1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 ORDINANCE NUMBER 2017-002 AN ORDINANCE OF LEVY COUNTY, FLORIDA, ESTABLISHING A TEMPORARY MORATORIUM WITHIN THE UNINCOPORATED AREAS OF LEVY COUNTY FOR MEDICAL CANNABIS ACTIVITIES; ADOPTING FINDINGS; PROVIDING DEFINITIONS; PROHIBITING ANY MEDICAL CANNABIS ACTIVITIES DURING THE MORATORIUM PERIOD WITHIN THE UNINCORPORATED AREAS; PROVIDING FOR STUDY AND REVIEW; PROVIDING FOR EXCLUSION FROM CODIFICATION; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. RECITALS WHEREAS, in 2014 the Florida Legislature enacted a Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act, codified at Section 381.986, Florida Statutes (the Act ), which legalized the cultivation, processing, transport and dispensing of low-thc cannabis, by licensed dispensing organizations to qualified patients (highlighted terms are defined in the Act); and WHEREAS, in 2016, the Florida Legislature enacted amendments to the Act and other statutory provisions which authorized the cultivation, production, transport and dispensing of medical cannabis by licensed dispensing organizations to eligible patients, (highlighted terms are defined in the Act), which amendment expanded the types of cannabis available for medical use and expanded the qualifications of patients eligible to use cannabis for medical treatment; and 1
34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 WHEREAS, to date, the State of Florida Department of Health ( DOH ) has licensed and authorized six dispensing organizations throughout the State for the cultivation, processing, transport and dispensing of low-thc and medical cannabis for qualified patients and eligible patients; and WHEREAS, on November 8, 2016, Florida s voters passed an amendment to the Florida Constitution, titled Use of Marijuana for Debilitating Medical Conditions ( Amendment 2 ), which will become effective January 3, 2017, and which will authorize the acquisition, cultivation, possession, processing, transferring, transport, sale, distribution, dispensing and administration of medical cannabis and derivative products and supplies to an even broader population of patients by Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers (as defined in Amendment 2); and WHEREAS, Florida laws relating to cultivation, production, transport, and dispensing of all types of cannabis and their respective derivative products, and other related activities are rapidly changing, and subject to further changes as a result of Amendment 2 s directive to DOH to adopt implementing rules and the potential for additional regulation to be promulgated by the Florida Legislature, thereby raising substantial questions about whether cannabis-related land uses may have deleterious and negative secondary effects on surrounding land uses and communities; and WHEREAS, due to the rapidity of the changes in the Florida laws and regulations governing activities related to cannabis, and due to the historical prohibition of cannabis, Levy County does not currently have any land development regulations governing the use of real property for the purposes of cultivating, processing, or distributing cannabis or other 2
56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 related activities, and such uses are neither lawfully existing nor permissible within the unincorporated areas of the County; and WHEREAS, in order to promote effective land use planning and zoning, the Board of County Commissioners of Levy County, Florida ( Board ) wishes to place a temporary moratorium on Medical Cannabis Activities (as defined herein), for a period of time reasonably necessary for the County to determine the best way to regulate Medical Cannabis Activities for the benefit of the public health, safety, and welfare, and to promulgate reasonable regulations related to such activities if deemed advisable by the County; and WHEREAS, the Board hereby finds that this ordinance advances an important government purpose by reducing the likelihood of negative secondary effects of Medical Cannabis Activities; and WHEREAS, the Board hereby finds that this ordinance is in the best interest of the public health, safety, and welfare; BE IT ORDAINED, by the Board of County Commissioners of Levy County, Florida: Section 1. Findings. The foregoing recitals are hereby ratified and confirmed as being true and correct and are hereby made a part of this ordinance. Section 2. Definitions. The following terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them as follows: Derivative Product means any form of cannabis suitable for administration to or consumption or use by a qualified patient (as defined in Section 381.986, Florida Statutes), eligible patient (as defined in Section 499.0295, Florida Statutes), or other similarly situated 3
78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 individual. Low-THC Cannabis means a plant of the genus Cannabis, the dried flowers of which contain 0.8 percent or less of tetrahydrocannabinol and more than 10 percent of cannabidiol weight for weight; the seeds thereof; the resin extracted from any part of such plant; or any compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such plant or its seed or resin. Medical Cannabis means all parts of any plant of the genus Cannabis, whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin extracted from any part of the plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant or its seeds or resin. Medical Cannabis Activities means the acquisition, growing, cultivation, possession, processing, dispensing, distribution, administration, or wholesale or retail sale of Medical Cannabis, Low-THC Cannabis, or Derivative Products, or any subset of such activities or related activities. Nothing in this definition shall be construed to prohibit the medical use of Medical Cannabis or Low-THC Cannabis by a qualified patient, eligible patient, or qualifying patient, as determined by a licensed Florida physician, pursuant to Section 381.986, Florida Statutes, Amendment 2, or other applicable Florida law. Moratorium Period means a period of time which shall start with the effective date of this Ordinance until the effective date of an ordinance establishing new or amended land development regulations concerning any or all Medical Cannabis Activities within the unincorporated areas of Levy County, or until November 9, 2017, whichever date is earlier, unless the Moratorium Period is otherwise extended as provided herein. 4
100 101 102 103 104 105 106 Section 3. Moratorium. (a) A temporary moratorium is hereby imposed for the duration of the Moratorium Period on the establishment or operation of any Medical Cannabis Activities in the unincorporated areas of Levy County. It shall be unlawful and a violation of this Ordinance for any person, firm, corporation or other entity to open, establish or operate, or cause to be opened, established or operated, any facility conducting any Medical Cannabis Activities, or to conduct any Medical Cannabis Activities, in the unincorporated areas of Levy County during the Moratorium Period. 107 (b) No acceptance of applications for, processing of, or issuance of any 108 109 110 development permits, development orders, or any other official action of the County allowing or having the effect of allowing any Medical Cannabis Activities within the unincorporated areas of the County ( development permit ) shall be performed or allowed 111 during the Moratorium Period. Furthermore, the review of any application for a 112 113 114 development permit for Medical Cannabis Activities that may be pending on the date of adoption of this Ordinance shall be abated, and no new applications for such development permits shall be accepted or processed during the Moratorium Period. 115 116 (c) ordinance. The Moratorium Period may be extended by the Board by subsequent 117 118 119 120 121 (b) Section 4. Study and Review. (a) During the Moratorium Period, applicable County staff are hereby directed to study Medical Cannabis Activities and their impact on the health, safety, and welfare of the residents and businesses located within the County, and to develop and recommend land development regulations for Medical Cannabis Activities in the unincorporated areas of the County, and any other relevant 5
122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 regulations and recommendations, with such recommendations and any proposed regulations being delivered to the Board within as reasonable time as possible before the expiration of the Moratorium Period. (b) The ultimate purpose of such review and study by County staff is to propose amendments to Chapter 50 or any other applicable provisions of the Levy County Code of Ordinances, or to the Levy County Comprehensive Plan, related to Medical Cannabis Activities within the unincorporated areas of Levy County. Section 5. Exclusion from Codification. This Ordinance shall not be included in the Code of Ordinances of Levy County, Florida. This Ordinance shall have all legal force and effect as a duly adopted ordinance of Levy County, Florida. 132 Section 6. Severability. If any subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion 133 134 135 136 137 of these sections is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct, and independent provision and such holding shall not affect the validity of the remainder of the chapter. Section 7. Effective Date. This ordinance shall take effect upon its filing in the Office of the Secretary of the State, State of Florida. 138 139 140 141 142 143 6
144 PASSED AND DULY ADOPTED this 7 th day of February, 2017. 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 ATTEST: Danny Shipp, Clerk of the Circuit Court and Ex-Officio Clerk to the Board of County Commissioners Danny Shipp z:\legal\ord\moratorium.marijuana.12.15.16 LR2016-063; 1/6/17 BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF LEVY COUNTY, FLORIDA John Meeks, Chair APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGAL SUFFICIENCY: Anne Bast Brown, County Attorney 7