City Council
MEETING DATE: 3/14/2018
TITLE:
Title
Second Reading and Adoption of an Ordinance Allowing and Regulating Cannabis Consumption Lounges
End
FROM:
Charlie McClendon, City Manager
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff recommends the City Council provide second reading and adopt an ordinance allowing and regulating Cannabis consumption lounges and amending employee background check requirements.
Body
BACKGROUND:
Section 5.88.140 of the Municipal Code established the Cannabis Task Force and prescribes the composition of its membership. The ordinance provides for the appointment of the task force by the City Manager. After an open application period, the appointments were made and were reported to the City Council on December 14, 2016. The members of the task force are:
-Charlie McClendon, City Manager
-Pat Milos, Community Development Director
-Paul Wilson, Fire Chief
-Commander Julio Luna, Police
-Roger Culbertson, resident and patient
-Robert Hargreaves, Mayoral appointment
-Alice Daby, resident at-large
-Maria Scagliotti, Dispensary owner
-Scott Lambert, Cultivation owner
-Bernard Steimann, Manufacturing owner
DISCUSSION:
The task force most recently met on January 22, 2018. The primary topic of conversation centered around consumption lounges. Palm Springs recently passed ordinance to allow lounges and Denver has an ordinance allowing and regulating social clubs. Both ordinances were provided to the task force for their consideration. Proposition 64 also has language allowing on-site consumption but limits it to licensed dispensaries and only with local approval.
The task force was generally supportive of developing a regulatory structure to allow on-site consumption at locations meeting certain criteria:
-The business seeking an on-site consumption permit must be a licensed dispensary in good standing.
-The dispensary must be in a free-standing building or occupy all the suites in a multi-tenant building. The task force members were concerned about creating odor issues for adjacent businesses in multi-tenant buildings if smoking were allowed in the building.
-The product consumed in the on-site lounge much be purchased on-site. Customers may not bring their own.
-The lounge must be in a separate room or patio in the facility and must not be directly accessible from the outside.
-Product purchased at the lounge but not consumed may be packaged by the dispensary for carry-out in accordance with state and city packaging requirements.
-The zoning code already establishes the locations, terms and conditions under which dispensaries can locate in the City and the task force recommended that no further zoning or land use restrictions are needed.
The task force also discussed the current City requirement that all employees of a cannabis business undergo a background check prior to hire. Industry representatives stated that the requirement makes it extremely difficult for them to maintain full staffing due to the time required to complete the background check when a position becomes vacant. They are supportive of the current requirement that all owners and management staff undergo a background check but recommended the Council consider revising the current requirement for other employees.
Council discussed the task force recommendations during their study session on February 6, 2018 and asked staff to prepare an ordinance implementing many of the recommendations and modifying others. The ordinance being introduced tonight includes the following provisions:
-The business seeking an on-site consumption permit must be a licensed dispensary in good standing.
-Council modified the recommendation regarding free-standing and multi-tenant buildings so that all licensed dispensaries are eligible to provide a consumption lounge in accordance with the provisions of the ordinance.
- Access to the area where cannabis consumption is allowed must be restricted to persons 21 years of age and older. The dispensary shall be responsible for checking identification and ensuring that underaged individuals do not enter.
-Cannabis consumption shall not be visible from any place where persons under the age of 21 are permitted.
-Cannabis consumption must occur within the interior building space of the dispensary. Consumption may not occur on patios, in parking areas, or in any other space that is not fully enclosed.
-The cannabis business must install and maintain in good working order an odor control system in accordance with Section 9.108.080(A)(1). Odors caused by the consumption of cannabis at the dispensary must not be detectable from any public place.
-Cannabis consumption shall occur in a space within the licensed premises that is separate from the space that is used to sell cannabis and cannabis products for on-site or off-site consumption.
-Only cannabis and cannabis products purchased from the dispensary during the same visit by the customer may be consumed within the dispensary. Individuals may not bring cannabis or cannabis products into a dispensary for the purposes of consumption.
-Cannabis and cannabis products that are only partially consumed on the premises of the dispensary must be repackaged in accordance with Section 5.88.095 prior to leaving the dispensary.”
-The zoning code already establishes the locations, terms and conditions under which dispensaries can locate in the City and since the lounges must be located as part of a licensed dispensary no further zoning code revisions are necessary.
Council also discussed the recommendation from the task force to discontinue the background requirements for non-management personnel. Council felt that rather than eliminate the requirement they would prefer a provision allowing new employees to begin working prior to completion of the background check with the requirement that the employees cannot continue working if the background check reveals they are not of good moral character per the code. This provision is included in the proposed ordinance.
During introduction and first reading of the ordinance on February 28, 2018 council discussed adding a provision making it clear that Police personnel must be permitted to enter and inspect the consumption lounges. The motion introducing the ordinance included that language and the ordinance now includes a new subsection 8 as follows:
8. Representatives of the City, including but not limited to police officers, must be permitted to enter the licensed premises, including all areas where consumption is allowed, at any time during the regular business hours of the cannabis business and/or whenever consumption is occurring on-site.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None
ATTACHMENTS:
Proposed ordinance