D.

All remedies proscribed under this chapter are cumulative and the election of one or more remedies does not bar the city from the pursuit of any other remedy.

(Ord. No. 680, 9-24-2019)

If any section, sentence, clause or phrase of this article is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion of this article. The council hereby declares that it would have passed this ordinance and adopted this article and each section, sentence, clause or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid or unconstitutional.

(Ord. No. 680, 9-24-2019)