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REPORT TO PLANNING COMMISSION
To: Honorable Chairman and Members of the Planning Commission
From: Justin Kirk, Assistant Community Development Director
Date: July 20, 2021
Subject: Municipal Code Amendment 2021-01: Amendments to Chapter 17.156 of
the Lake Elsinore Municipal Code (LEMC) Related to Cannabis Uses
Recommendation
adopt A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY LAKE ELSINORE
RECOMMENDING THAT THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LAKE ELSINORE ADOPT AN
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF LAKE ELSINORE, CALIFORNIA, TO AMEND AND RESTATE
IN ITS ENTIRETY CHAPTER 17.156 CANNABIS USES OF THE LAKE ELSINORE MUNICIPAL
CODE WITH AN UPDATED CHAPTER 17.156 CANNABIS USES.
Background
In 2016 California voters passed Proposition 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA). Under
Proposition 64, adults 21 years of age or older can legally grow, possess, and use cannabis for
non-medicinal purposes, with certain restrictions. Additionally, AUMA also made it legal to sell
and distribute cannabis through a regulated business as of January 1, 2018.
In December 2017, the City Council adopted Chapter 17.156 allowing cannabis-related
businesses in the City of Lake Elsinore.
On August 11, 2020, by a unanimous vote, the City Council adopted an interim urgency ordinance
imposing a 45-day moratorium on the acceptance and processing of new entitlement applications
for cannabis related land uses, citing concerns related to concentration and proliferation of the
licensed facilities and the potentially unknown impacts of these facilities.
On September 22, 2020, the City Council adopted an emergency ordinance to extend the 45-day
moratorium on the acceptance and processing of new entitlement applications for cannabis
related land uses for five (5) months and 21 days and directed staff to continue to process the
existing application received prior to the moratorium, facilitate construction of existing licensed
facilities and to monitor the impacts of the existing uses in operation. The moratorium was again
extended on March 9, 2021 and is set to expire on August 12, 2021.
To date, the City Council has approved 19 cannabis facilities with a combined operating area of
approximately 197,211 SF. Of these 19 facilities, seven (7) have opened with a combined area of
approximately 87,347 SF. There is currently one (1) application in process totaling approximately
11,612 SF. A summary of these facilities with current status has been included in Exhibit C.
One of the purposes of adopting the moratorium was for City staff to evaluate the impacts of the
number of facilities that have been entitled. As indicated above, only seven (7) facilities have
become operational at this time, and a number of the entitled facilities remain in various stages
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of completing improvements. During the moratorium, City staff monitored the operational
cannabis facilities to assess potential impacts to the surrounding business communities and also
used the moratorium as an opportunity to update Chapter 17.156 in order to make improvements
and ensure compliance with State law.
Discussion
Details of Proposed Changes
These areas of modifications can be classified into three (3) categories: changes due to relocating
certain subparts to better differentiate general provisions from those provisions applicable to
specific types of facilities, changes to clarify or update t he regulatory structure, and changes in
how the program is implemented.
The revised ordinance consolidates standards that are applicable to all cannabis business types
which were previously spread across multiple sections of the ordinance. The changes include:
Section 17.156.040 specifies the location of Cannabis Facilities as being permitted in
either the Limited Manufacturing (M-1) or General Manufacturing (M-2) zoning district.
Section 17.156.060 consolidates into general provisions permits required (valid City
issued conditional use permit, cannabis business permit, building permit, and City issued
certificate of occupancy).
Section 17.156.070 consolidates Business Permit regulations into general provisions
because the requirement is applicable to all cannabis business types.
Section 17.156.130 consolidates site security into general provisions because the
requirement is applicable to all cannabis business types.
Section 17.156.140 consolidates prohibited activities (consumption prohibited, alcohol,
juveniles on site) into general provisions because the requirement is applicable to all
cannabis business types.
Section 17.156.150 consolidates on-site signage; all standards consistent with existing
ordinance for each business type.
These consolidations and relocations do not modify the existing codified text and are not readily
shown in the redline ordinance attached as Exhibit A to the Resolution so that the text changes
that do modify the existing codified text would be better highlighted.
Changes have also been made to better reflect the City’s practices, add clarity and update the
ordinance, including:
Definitions (17.156.030) have been added or modified.
Site security plans for all facilities have been updated.
Eliminated requirement that accessory use (dispensaries and distribution) be limited to
50% of gross proceeds of the business.
Added clarification that delivery services are allowed in conjunction with a dispensary.
Removed reference of allowing anyone in a distribution facility except those with medical
cards, qualified patients, primary caregivers, persons with identification cards, etc. The
removal of text is a cleanup since distribution facilities are closed to the public.
Added language to clarify retail sales are allowed in conjunction with cultivation and/or
manufacturing facilities only when a dispensary and/or distribution facility has also been
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approved to operate in conjunction with the cultivation facility and that sales only occur
within the dispensary and/or distribution portion of the facility.
Added language to recognize outdoor cultivation is allowed within residential areas (for
medical and recreational purposes).
Added clarification that cultivation is allowed in private residences consistent with State
law.
Removed prohibition of cultivating cannabis in a multi-dwelling unit and the required 1000
foot buffer from schools, community centers, or parks, in order to be consistent with State
law.
Removed requirement that operators submit of an annual financial report to the City. The
new requirement allows operators to retain financial records for 5 years, with submittal to
the City upon request.
Changes in how the program is designed centered on the addition of 17.156.050 “Limitation On
Uses” and expanded operational hours for retail uses:
Modified the maximum of 5 cannabis businesses in Limited Manufacturing (M-1) zone and
5 cannabis businesses in General Manufacturing (M-2) zone, to a maximum of 10
businesses within the M-1 and M-2 zones.
In order to exceed the maximum of 10 businesses, a finding of public convenience must
be made by the Planning Commission (rather than the Community Development Director)
as part of the consideration for a conditional use permit. The public convenience finding
includes consideration of whether the new facility is within 500 feet from any one existing
cannabis use or 1,000 feet from any 2 cannabis uses.
Expanded the 1,000 foot buffer from sensitive receptors of schools, community centers,
or parks to all types of cannabis businesses (existing ordinance only requires for
cultivation).
Modified hours of operation from closing at 9:00 pm to 10:00 pm, for dispensaries and
distribution facilities. This is consistent with hours of operation of surrounding jurisdictions
(Wildomar and Riverside County).
Analysis
The proposed modifications related to the reformatting and minor changes largely do not alter the
way cannabis uses are currently regulated. Rather, these changes are meant to create a clearer
regulatory framework that is reflective of the way the City currently regulates cannabis uses and
reduce potential ambiguities. Further, these proposed changes eliminate redundant language that
were identified in multiple use types without any differences in legal requirements.
The proposed changes to the cannabis program design are intended to address concerns related
to the concentration and proliferation of the licensed facilities and the potential impacts on the
surrounding business community. Currently, the regulatory framework restricts uses to five (5)
facilities in the Limited Manufacturing (M-1) and five (5) in the General Manufacturing (M-2) zoning
districts. The Community Development Director may approve additional facilities, provided certain
findings of public convenience can be made.
Due to the limited number of M-2 zoned properties which are developed, the proposed ordinance
shifts to allowing 10 facilities combined in either the M-1 and M-2 districts so as to better reflect
the current condition.
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Once a threshold of 10 or more licensed facilities has been reached, new applicants must
demonstrate that the public convenience will be served by an additional facility. In order to address
potential issues related to concentration, a new criteria is proposed that requires a specific buffer
that precludes a new facility from being within 500 feet from any one existing cannabis use or
1,000 feet from any two (2) cannabis uses to be met. The intent with the buffer is to create
adequate separation to avoid impacts of concentration in industrial areas as the distances
between the facilities would reduce the ability of these facilities to be consolidated and thereby
potentially creating cumulative impacts.
Another element of the changes is shifting the approval of the findings of public convenience from
the Community Development Director to the Planning Commission as part of the approval of a
Conditional Use Permit. By elevating this to the entitlement decision making process, it increases
the transparency of the decision-making process and requires additional demonstration of
compatibility with the surrounding uses during the public hearing process.
Also modified was the expansion of the 1,000 foot buffer of cannabis uses from sensitive uses
from just cultivation uses to all cannabis uses, which is consistent with State requirements.
Finally, the proposed ordinance expands hours of operation to allow businesses to remain in
operation until 10:00 pm rather than 9:00 pm.
Environmental Determination
The proposed amendments to the Lake Elsinore Municipal Code are exempt from the California
Environmental Quality Act (Cal. Publ. Res. Code §§21000 et seq. “CEQA”) and the State CEQA
Guidelines (14. Cal. Code Regs §§15000 et seq.), specifically pursuant to pursuant to Sections
15060(c)(2), 15060(c)(3), and 15061(b)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines because it will not result
in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, because there
is no possibility that it may have a significant effect on the environment, and because it is not a
“project” as that term is defined in Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines. Individual
Conditional Use Permit applications will be reviewed on a case by case basis upon application
submittal.
Exhibits:
A. Resolution
B. Current Ordinance
C. Summary of Entitled and Pending Cannabis Use Status
D. Map of Cannabis Facilities – East Lake
E. Map of Cannabis Facilities – Business District