Redwood City Municipal Code Ch. 21 Offenses and Miscellaneous Provisions

No person shall carry on, practice or profess to practice for a fee or other compensation or remuneration, the business or art of palmistry, phrenology, life-reading, fortune-telling, cartomancy, clairvoyance, clairaudience, crystal gazing, mediumship, prophecy, augury, divination, or necromancy, in the city; provided, however, that nothing in this Section shall apply to any ordained or duly accredited minister of any form of religious belief, or the faith, practice or teaching of any religious body.

(Ord. No. 551, § 1; Ord. No. 1624, § 1, 3-10-75)

It is hereby declared unlawful for any person in the City to play or engage in any game with cards, dice or any other devices for money or for any checks, credit or representative of value which is redeemable in money.

(Ord. No. 189, § 1)

State Law reference— Gaming generally, Pen. C., §§ 330-337 h.

It is hereby declared unlawful for any person to remove any notice posted under provisions of this Code, ordinances of the City or the laws of the State by the Health Officer or his deputies on or about any premises for the purpose of enforcing any of the laws of the State or ordinances of the City without permission of the Health Officer or one of his deputies.

Any person violating any of the provisions of this Section or removing any such notice so posted by the Health Officer or his deputies without the permission of the Health Officer or a deputy shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished as provided in Section 1.7. The disappearance of any such notice so posted by the Health Officer or his deputies on or about any premises for the purpose of enforcing any of the laws of the State or ordinances of the City shall be prima facie evidence that the same was removed by the owner or tenant or person occupying the premises from which such notice disappeared and was removed.

(Ord. No. 462, §§ 1, 2)

Amendment note—Ord. No. 1138 repealed §§ 21.4-21.6. The sections were reserved to maintain sequence.

A bee hive shall be located a minimum of twenty-five (25) feet from any dwelling on an adjacent property.

(Ord. No. 581, § 1)

(Ord. No. 2425, § 5, 9-12-16)

All hives shall be provided with an adequate and constant water supply on-site. Parcels of three thousand (3,000) square feet or less shall not contain more than two bee hives.

(Ord. No. 581, § 2)

(Ord. No. 2425, § 5, 9-12-16)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 2425, § 5, adopted September 12, 2016, amended § 21.8, to read as set out herein. Previously § 21.8 was titled "Keeping of Bees—in Quantities to Create Annoyance."

A public nuisance shall be declared when bees are not kept in accordance with this article. Public nuisances are subject to code enforcement and potential remedies to correct the violation as provided for in this Code.

(Ord. No. 581, § 3)

(Ord. No. 2425, § 5, 9-12-16)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 2425, § 5, adopted September 12, 2016, amended § 21.9, to read as set out herein. Previously § 21.9 was titled "Keeping of Bees—Defined."

No person shall bathe, swim, water ski, skin dive or engage in surfboating, paddleboarding or any other sport activity necessitating, involving or requiring repeated or continuous contact between the physical body of such person and the waters of the southern portion of San Francisco Bay or the creeks, sloughs, tide waters or other natural waterways tributary thereto, situated within the City, unless the waters in a designated area comply with the requirements of the California Administrative Code Title 17, chapter 5, subchapter 1, group 10, sections 7950 through 7961, governing sanitation, healthfulness, and safety of water contact sports within the City.

(Ord. No. 879, § 1; Ord. No. 1361, § 1, 6-3-68)

Amendment note—Ord. No. 1361, § 1, amended § 21.10 by adding the requirement for compliance with the California Administrative Code.

It is hereby declared unlawful for any person to tamper with, open, or attempt to open any fire hydrant in the City without a written permit from the Superintendent of Streets.

(Ord. No. 136, § 1)

Any person desiring permission to open a fire hydrant in the City shall make application to the Street Superintendent for the written permit required by the preceding section.

(Ord. No. 136, § 1)

If the written permit required by Section 21.11 to open a fire hydrant is granted, the party so making the application, shall take the permit to the City Hall, and present same to the City Clerk, and receive from the Clerk a hydrant wrench with which to open the hydrant. Before receiving the wrench, a deposit of two dollars ($2.00) must be made with the City Clerk to guarantee the return of the wrench. If the wrench is returned in good order, the deposit of two dollars ($2.00) will be returned to party making same. It is hereby declared unlawful to use any wrench upon a fire hydrant in the City excepting a wrench made especially for that purpose.

(Ord. No. 136, § 1)

Nothing in Section 21.11, 21.12 or 21.13 of this Chapter shall prevent the members of the Fire Department from opening and using any fire hydrant in the City in case of emergency or fire.

(Ord. No. 136, § 1)

It is hereby declared unlawful for any person to operate or cause to be operated any railroad train in the City at a greater rate of speed than forty-five (45) miles per hour.

(Ord. No. 230, § 1)

No person shall injure, tease, strike, or otherwise interfere with any police dog while such dog is in the custody of or being used by a law enforcement officer in the performance of his duties.

The term "police dog" shall mean any dog owned by or in the custody of the Police Department or any dog especially trained for assistance to law enforcement officers and which dog is under the control of a law enforcement officer in the performance of his duties.

(Ord. No. 1155, § 1)

It shall be unlawful for any person to urinate or defecate in a public place, or area of a public place, except into a toilet or a urinal.

(Ord. No. 2174, § 1, 7-26-1999)

Violation of the provisions of Section 21.17 of this Chapter shall be deemed an infraction which, upon conviction thereof, shall be punishable as specified in subsection 1.7B of this Code.

(Ord. No. 2174, § 1, 7-26-1999)

A. Purpose and Findings.

1. The recitals set out in Ordinance No. 2352 are incorporated herein and are each relied upon independently by the City Council for its adoption of this interim ordinance.

2. The Redwood City General Plan does not presently contain a goal or policy of textual discussion of the issue of a proposed use of medical marijuana collectives.

3. The Redwood City Zoning Code and Municipal Code do not address or regulate the existence or location of medical marijuana collectives, operator licensing, or cultivation of marijuana plants.

4. The City has received inquires concerning whether collectives are allowed in Redwood City. Collectives are not listed as permitted or conditional uses and therefore are currently prohibited by omission, but a clear policy statement whether and to what extent collectives are either allowed or not allowed is preferred.

5. In cities that have permitted medical marijuana collectives, issues and concerns have arisen related to the establishment of medical marijuana collectives in close proximity to residential properties, schools, and day care facilities. Furthermore, those cities have reported increases in loitering, illegal drug activity, burglaries, robberies, and other criminal activity within and around the collectives, as well as increased pedestrian and vehicular traffic, noise and parking violations. Medical marijuana collectives and/or dispensaries have also resulted in increased demands for police response, as well as maintenance of public streets and sidewalks.

6. The use, possession, cultivation, or distribution of marijuana for any purpose remains illegal under federal law.

7. There are several open questions of state law regarding the regulation of medical marijuana collectives, including how to interpret the State Attorney General's August 2008 "Guidelines for the Security and Non-Diversion of Marijuana Grown for medical Use."

8. To protect residents and businesses from potential harmful community impacts resulting from medical marijuana collectives, City staff needs time to study the legality, potential adverse community impacts, and mechanisms for regulating medical marijuana collectives.

9. If medical marijuana collectives are allowed to proceed without appropriate review of location, operation criteria and standards, the collectives could conflict with requirements of the General Plan, the City's Zoning Ordinance, and forthcoming state law and City regulations and result in irreversible incompatibility of land uses and adverse impacts on residents, businesses, and neighborhoods that present a clear and immediate danger to the public health, safety, and welfare.

10. This interim ordinance establishing a moratorium on medical marijuana collectives is necessary to avoid the previously identified impacts to the public health, safety, and welfare.

B. Interim Moratorium Imposed.

1. For a period of twenty-two (22) months and fifteen (15) days, commencing on the date of adoption [January 25, 2010] of this interim ordinance, or until such time as this ordinance may expire, subject to any extension of this ordinance that the City Council may adopt and approve pursuant to Section 65858 of the Government Code, no zoning ordinance interpretation or amendment, amendment to the City's General Plan or Municipal Code, use permit, variance, building permit or any other entitlement for use shall be approved or issued for the establishment or operation of, and no person shall otherwise establish, a medical marijuana collective, as that term is defined below.

2. For the purpose of this ordinance, "medical marijuana collective" includes any site, facility, location, use, cooperative, dispensary, center, or business which distributes, sells, exchanges, processes, delivers, gives away, or cultivates marijuana for medical purposes to qualified patients, health care providers, patients' primary caregivers, or physicians pursuant to Proposition 215, Health and Safety Code section 11362.5 et seq. as amended, or any state regulations adopted in furtherance thereof. Marijuana shall also mean cannabis and all parts of that plant.

C. Compliance with California Environmental Quality Act. The City Council finds that this ordinance falls under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) exemption found at Title 14 California Code of Regulations section 15061(b)(3) because the temporary prohibition of medical marijuana collectives does not have the potential to significantly impact the environment.

D. Effective Date. This ordinance is an interim ordinance and shall take effect and be enforced immediately upon adoption. In accordance with California Government Code section 65858, this ordinance shall be in full force and effect for a period of twenty-two (22) months and fifteen (15) days from and after the date of its adoption on January 25, 2010 and shall be of no further force and effect unless this period is extended by the City Council in accordance with California Government Code section 65858.

(Ord. No. 2350, §§ 1—4, 12-14-2009; Ord. No. 2352, §§ 1—4, 1-25-2010)