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AN ORDINANCE of the City Council of the
City of Kent, Washington, amending Title 15 of the
Kent City Code by repealing all sections pertaining
to medical cannabis collective gardens, and
adopting new regulations pertaining to medical
marijuana patient cooperatives.
RECITALS
A. Second Substitute Senate Bill No. 5052, known as the
"Cannabis Patient Protection Act," was signed into law by Governor Inslee
on April 24, 2015. This Act allows qualifying patients and/or designated
providers who hold valid recognition cards to form a "cooperative" in which
marijuana can be collectively grown for personal, medical use, beginning
July 1, 2016. The Act also repeals the existing category of "collective
gardens," as defined in RCW 69.51A.085, effective as of July 1, 2016.
B. Medical marijuana patient cooperatives are limited to four or
fewer members; must be registered with the state Liquor and Cannabis
Board; and must be located within the domicile of one of the members of
the cooperative.
C. Second Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 2136, signed
by Governor Inslee on June 30, 2015, further clarified that the Liquor and
Cannabis Board must deny the registration of a proposed patient
cooperative if the location is prohibited by local zoning ordinance.
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Re: Patient Cooperatives
D. Kent's zoning code does not currently address this new
category of patient cooperatives, requiring an amendment to the city code.
E. On May 5, 2016, the City requested expedited review under
RCW 36.70A.106 from the Washington State Department of Commerce
regarding the City's proposed code amendments. The Washington State
Department of Commerce granted the request for expedited review on May
23, 2016. No comments were received from State agencies.
F. On May 9, 2016, staff gave an overview of these proposed
amendments before the Economic and Community Development
Committee.
G. On May 9, 2016, during a workshop meeting, staff received
authorization from the Land Use and Planning Board ("LUPB") to draft an
ordinance amending Kent's zoning code to address collective gardens and
patient cooperatives.
H. On May 20, 2016, the City conducted and completed
environmental review under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA).
The City's SEPA Responsible Official issued a Determination of
Nonsignficance for the proposed code amendments.
I. On May 23, 2016, the LUPB held a public hearing to consider
the recommendation of Planning staff. At the opening of the public
hearing, staff included additional information to the LUPB, in both the staff
report and during staff's oral presentation, regarding the availability of
options other than total prohibition, if the LUPB wished to explore those.
The LUPB declined to vote on these other options, and at the close of the
public hearing the LUPB moved by unanimous vote to recommend to the
full City Council the adoption of the draft amendments prohibiting patient
cooperatives in all zoning districts, as recommended by staff.
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Re; Patient Cooperatives
J. On June 13, 2016, the Economic and Community
Development Committee considered the ordinance repealing the sections
of city code pertaining to medical cannabis collective gardens and
addressing the new category of patient cooperatives, and recommended
approval of the ordinance, as proposed by staff and approved by the LUPB,
but directed that matter be placed under "other business" on the Council
agenda so that all Councilmembers would have a chance to discuss the
matter prior to voting on it. The matter was subsequently considered by
the full City Council at its July 5, 2016, meeting.
K. While collective marijuana growing has never been authorized
in Kent, the Kent Police Department ("KPD") has investigated numerous
illegal marijuana grow operations in housing units all over the City. KPD
has noted that residential "grow houses" often pose multiple
environmental concerns, including, but not limited to. excessive power
consumption; increased mold and mildew; pervasive odors; and structural
damage.
L. Furthermore, these impacts are magnified by the fact that
these grow houses are often rental units that are rendered uninhabitable
after being used for the indoor growing and cultivation of marijuana.
M. The City Council recognizes that approved medical uses of
marijuana may provide relief to patients suffering from debilitating or
terminal conditions, but because of the potential secondary impacts, the
establishment of facilities for the collective growth, production, and
processing of medical marijuana in residential units is not appropriate for
any zoning district within the City.
N. The City Council further understands that while the medical
benefits of marijuana have been recognized by the state legislature,
3 Amend KCC 15.02 and 15.08 -
Re: Patient Cooperatives
marijuana remains a Schedule I controlled substance under both the
federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and the Washington State
Uniform Controlled Substances Act (Chapter 69.50 RCW), and any
possession and use of marijuana is still a violation of federal law.
O. The City Council has determined that the passage of a
permanent zoning code amendment that shall prohibit the establishment of
residential medical marijuana patient cooperatives in all zoning districts of
the City will serve the public health, safety and welfare.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF KENT,
WASHINGTON, DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
C�7T�7i�►T�►` [�]
SECTION 1. - Findings of Fact. The recitals and findings of fact set
forth above are adopted as the City Council's findings supporting the
passage of this ordinance.
SECTION 2. -Repealer. Section 15.02.074 of the Kent City Code is
hereby repealed in its entirety.
SECTION 3. -Repealer. Section 15.08.290 of the Kent City Code is
hereby repealed in its entirety.
SECTION 4. -Amendment. Chapter 15.02 of the Kent City Code is
hereby amended by adding a new section 15.02.326 to read as follows:
Sec. 15.02.326 Patient cooperative, medical marijuana.
Medica/ marijuana patient cooperative means a group of four or
fewer qualifying patients and/or designated providers who share
4 Amend KCC 15.02 and 15.08
Re: Patient Cooperatives
responsibility for producing and processing marijuana only for the medical
use of the members of the cooperative, pursuant to, and in accordance
with, all the terms and conditions of RCW 69.51A.250, as now enacted or
as subsequently amended.
SECiI®�l 5. -Amendment. Chapter 15.08 of the Kent City Code is
hereby amended by adding a new section 15.08.295 to read as follows:
Sec. 15.08.295 Patient cooperatives.
A. Medical marijuana patient cooperatives, as defined in KCC
15.02.326, are prohibited in the following zoning districts:
1. All agricultural districts, including A-10 and AG;
2. All residential districts, including SR -1, SR -3, SR -4.5, SR -6,
SR -8, MR -D, MR -T12, MR -T16, MR -G, MR -M, MR -H, MHP, PUD, MTC -1,
MTC -2, and MCR;
3. All commercial districts, including NCC, CC, CC -MU, DC, DCE,
DCE-T, CM -1, CM -2, GC, and GC -MU;
4. All industrial districts, including M1, M1 -C, M2, and M3; and
5. Any new district established on or after ]uly 1, 2016.
B. Any violation of this section is declared to be a public nuisance per
se, and snail be abated by the city attorney under applicable provisions of
this code or state law, including, but not limited to, Chapter 1.04 KCC.
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Re; Patient Cooperatives
C. Nothing in this section is intended to authorize, legalize or permit
the establishment or operation of a use that violates any city, county, state
or federal law or statute.
SECTION 6. -Moratorium terminated. The moratorium adopted
pursuant to Ordinance 4206 shall terminate upon the date this ordinance
goes into effect in accordance with Section 9.
SECTION 7. -Severability. If any one or more section, subsection,
or sentence of this ordinance is 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 8. -Corrections by City Clerk or Code Reviser. Upon
approvaI
of the city attorney, the city clerk and the code reviser are
authorized to make necessary corrections to this ordinance, including the
correction of clerical errors; ordinance, section, or subsection numbering;
or references to other local, state, or federal laws, codes, rules, or
regulations.
SECTION 9. -Effective Date. This ordinance shall take effect and
be in force five days after its publication, as provided by law.
SUZL�TTE COOKE, MAYOR
ATTEST:
SUE HANSON, INTERIM CITY CLERK
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Re: Patient Cooperatives
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
TOM BRUBAKER, CITY ATTORNEY
PASSED: day of fi , 2016.
APPROVED: day of , 2016.
PUBLISHED: day of2016.
I�
I hereby certify that this is a true copy of Ordinance No.
passed by the City Council of the City of Kent, Washington, and approved
by the Mayor of the City of Kent as hereon indicated.
P:\Civil\Ordinance\Patient CooperatlVes Ordinance.docx
P�'� (SEAL)
SUE HANSON, INTERIM CITY CLERK
7 Amend KCC 15.02 and 15.08 -
Re: Patient Cooperatives
Hanson, Sue
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Matheson, Derek
Monday, July 18, 2016 8:51 AM
Hanson, Sue
FW: Mayor's Position on Ordinance 4208
From: Cooke, Suzette
Sent: Friday, July 15, 2016 6:12 PM
To: City Council
Cc: City Clerk; Matheson, Derek; Fitzpatrick, Pat; Brubaker, Tom; Wilmot, Michelle; Galazin, David; Wolters, Ben
Subject: Mayor's Position on Ordinance 4208
Dear Kent City Councilmembers,
On July 5 you passed Ordinance 4208 by a 4 to 2 vote amending Title 15 of the Kent zoning
code, prohibiting medical marijuana cooperatives in all Kent zoning districts. Your action would
have replaced the moratorium against MMJ patient cooperatives passed at the previous council
meeting. Following passage, in light of my support for public access to medical marijuana (MMJ),
I announced that I would either veto the ordinance or allow it to be enacted without my
signature. I have decided the latter: Ordinance 4208 will become law without my signature.
Had I vetoed the ordinance, MMJ patient cooperatives would still be illegal. Our city has a
permissive" zoning code, which means that if a use is not specifically allowed, it is prohibited.
Since MMJ patient co-ops are a newly -established land use created by the state legislature this
year, they do not appear as a regulated use in our zoning code. Since a veto cannot add any
language to an ordinance, my veto of Ordinance 4208 would not add MMJ patient cooperatives
as a land use in our code, and therefore would have been ineffective in allowing them to exist in
Kent.
Additionally, had I vetoed Ordinance 4208, the Council's moratorium against allowing MMJ
patient cooperatives would still be in effect for at least 6 months -and may be extended.
While I am disappointed I cannot increase local access to MMJ, I am appreciative of individual
conversations I had with Council President Boyce and Councilmembers Berrios and Ralph. They
have committed to addressing the broader issue of local access to medical marijuana in a more
comprehensive fashion at a council retreat in February of 2017. I look forward to a positive
resolution.
Respectfully,
Suzette Cooke, Mayor
Office of the Mayor
220 Fourth Avenue South, Kent, WA 98032
Phone 253-856-5700
scooke@KentWA.gov
CITY OF KENT, WASHINGTON
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