HomeMy WebLinkAboutAGENDA REPORT 2019 1204 REG CCSA ITEM 09ACITY OF MOORPARK, CALIFORNIA
City Council Meeting
of December 04, 2019
ACTION Continued to December 18, 2019.
BY B.Garza.
A. Consider Adoption of an Urgency Ordinance to Prohibit the Cultivation,
Manufacturing, Testing, Storing, and Certain Sales of Industrial Hemp in
the City of Moorpark, Declaring the Urgency Thereof and the Immediate
Effectiveness of the Ordinance Pursuant to Government Code Section
65858, 36934 and 36937, and Making a Determination of Exemption
under the California Environmental Quality Act. Staff Recommendation: 1)
Waive full reading and adopt Urgency Ordinance No. ___ as read by title
only. (REQUIRES A ROLL CALL VOTE AND A 4/5THS VOTE OF THE
CITY COUNCIL TO ADOPT); and 2) Direct City staff to prepare a written
report of the steps taken to address the impacts of industrial hemp on the
community and have that report presented at the December 18, 2019,
Regular City Council meeting; and 3) Provide Notice of a Public Hearing
for January 15, 2020, to consider the extension of Urgency Ordinance No.
___; and 4) Direct staff to begin the preparation of a non-urgency
permanent Ordinance establishing zoning and other necessary restrictions
on the cultivation, manufacturing, testing, and storing of industrial hemp in
the City; and 5) Direct staff to begin the preparation of a non-urgency
permanent Ordinance establishing zoning and other necessary restrictions
on the sale of products containing CBD, if the sale of those products
requires FDA approval, and the products do not have such approval. (Troy
Brown/Kevin Ennis)
Item: 9.A.
MOORPARK CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Honorable City Council
FROM: Troy Brown, City Manager
Kevin G. Ennis, City Attorney
Nicholas R. Ghirelli, Assistant City Attorney
DATE: 12/04/2019
SUBJECT: Consider Adoption of an Urgency Ordinance to Prohibit the
Cultivation, Manufacturing, Testing, Storing, and Certain Sales of
Industrial Hemp in the City of Moorpark, Declaring the Urgency
Thereof and the Immediate Effectiveness of the Ordinance
Pursuant to Government Code Section 65858, 36934 and 36937,
and Making a Determination of Exemption under the California
Environmental Quality Act
Staff has prepared a proposed urgency ordinance to impose a moratorium on the
cultivation, manufacturing, testing, and storing of industrial hemp, among other related
activities such as drying and processing industrial hemp, in all zoning districts of the City.
The urgency ordinance also prohibits the sale of products that contain cannabidiols
(“CBD”), if the sale of those products requires FDA approval and the products do not have
such approval. In addition, the urgency ordinance prohibits the sale of all industrial hemp
products, if the sale comprises five percent or more of a business’s floor area or gross
sales in any month. The proposed urgency ordinance would prohibit issuance of zoning
permits, building permits, land use entitlements and business registration permits for any of
those activities within the City of Moorpark for an initial 45-day period. If this urgency
ordinance is adopted, City staff will take other necessary actions required by state law to
permit the City Council to extend that moratorium for another 10 months and 15 days at its
January 15, 2020 City Council meeting and to begin the preparation of permanent
regulations during the pendency of the moratorium.
Item: 9.A.
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BACKGROUND
Over the last several months, large numbers of residents in the Peach Hill, Mountain
Meadows, Serenata and other areas and neighborhoods in the southern portion of the City
have experienced offensive odors from relatively new and large-scale outdoor industrial
hemp farms located in the Tierra Rejada Valley located immediately south of the City in the
unincorporated area of the County of Ventura. Dozens of residents have called City and
County officials complaining of the continual skunk-like odor in their neighborhoods as
terpenes from a large farm of industrial hemp grown to produce CBD oil wafts into
residential neighborhoods adjacent to this hemp farm. Aside from having to experience
offensive odors, many of these residents also have complained of headaches, nausea,
sore throats and other physical side effects from breathing and smelling the distinctive odor
generated by industrial hemp grown to produce CBD oil.
On Tuesday, November 19, 2019, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors held a special
meeting at the Moorpark Community Center to hear from residents who are experiencing
these odors. At this standing-room only meeting, a large number of residents voiced their
complaints and raised a series of questions about the problems associated with industrial
hemp grown close to residents. At the conclusion of that meeting, the City was informed
that the County Board of Supervisors provided direction to County staff to bring back a
draft moratorium on the issuance of new industrial hemp permits and to develop
permanent regulations to avoid or lessen the impacts of hemp farms on nearby residents.
On Wednesday, November 20, 2019, the Moorpark City Council received a presentation
from the County’s Agricultural Commission, Ed Williams, and his Deputy, about industrial
hemp cultivation and permitting in Ventura County. At the meeting, residents and
Councilmembers posed a series of questions about the process of permitting hemp farms
and potential solutions to address the impacts on the community. Ventura County Sheriff
Captain Fazio also detailed a series of public safety issues generated by the outdoor and
open cultivation of industrial hemp.
At the conclusion of that discussion, the Council directed that an item be placed on this
City Council agenda that would allow the City Council to address the current and
immediate threat to the public health, safety and welfare caused by the cultivation of
industrial hemp and to allow the City Council to adopt as an urgency measure an interim
ordinance prohibiting industrial hemp cultivation in the City.
DISCUSSION
A. Background
“Industrial hemp” is defined as “a fiber or oilseed crop, or both, that is limited to types of the
plant Cannabis sativa L. having no more than three-tenths of one percent (0.3%)
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) contained in the dried flowering tops, whether growing or not;
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the seeds of the plant; the resin extracted from any part of the plant; and every compound,
manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant, its seeds or resin
produced therefrom.” In contrast, traditional cannabis, also known generally as marijuana,
has a THC content that exceeds 3/10th of one percent in its flowering tops, seeds or resin.
Industrial hemp is grown to produce a variety of products, including fiber for clothing,
textiles, paper, building materials and for CBD oil for human use and consumption.
Cannabis is principally grown for the psychoactive properties of THC when ingested.
Industrial hemp and cannabis are regulated differently under federal and state law.
On December 20, 2018, the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (also known as the 2018
Farm Bill) was signed into law by the President of the United States. Effective January 1,
2018, that law removed industrial hemp from Schedule I of the federal Controlled
Substances Act and directed the U.S. Agricultural Department to develop a federal
regulatory oversight program for the cultivation, production and marketing of industrial
hemp.
Similarly, the California state government enacted a regulatory program to allow for the
cultivation of industrial hemp in California. Under that program, growers of industrial hemp
for commercial purposes must register with the county agricultural commissions and obtain
an annual permit. (See, generally, California Food and Agricultural Code Section 81000 et
seq. and Title 3 of the California Code of Regulations, Section 4900 et seq.)
B. Impacts on City
In the last year, Ventura County has become an increasingly popular area for the growing
of industrial hemp because of the County’s unique climate that allows for the year-round
and staggered growing of industrial hemp crops. The Ventura County Agricultural
Commissioner informed the City Council on November 20, 2019, that so far in 2019, the
County has issued permits to 47 applicants seeking to cultivate industrial hemp on 110
sites covering approximately 3,600 acres of land. Each permit is valid for one year. Of
those, most were issued for the cultivation of industrial hemp for the production of CBD oil.
The specific cultivar of industrial hemp that is grown to produce CBD oil is a cultivar that
produces a large amount of flowering resin. This flowering resin produces a smell or
terpene that is often described as having the strong odor of marijuana or, to some, the
smell of a skunk.
In the last year, a large farm area in the Tierra Rejada Valley just south of the City was
planted to grow industrial hemp. The specific type of cultivar planted to produce CBD oil
combined with the large acreage of hemp plants planted for staggered harvesting over
many months of the year has caused significant and pervasive foul orders to infiltrate the
southern portion of the City of Moorpark.
Dozens of residents in the affected area have described the impacts as being a nuisance.
Impacts include constant exposure to offensive odors, inside and outside their homes.
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Many residents indicated that they are now inhibited from enjoying the outdoor areas
around their homes and from using passive and active recreation areas in their
neighborhoods. Many residents have reported headaches, nausea, and sore throats.
Given the strong and pervasive odor in the neighborhood, residents are concerned about
the potential diminution in the value of their homes and whether prospective purchasers of
homes in the area would be driven away by the pervasive and strong odor.
Additional concerns were raised about the volatile organic compounds (VOC) generated by
industrial hemp plants and whether large-scale production of industrial hemp could lead to
the increased generation of smog-producing ozone in Ventura County.
Public safety concerns were also raised. Ventura County Sheriff’s Captain Victor Fazio,
reported on the increased number of crimes committed by persons seeking to steal
industrial hemp plants from open and unsecured fields, the collateral crimes committed in
the course of those thefts, and the criminal element that is being attracted into Ventura
County to take advantage of these opportunities for theft.
Based on this information and all the evidence presented to the City Council in the prior
meetings on this issue, staff believes that the cultivation, manufacturing, testing, sale, and
storing of industrial hemp poses a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety
and welfare of the community. Allowing for cultivation of industrial hemp in the City could
create similar and additional impacts from those noted in this report. Adoption of the
proposed interim ordinance is necessary to prohibit the cultivation, manufacturing, testing,
sale, and storing of industrial hemp in the City because any those activities may be in
conflict with zoning and municipal code regulations that the City may want to adopt over
the next several months. Moreover, given the reported incidents of theft of industrial hemp,
all industrial hemp activities should be prohibited. City staff will study appropriate
regulatory tools to address these impacts, including a permanent prohibition on industrial
hemp activities within the City, during the moratorium period. In addition, staff will prepare
an ordinance to implement those tools.
C. CBD Products
After the 2018 Farm Bill was signed into law, the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”)
released a statement stating that it is unlawful under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act
(“FD&C”) to introduce food containing added CBD into interstate commerce, or to market
CBD products as, or in, dietary supplements, regardless of whether the CBD was derived
from industrial hemp or from cannabis. Similarly, the California Department of Public
Health released a statement explaining that the use of industrial hemp as the source of
CBD to be added to food products is prohibited. The California Department of Public
Health explained that until the FDA rules that industrial hemp-derived CBD oil and CBD
products can be used as a food or California makes a determination that they are safe to
use for human and animal consumption, CBD products are not an approved food, food
ingredient, food additive, or dietary supplement. The FDA has approved only one CBD
product, Epidiolex, a prescription drug product to treat two rare, severe forms of epilepsy.
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The moratorium will not ban the sale of Epidiolex.
Under the FD&C, any product intended to have a therapeutic or medical use, and any
product (other than a food) that is intended to affect the structure or function of the body of
humans or animals, is a drug. Drugs must generally either receive premarket approval by
the FDA through the New Drug Application process or conform to a "monograph" for a
particular drug category, as established by FDA's Over-the-Counter (“OTC”) Drug Review.
CBD is not an ingredient considered under the OTC drug review. An unapproved new drug
cannot be distributed or sold in interstate commerce. There are no FDA approved
products that contain CBD other than Epidiolex. Therefore, the sale of CBD products that
are intended to have a therapeutic or medical use is a violation of federal law, and as
discussed below, can pose a significant risk to the public. In addition, the FDA has
concluded that CBD cannot be sold as a dietary supplement.
The FDA has also concluded that it is a prohibited act to introduce or deliver for
introduction into interstate commerce any food (including any animal food or feed) to which
CBD has been added.1 Unlike the FDA-approved CBD drug product, unapproved CBD
products, which could include unapproved drugs, cosmetics, foods, and products marketed
as dietary supplements, have not been subject to FDA evaluation regarding whether they
are effective to treat a particular disease or have other effects that may be claimed. In
addition, they have not been evaluated by the FDA to determine what the proper dosage is,
how they could interact with other drugs or foods, or whether they have dangerous side
effects or other safety concerns. Misleading, unproven, or false claims associated with
CBD products may lead consumers to put off getting important medical care, such as
proper diagnosis, treatment, and supportive care, which is a real public health and safety
concern.
The FDA notes that it has seen only limited data about CBD safety and the data points to
real risks that need to be considered before taking CBD for any reason. According to the
FDA, CBD has the potential to cause liver injury, and can affect the metabolism of other
drugs, causing serious side effects. Use of CBD with alcohol or other Central Nervous
System depressants increases the risk of sedation and drowsiness, which can lead to
injuries. CBD can also cause changes in alertness, most commonly experienced as
drowsiness or sleepiness, gastrointestinal distress, most commonly experienced as
diarrhea and/or decreased appetite, and changes in mood, most commonly experienced as
irritability and agitation.
In addition to safety risks and unproven claims, the quality of many CBD products may also
be in question. The FDA has raised concerns about the lack of appropriate processing
controls and practices that can put consumers at additional risk. For example, the FDA
1 Ingredients that are derived from industrial hemp that do not contain THC or CBD might be able to be
added to food. In December 2018, the FDA determined that hulled hemp seed, hemp seed protein
powder, and hemp seed oil can be legally marketed in human foods for consumption as marketers do not
make claims that they treat disease. These products do not fall within the City’s categorical ban.
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has tested the chemical content of cannabinoid compounds in some of the products, and
many were found to not contain the levels of CBD they claimed. The FDA is also
investigating reports of CBD potentially containing unsafe levels of contaminants (e.g.,
pesticides, heavy metals, and THC).
A cosmetic is defined in Section 201(i) of the FD&C Act as "(1) articles intended to be
rubbed, poured, sprinkled, or sprayed on, introduced into, or otherwise applied to the
human body or any part thereof for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or
altering the appearance, and (2) articles intended for use as a component of any such
articles; except that such term shall not include soap." Under the FD&C Act, cosmetic
products and ingredients are not subject to premarket approval by FDA, except for most
color additives. Ingredients not specifically addressed by regulation must nonetheless
comply with all applicable requirements, and no ingredient – including a cannabis or
cannabis-derived ingredient – can be used in a cosmetic if it causes the product to be
adulterated or misbranded in any way. A cosmetic generally is adulterated if it bears or
contains any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render it injurious to users
under the conditions of use prescribed in the labeling, or under such conditions of use as
are customary or usage. If a product is intended to affect the structure or function of the
body, or to diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat or prevent disease, it is a drug, or possibly both a
cosmetic and a drug, even if it affects the appearance.
As part of staff’s comprehensive investigation of industrial hemp and its potential impacts
on public health, safety, and welfare, staff will also evaluate whether and to what extent
retail sales of CBD products contribute to any such health and safety impacts.
INTERIM ORDINANCE PROCEDURES
California law authorizes municipalities to adopt “interim” ordinances that place an
immediate moratorium on the establishment of specified new activities and uses in the
City. California Government Code Section 65858 provides for the procedures and
requirements for the adoption of an “interim” ordinance.
Section 65858 provides that, without following normal zoning code ordinance adoption
procedures, a city council may, in order to protect the public health, safety, and welfare of
the community, adopt as an urgency measure an “interim ordinance” prohibiting any uses
that may be in conflict with a contemplated general plan, specific plan, or zoning proposal
that the City Council, Planning Commission or Planning Department is considering or
studying for adoption within a reasonable time.
Section 65858 provides that a city council cannot adopt an interim ordinance unless the
ordinance contains legislative findings that there is a current and immediate threat to the
public health, safety, or welfare, and that the approval of additional entitlements for a
specific use or uses would result in a threat to the public health, safety, or welfare.
Adoption of the interim ordinance requires a 4/5ths vote of the City Council. If one member
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of the City Council is absent from the City Council meeting, a unanimous vote in favor of
adoption of the Ordinance by the remaining four members is required to adopt the
Ordinance. A motion to waive full reading and adopt the proposed Urgency Ordinance as
read by title will require a roll call vote. If that motion passes, the Urgency Ordinance will
go into effect immediately and would remain in effect for a period of forty-five (45) days,
pursuant to Government Code section 65858(a), unless further extended by the City
Council.
If the Urgency Ordinance is adopted, it will remain in effect for an initial 45-day period (until
January 18, 2020.) Prior to that expiration, the City Council may extend the interim
ordinance by an additional 10 months and 15 days by the adoption of an additional
urgency ordinance. Any extension shall also require a four-fifths vote for adoption. This
means that if the City Council wants the interim ordinance to extend past January 18, 2020,
the City Council will need to extend the Ordinance at its January 15, 2020 City Council
meeting. In order to allow for that potential extension, City Staff is required to prepare a
written report pursuant to Government Code Section 65858(d) which describes the
measure taken by the City to alleviate the condition that led to the adoption of the
ordinance. This written report is required to be issued by the City Council at least 10 days
prior to extension of the interim ordinance. As the City Council will not have a meeting the
first week of January (due to the January 1, 2020 holiday), and the extension of the
ordinance will need to occur at the January 15, 2020 Regular City Council Meeting, the City
Council will need to act to approve and issue that written report at its December 18, 2019
City Council meeting.
Aside from the written report, City Staff will also provide 10-day advance notice of a public
hearing on January 15, 2020 at which meeting the City Council will consider an ordinance
to extend the interim ordinance by 10 months and 15 days.
Finally, if the City has not been able to enact permanent zoning and other limitations during
that extension period, the law allows for one additional one-year extension, for a total
cumulative duration of the interim restrictions of two years.
Concurrently with the interim ordinance process, City staff will begin the process of
preparing permanent zoning and other regulations and then process those through the
normal zoning ordinance adoption process. That process will include a noticed public
hearing before the Planning Commission, the Planning Commission’s adoption of a
resolution making recommendations on the proposed text of a permanent ordinance to the
City Council, a noticed public hearing before the City Council and the regular two reading
processing for adoption of a non-urgency ordinance by the City Council.
CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT
This interim ordinance is exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality
Act (CEQA) on several grounds.
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This interim ordinance is categorically exempt from CEQA, under Section 15308 of the
State CEQA Guidelines, because this ordinance is a regulatory action taken by the City in
accordance with California Government Code Section 65858 to assure maintenance and
protection of the environment pending further review of the potential impacts of industrial
hemp uses in the City and completion of contemplated Zoning Ordinance revisions.
In addition, this interim ordinance is not a “project” within the meaning of Section 15378 of
the State CEQA Guidelines, because it has no potential to result in a direct physical
change in the environment, and it has no potential to result in any reasonably foreseeable
indirect physical change in the environment. The interim ordinance will impose greater
limitations on development in the City than under the current Zoning Code because the
moratorium will temporarily halt the cultivation, manufacturing, testing, and storing of
industrial hemp, the sale of products contains CBD if the sale of those products requires
FDA approval and have not obtained that approval, and the sale of industrial hemp
products if such products comprise five percent or more of a business’s floor space or
gross sales in any one month. The interim ordinance will thereby serve to reduce
potentially significant adverse environmental impacts caused by those activities in the City.
Finally, this interim ordinance is exempt from CEQA review pursuant to Section
15061(b)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines. This interim ordinance is covered by the
general rule that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential to cause a
significant effect on the environment. Because the interim ordinance will impose a
moratorium on cultivation, manufacturing, testing, and storing of industrial hemp, as well as
the sale of products containing CBD, if the sale of those products requires FDA approval
and have not obtained that approval, and the sale of industrial hemp products if such
products comprise five percent or more of a business’s floor space or gross sales in any
one month, it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that this ordinance will
have a significant effect on the environment, and therefore, this interim ordinance is not
subject to CEQA.
FISCAL IMPACT
The preparation and adoption of this Interim Ordinance has required the time of the City
Manager, the Community Development Department and the City Attorney’s Office.
Additional time from those persons and departments will be required to prepare the written
report, for the upcoming extension of the interim ordinance, and the preparation and
processing of permanent regulations on industrial hemp.
COUNCIL GOAL COMPLIANCE
This action does not support a current strategic directive.
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STAFF RECOMMENDATION
1.W aive full reading and adopt Urgency Ordinance No. ___ as read by title only.
(REQUIRES A ROLL CALL VOTE AND A 4/5THS VOTE OF THE CITY COUNCIL
TO ADOPT); and
2.Direct City staff to prepare a written report of the steps taken to address the impacts
of industrial hemp on the community and have that report presented at the
December 18, 2019, Regular City Council meeting; and
3.Provide Notice of a Public Hearing for January 15, 2020, to consider the extension
of Urgency Ordinance No. ___; and
4.Direct staff to begin the preparation of a non-urgency permanent Ordinance
establishing zoning and other necessary restrictions on the cultivation,
manufacturing, testing, and storing of industrial hemp in the City; and
5.Direct staff to begin the preparation of a non-urgency permanent Ordinance
establishing zoning and other necessary restrictions on the sale of products
containing CBD, if the sale of those products requires FDA approval, and the
products do not have such approval.
Attachment: Urgency Ordinance No. ____
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ORDINANCE NO. ___
AN INTERIM URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF
MOORPARK, CALIFORNIA, ESTABLISHING A
MORATORIUM ON THE CULTIVATION,
MANUFACTURING, TESTING, RETAIL SALE, AND
STORING OF INDUSTRIAL HEMP, DECLARING THE
URGENCY THEREOF AND THE IMMEDIATE
EFFECTIVENESS OF THIS ORDINANCE PURSUANT TO
GOVERNMENT CODE SECTIONS 65858, 36934 AND
36937 AND MAKING A DETERMINATION OF EXEMPTION
UNDER THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
ACT
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MOORPARK DOES ORDAIN AS
FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Findings
A. The City Council desires to provide for the public safety, health and
welfare of the residents and visitors to the City of Moorpark (“City”) by exercising its
police power authority under Section 7 of Article XI of the California Constitution. Based
on the findings and evidence set forth below, the City Council finds that certain uses of
industrial hemp may create public safety, health and welfare impacts within the City.
These activities include the cultivation, manufacturing, testing, retail sale, and storing of
industrial hemp. At this time, industrial hemp uses are not specifically listed for
regulation by Municipal Code Chapter 17.20 (Uses by Zone).
B. The City finds that the public welfare will be harmed without studying and
evaluating the impacts associated with industrial hemp, including odor, processing
safety, and the generation of air pollutants, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Dozens of residents have called City and County of Ventura (“County”) officials
complaining of the continual skunk-like odor in their neighborhoods as terpenes from a
large farm of industrial hemp grown to produce CBD oil wafts into residential
neighborhoods adjacent to this hemp farm. During public hearings regarding industrial
hemp, the City Council heard from a substantial number of individuals regarding the
harmful effects of the odor emanating from industrial hemp cultivation located adjacent
to the City in unincorporated areas of the County. Aside from having to experience
offensive odors, many of these residents also have complained of headaches, nausea,
sore throats and other physical side effects from breathing and smelling the distinctive
odor generated by industrial hemp grown to produce CBD oil.
C. The City Council finds that there is a current and immediate threat to the
public safety, health and welfare presented by the increased crime associated with
industrial hemp activities. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department documented 10
cases of hemp theft in only 34 days in October and November 2019, and the County
has arrested 10 individuals in connection with stolen hemp. During one such event a
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firearm was reportedly brandished where the suspects were suspected of planning to
steal hemp plants. Of the 10 individuals arrested on suspicion of hemp theft, nine of
them resided outside of the County. Given that industrial hemp is now grown within the
County, the Sheriff’s Department is concerned that criminals are travelling into the
County for the purpose of stealing hemp plants and hemp paraphernalia. Theft of hemp
plants is made easier by limited security measures observed by the Sheriff’s
Department during inspections of existing hemp farms within the County. The additional
patrols and investigatory resources devoted to industrial hemp activities prevent the
Sheriff’s Department from undertaking other crime prevention activities in surrounding
areas, and it is reasonable to surmise that hemp activities within the City would detract
the Sheriff’s Department from undertaking other crime prevention activities in the City.
Based on this evidence, the City Council finds that the adoption of this Interim
Ordinance is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public safety, health and
welfare.
D. The City Council further finds that certain products containing or produced
with industrial hemp, primarily cannabidiols (CBD), have not yet received Federal Drug
Administration (FDA) approval to determine whether they are effective to treat particular
conditions or have other effects that may be claimed. In addition, such products have
not been subjected to an FDA evaluation to determine proper dosages, dangerous side
effects, or other safety conditions. As a result, persons purchasing such products may
be exposed to misleading, unproven, or false claims associated with industrial hemp
products, including CBD extracted from industrial hemp, which is a real and legitimate
public health and safety concern. Furthermore, the FDA has noted that it has seen only
limited data about CBD safety and the data points to real risks that should be
considered before CBD is ingested. Finally, according to the FDA, the quality of many
CBD products has not been fully evaluated with respect to the processing controls and
practices involved in the production of CBD that may put consumers at additional health
risks. For these reasons, the City Council desires to exercise its police power, including
the City’s land use authority, to protect the public health and safety from the risks
associated from the retail sale of industrial hemp products, including CBD, that have not
yet received approval from the FDA for consumption.
E. Allowing industrial hemp activities, without a complete and adequate state
and federal regulatory framework in place, will not adequately protect the public’s
safety, health and welfare. As such, if the City fails to enact this moratorium, industrial
hemp activities will continue to create a current and immediate threat to the public
safety, health and welfare.
E. The City Council finds that this Interim Ordinance is not subject to the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15061(c)(3) (the
activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in
the environment), 15060(c)(3) and 15378 (the activity is not a project under CEQA) of
the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it
has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or
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Ordinance No. ____
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indirectly. This is because the moratorium adopted by this Interim Ordinance merely
prohibits uses that have significant impacts on public health, safety and welfare, and
does not permit any development that could result in a significant change to the
environment. Furthermore, the moratorium established by this Interim Ordinance is
temporary pending the study and investigation of regulatory tools to address the
impacts created by industrial hemp activities. In addition, the Interim Ordinance is
categorically exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 15308 of the CEQA Guidelines,
because this ordinance is a regulatory action taken by the City in accordance with
California Government Code Section 65858 to assure maintenance and protection of
the environment pending further review of the potential impacts of industrial hemp uses
in the City and completion of contemplated Zoning Ordinance revisions.
SECTION 2. Definitions
A. “Cultivation” means the planting, growing, harvesting, drying, curing,
grading, or trimming of industrial hemp.
B. “Industrial hemp” means a fiber or oilseed crop, or both, that is limited to
types of the plant Cannabis sativa L. having no more than three-tenths of one percent
(0.3%) tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) contained in the dried flowering tops, whether
growing or not; the seeds of the plant; the resin extracted from any part of the plant; and
every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant, its
seeds or resin produced therefrom.
C. “Unapproved industrial hemp products” means any item or thing
containing any amount of industrial hemp that is intended for human or animal
consumption and has not yet received approval by the United States Food and Drug
Administration.
D. “Manufacturing” means to compound, blend, extract, infuse, process, or
otherwise make or prepare an industrial hemp product.
E. “Retail sale” means any person or business selling or offering to sell, or to
otherwise convey or exchange for any form of consideration, the following: (1) industrial
hemp or products derived from any amount of industrial hemp where the sale of such
products comprises five percent or more of the business’s floor area or five percent or
more of the gross sales of such business in any one month period; or (2) unapproved
industrial hemp products in any quantity or amount.
F. “Storing” means to store unprocessed industrial hemp.
G. “Testing” means a laboratory, facility, or entity in the state that offers or
performs tests of industrial hemp and industrial hemp products.
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SECTION 3. Moratorium Established
The City of Moorpark hereby establishes a moratorium on the cultivation,
manufacturing, testing, retail sale, and storing of industrial hemp. Cultivation,
manufacturing, testing, retail sale, and storing of industrial hemp shall all constitute
prohibited uses under Title 17 of the Moorpark Municipal Code and no building permit,
business regulatory permit, zoning clearance, or other entitlement may be issued for the
purposes of authorizing such uses.
SECTION 4. Penalty
A violation of any provision of this Interim Ordinance shall constitute a violation of
the Municipal Code and is subject to all applicable penalties, fines, and remedies
described in Chapter 1.10 of the Moorpark Municipal Code. Each and every day a
violation of this Interim Ordinance exists shall constitute a separate and distinct violation
of the Municipal Code.
SECTION 5. Term of Moratorium
This Interim Ordinance shall expire, and the moratorium established hereby shall
terminate, 45 days after the date of adoption, unless extended by the City Council at a
noticed public hearing pursuant to California Government Code Section 65858.
SECTION 6. Investigation and Report During Term of Moratorium
During the term of this Interim Ordinance, the Community Development Director
is directed to study appropriate regulatory tools to mitigate the conditions outlined in
Section 1 that arise out of the cultivation, manufacturing, testing, retail sale, and storing
of industrial hemp, including but not limited to the prohibition of all such uses. The
Community Development Director is further directed to report back to the City Council
with his or her findings and a proposed ordinance to implement the recommended
course of action.
SECTION 7. Effective Date; Findings of Urgency; and Duration
A. This Interim Ordinance is adopted as an urgency ordinance pursuant to
the provisions of Government Code Sections 65858, 36934 and 36937, and shall take
effect immediately upon its adoption. Based upon the findings set forth in Section 1
above, the City Council finds and determines that the adoption of this Interim Ordinance
is an urgency ordinance authorized by Government Code Section 65858, and is
necessary for the immediate preservation of the public health, safety, and welfare.
B. Pursuant to Government Code Section 65858(a), this Interim Ordinance
shall be adopted by not less than a four-fifths vote of the City Council and shall be in
effect for 45 days from its adoption. After notice pursuant to Government Code Section
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65090 and a public hearing, the City Council may extend the Interim Ordinance for up to
an additional 10 months and 15 days and subsequently for one year, if necessary. The
Community Development Director and the City Clerk’s office shall undertake all actions
legally necessary to extend this Interim Ordinance in the event the studies and reports
desired by the City Council will not be concluded on or before the 45th day subsequent
to the adoption of this Interim Ordinance.
SECTION 8. Severability
If any provision of this Interim Ordinance, the application thereof to any person or
circumstance, or the moratorium on any of the specific uses of industrial hemp is held
invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions, moratoria, or applications of this
Interim Ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application,
and to this end the provisions of this ordinance are severable. The City Council hereby
declares that it would have adopted this Interim Ordinance irrespective of the invalidity
of any particular portion thereof.
SECTION 7. Publication
The City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption of this ordinance; shall
enter the same in the book of original ordinances of said City; shall make a minute of the
passage and adoption thereof in the records of the proceedings of the City Council at
which the same is passed and adopted; and shall publish notice of adoption in the
manner required by law.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 4th day of December, 2019.
Janice S. Parvin, Mayor
ATTEST:
Ky Spangler, City Clerk
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