Conejo Wellness Center, Inc. v. City of Agoura Hills

INTRODUCTION

Appellant Conejo Wellness Center, Inc. (Conejo), is located in the City of Agoura Hills. Conejo is a California cooperative corporation that operates as *1542 a nonprofit collective engaged in the distribution of medical marijuana to its members. Respondent is the City of Agoura Hills (Agoura).

In the court below, Conejo filed a complaint which sought injunctive and declaratory relief against Agoura based on two Agoura municipal ordinances: (1) ordinance No. 08-355, which expressly bans medical marijuana dispensaries as defined therein, and (2) ordinance No. 10-379, which amends the Agoura Hills Municipal Code (AHMC) in various ways that affect medical marijuana dispensaries. Conejo’s complaint alleged eight causes of action: (1) enactment of No. 10-379 did not comply with section 65853 of the Government Code and the ordinance is therefore void; (2) No. 10-379 violates the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA; Pub. Resources Code, § 21000 et seq.); (3) both ordinances are preempted by California law, specifically by the Compassionate Use Act of 1996 (CUA; Health & Saf. Code, § 11362.5) and the Medical Marijuana Program Act of 2003 (MMPA; Health & Saf.…