Ordinance - 2007URGENCY ORDINANCE NO. "007
AN INTERIM ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF WEST COVINA, CALIFORNIA
ESTABLISHING A DEFINITION OF "INDOOR SWAP
MEET" AND "INDOOR MULTI -TENANT RETAIL
CENTER" AND ESTABLISHING A MORATORIUM ON
THE SAME.
WHEREAS, Chapter 26 of the West Covina Municipal Code (Zoning) should be
amended to clearly define and regulate indoor swap meets and/or other uses of a similar
nature; and
WHEREAS, within recent years there has been a growing trend within the greater
Los Angeles area toward the establishment of indoor swap meets or other businesses that
function in many similar respects to indoor swap meets with respect to appearance,
function, and types of merchandise sold, while such businesses may or may not actually
hold themselves out to the public as indoor swap meets; and
WHEREAS, indoor swap meets or other similar businesses are typically
characterized by a multiple number of small individual and/or separated sales spaces in
which a variety of goods are displayed in a dense arrangement, a characteristic that
typically serves to intensify the level of patronage and amount of traffic generated by
such uses compared to other more typical retail uses; and
WHEREAS, indoor swap meets and other similar uses have the potential to
negatively impact the public health, safety, and/or welfare of the community by reasons
which include, but are not limited to: traffic congestion, parking deficiencies,
pedestrian/traffic conflicts, parking lot maintenance problems, public safety hazards,
Uniform Building Code violations, and low sales tax revenues and difficulty in
monitoring business licenses and collection of fees and sales tax due to the transient
nature of vendors and merchants; and
WHEREAS, the prohibition of or the establishment of reasonable controls on
"Indoor swap meets" or "Indoor multi -tenant retail centers" will serve to protect the
positive image of the community and its property values; and
WHEREAS, one of the stated goals of the West Covina General Plan is to
"arrange land uses with regard to the health, safety, convenience and welfare of the
residents of the City," and the adoption of this ordinance will serve to advance the
achievement of this goal; and
WHEREAS, it is the intent of the City Council to establish a moratorium on
"Indoor swap meets" and "Indoor multi -tenant retail centers" at this time as an urgency
ordinance. These urgency measures shall remain in effect until such time as other
permanent zoning measures may be studied, considered, and adopted; and
WHEREAS, the City Council believes that, based on the statements cited above,
the current absence of controls on "Indoor swap meets" and "Indoor multi -tenant retail
centers" poses an immediate threat to the public heath, safety, and welfare, and that the
establishment of further "Indoor -swap meets" or "Indoor meulti-tenant retail centers"
would result in that threat to the public health, safety, and welfare; and
. WHEREAS, the City Council intends to adopt this ordinance as an interim
urgency ordinance pursuant to the provisions of Government Code Section 65858.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of West Covina hereby ordains
as follows:
SECTION l: Notwithstanding any provisions of the West Covina Municipal
Code to the contrary:
ZAMORDINSDM\ISM.IUO
Ordinance No. 2007
Indoor Swap Meets
November 4, 1997 - Page 2
A
•
A. Definition. During the term of this ordinance, the following definition
shall apply: "Indoor multi -tenant retail center and "Indoor swap meet"
means or is an indoor commercial area used to accommodate multiple
vendors and/or multiple sales areas offering a variety of goods and/or
services for sale wherein said sales areas are separated and/or
distinguished from one another by means of (1) partitions, screens, walls,
barriers, or similar physical devices; and/or (2) different business or sub -
business names or other forms of identification as displayed on signs
and/or as indicated on sales receipts.
B. Moratorium Established. During the term of this ordinance, no new
"Indoor swap meet," "Indoor multi -tenant retail center," or other multi -
tenant use not specifically permitted under Section 26-598 of the West
Covina Municipal Code shall be approved, allowed to be established, or
be allowed to open for business.
SECTION 2: Severability. Should any section, subsection, clause, or provision
of this urgency ordinance for any reason. be held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such
invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of the
remaining portions of this urgency ordinance; it being hereby expressly declared that this
urgency ordinance, and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, and phrase hereof
would have been prepared, proposed, approved, and ratified irrespective of the fact that
any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, or phrases be declared invalid
or unconstitutional.
SECTION 3: Effective Immediately. This ordinance shall be effective
immediately and shall be effective for 45 days from the date of its adoption pursuant to
the provisions of Government Code Section 65858. It is necessary for the immediate
protection of health and safety to ensure that no uses are established without planning
review.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this 4th day of Nov. , 1997.
NI-oz2M 3 MUM
ATTEST:
City -Clerk.
I hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance was duly adopted by the City
Council of the City of West Covina, California, at a regular meeting held on the 4th day
Of Nov , 1997, by the following vote:
AYES: Herfert, Howard, Melendez, Wong
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: Touhey
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Cit ttorney
ZACC\ORDINSDM\ISM.IUO