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Zoning Bulletin December 25, 2015 1 Volume, 9 I Issue 24 <br />Validity of Ordinance/Procedure— <br />Zoning ordinance, making operation <br />of medical marijuana business a <br />misdemeanor, passes asballot <br />measure <br />Defendants prosecuted under the ordinance <br />argue the ordinance if void for failure to hold a <br />statutorily required public hearing before enacting <br />the ordinance <br />Citation: People v. Optimal Global Healing, Inc., 241 Cal. App. 4th Supp. <br />1, 194 Cal. Rptr. 3d 913 (App. Dep't Super. Ct, 201 S) <br />CALIFORNIA (11/05/15)—This case addressed the issue of whether an <br />ordinance restricting medical marijuana businesses required a public hearing <br />before the city planning commission thus resulting in the invalidity of the <br />ordinance for failure to hold such a hearing. <br />The Background/Facts: In May 2013, voters of the City of Los Angeles <br />(the "City") approved Proposition D. Proposition D was a measure placed on <br />the ballot by the City Council to regulate medical marijuana businesses <br />("MMB's"). With -approval of Proposition D came the enactment of Los An- <br />geles Municipal Code ("LAMC") § 45.19.6.2, subdivision A. That LAMC <br />section made it a misdemeanor to "own, establish, operate, use, or permit the <br />establishment or operation of a [MMB] . . .." Proposition D also 'enacted <br />LAMC § 45.19.6.3, which provides limited immunity from prosecution for <br />violating LAMC § 45.19.6.2. <br />Sometime after enactment of LAMC § 45,19.6.2 and 45.19.6.3, Optimal <br />Global Healing, Inc. and Demarcio Posey (the "Defendants") were convicted <br />on two counts of operating an unlawful MMB in the City. The Defendants <br />appealed their. conviction. Among other things, they argued that Proposition <br />D was invalid because it was enacted without first being subjected to a plan- <br />ning commission hearing. <br />California statutory law—Cal. Gov. Code §§ 65854 and 65801 requires <br />planning commissions to hold a public hearing on proposed zoning ordi- <br />nances or amendments to zoning ordinances, with advanced notice of the <br />hearing given. More specifically, the purpose of §§ 65804 and 65854 is to <br />"implement minimum procedural standards for the conduct of city and county <br />zoning hearings." Toward that end, the section requires, among other things: <br />"All local city and county zoning agencies shall develop and publish <br />procedural rules for conduct of their hearings so that all interested parties <br />shall have advance knowledge of procedures to be followed. The procedural <br />rules shall incorporate the procedures in [s]ection 65854." (§ 65804, subd. <br />(a).) § 65854 provides in part: "The planning commission shall hold a public <br />©2015 Thomson Reuters 7 <br />