MEDICAL MARIJUANA ORDINANCE ADOPTED; COUNCIL VOTES TO DRAFT COMMENTS
FOR RIDGEWOOD VILLAGE DEVELOPMENT

The Eureka City Council adopted the medical marijuana ordinance
Tuesday that will provide guidelines for residential cultivation and
limit the number of commercial cultivation, processing and dispensary
facilities in Eureka.

The vote to introduce the ordinance was unanimous on July 20, but the
adoption vote went 4-1 with Councilman Frank Jager dissenting. It will
go into effect in 30 days. Although modeled after Arcata's marijuana
ordinance, Eureka's version of the land-use approach to regulate
indoor grows and cooperatives and collectives has been adjusted to
suit public requests and concerns.

The ordinance limits the number of cultivation and processing
facilities to four within the city, and each of those can have two
dispensaries, one on the processing site and the other off-site. The
number of dispensaries not connected to a cultivation and processing
facility within the city is limited to two, which city staff hopes
will give preference to Eureka dispensaries selling what is grown in
Eureka.

Greg Allen, chair of the Redwood Chapter of the American Civil
Liberties Union, told the council during public comment that the
ordinance as written will help get commercial growing out of
residential areas and provide safe access to patients.

"I think we have something here that seems to be equitable," he said.
"It seems to be pretty well balanced."

As soon as possible, the Community Development Department will begin
circulating requests for qualifications, which invites cooperatives
and collectives interested in applying for permits to establish a
medical marijuana cultivation, processing and/or distribution
facility. Community Development Director Sidnie Olson requested the
council to form a committee to choose which business models will be
considered.

One change that Olson said residents should be aware of is that some
current marijuana grows may become illegal when the ordinance goes
into effect. Those growing for personal use in a non-residential zoned
property will need to apply for a permit to be one of the four
cultivation facilities. Also, growing for a qualified patient in a
residence where the patient does not live is not allowed under the
ordinance and will be illegal when it goes into effect.

"The ordinance is very clear: Nothing is grandfathered in; everything
starts anew," Olson said.

Public commenters from Eureka and other areas brought their concerns
about the ordinance to the council, with a few stating they did not
want the Eureka Police Department to have another law to enforce with
decreased staff. Council members and city staff said that this will be
handled through code enforcement through city hall, not through EPD.

A few residents were concerned that the ordinance was too restrictive
for patients growing their own, while other commenters did not want
the grows allowed at all.

Jager said he would have preferred to wait until after November to see
the fate of Proposition 19, which may legalize marijuana for
recreational use. While he questioned the medical use of cannabis, he
was also concerned about the strain this will put on code
enforcement.

"I hope you're prepared for an influx of a lot more work to do," Jager
said to Olson at the meeting.

A provision was added to the ordinance previously that, in the event
that Proposition 19 passes, the regulations in the ordinance for
personal growing will apply across the board.

Councilman Jeff Leonard said that his biggest concern was the effect
marijuana grows currently have on Eureka residences and neighborhoods.
Having regulations for such grows will help lessen the strain on the
buildings, and allow the city and landlords to "tackle problems before
they get out of hand," he said.

"I think safe access is something we should be looking at everywhere,"
Leonard said.

Residential grow spaces for qualified patients will be limited to 50
square feet, and the marijuana can be grown only in the residence of
the qualified patient, although a caretaker can come into a qualified
patient's residence to grow the cannabis for them.

"You can't sell it, you can't give it away," Olson said. "It's only
for you in your residence."

Permits from the city will also be required for any special wiring for
medical marijuana grows, and lighting cannot exceed 1,200 watts. The
ordinance also prohibits the use of gas products such as carbon
dioxide and butane, and requires there be no external evidence of
cultivation at a residence. Smoking the substance in public will also
be prohibited.

Enforcement procedure for indoor grows that are out of compliance has
also recently been established for the ordinance to handle
non-compliant grows. For information on the ordinance or for a request
for qualifications, contact the Community Development Department at
707-441-4265 or 531 K St., Eureka.

In other matters, the council voted unanimously to have city staff
draft two letters of comment on the environmental impact report on the
Ridgewood Village Development Project, which is near the intersection
of Ridgewood Drive and Eggert Road. Formerly known as the Forster-Gill
project, the proposal contains 1,400 residential housing units, about
327,000 acres of commercial space and some open space. City staff and
council members said they were frustrated that they had not been
included in much of the conversation with the Humboldt County Board of
Supervisors or the project developers.

Olson said that city staff was mostly alarmed by the EIR, because some
parts were incomplete or did not address particular issues that would
affect Eureka.

"Our primary concern is the impacts on city resources and
infrastructure," which were not addressed in the report, Olson told
the council.

Impacts to the EPD, the Eureka Fire Department, sewer service and
traffic were addressed inadequately, according to city staff.

Former Assistant Fire Chief Jim Yarnall told the council during public
comment that at first the project looked appealing in that it seemed
to address county housing needs. However, he said that upon further
inspection, it proved to be a "house of cards" that would not benefit
the city and would negatively impact the EFD.

"It's a parasitic development in its current form," he
said.

Many other commenters commended the council for planning to come out
against the EIR.

Councilman Mike Jones said that it was telling that no one had spoken
to the council in favor of the project, and no one from the county or
the development had come to the meeting.

"This is just a no-brainer to put the big stamp of rejection on it,"
Jones said.

Council members Linda Atkins and Leonard also raised concerns about
the large amount of commercial office and retail space, as that may
pull business from Eureka's core.

The council agreed to send two letters during the EIR comment period
- -- one focusing on technical issues from the city and the other on
policy issues on the development plans from the council. City staff
will draft the letters and have the council review them before
submitting them.