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01-17-2012 - Designating the Community Development Commission a - Item 14 Attach 2 (2).docORDINANCE NO. __________ AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WEST COVINA, CALIFORNIA, DECLARING THE NEED FOR THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION IN THE CITY OF WEST COVINA, TO FUNCTION AS THE CITY OF WEST COVINA HOUSING AUTHORITY AND TRANSFERRING ALL DUTIES, POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE WEST COVINA HOUSING AUTHORITY TO THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION AND DECLARING THIS ORDINANCE TO BE AN URGENCY ORDINANCE WHEREAS, the City of West Covina has established as one of it's primary goals the promotion and enhancement of economic, business, and redevelopment opportunities within the City, and in furtherance of this goal it is the policy of the City of West Covina to aggressively promote development and redevelopment activities in the areas of affordable housing, community development and community enhancement, while addressing the spread of blighted areas within the City, and WHEREAS, the City of West Covina has continually promoted the sound development of areas within the City for the general welfare of the inhabitants of the community and creating employment and affordable housing opportunities for its residents, and WHEREAS, the West Covina Community Development Commission ("Commission") currently owns and may continue to acquire properties that could be developed to enhance the affordable housing opportunities within the City of West Covina, and WHEREAS, City Council of the City of West Covina desires to maintain its position as a leader amongst communities of the San Gabriel Valley and Los Angeles County in the promotion and attraction of housing development and redevelopment opportunities, and WHEREAS, Health and Safety Code Sections 34100, et seq., created Community Development Commissions within all communities in the State of California, and provides that the City Council may vest the Community Development Commission with all duties, powers, and responsibilities of the members of a housing authority may delegate to said Commission other powers regarding community development and redevelopment, and WHEREAS, the Community Development Commission provides an effective and efficient means of identifying, designing, implementing, and managing affordable housing development, community enhancement, community development and other housing development and redevelopment efforts, goals and objectives including providing for flexibility in identifying future housing developments. NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of West Covina does hereby ordain as follows: SECTION 1. The City Council of the City of West Covina, amends City Council Ordinance No. 2109 previously adopted December 16, 2003 to expand the duties of the Community Development Commission to include the functions of the West Covina Housing Authority pursuant to the provisions of California Health and Safety Code Sections 34112 and 34115.5. SECTION 2. Pursuant to Health and Safety Code Section 34115.5, the City Council does hereby declare the need for the Community Development Commission to function with respect to the powers, duties and obligations of a housing authority and to assume the powers, duties and obligations of the City of West Covina Housing Authority. In making this finding the City Council takes this action in furtherance of the goals, objectives and policies of enhancing housing development and redevelopment opportunities and in furtherance of the housing needs and objectives of the City. SECTION 3. The City Council finds that at the present time the City of West Covina Housing Authority does not have any tenants. However, within one year of the time that the housing authority has tenants, the City Council shall appoint two additional commissioners to the Community Development Commission in accordance with California Health and Safety Code Section 34120. SECTION 3. This Ordinance is an urgency ordinance enacted pursuant to Section 36934 of the Government Code of the State of California, and in accordance therewith, shall become effective immediately upon its adoption. The City Council hereby finds, determines and declares that the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, safety and welfare necessitates the enactment of this Ordinance as an Urgency Ordinance. The City Council further finds there is a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety and welfare necessitating the adoption of this Ordinance as an urgency ordinance. Said findings are as follows: 1. The State Legislature has adopted ABX1-26 which provides in part that the continued existence of the redevelopment functions of Community Development Commissions shall cease to exist as of October 1, 1011. That time limit was extended to February 1, 2012 by the California Supreme Court in the Case of California Redevelopment Association v. Matosantos. 2. The language of ABX1-26 concerning the continued existence of Community Development Commissions in the State of California is ambiguous and uncertain. This City of West Covina is unable to ascertain with certainty if the City of West Covina Community Development Commission will exist after February 1, 2012. 3. The City desires to transfer the redevelopment housing functions of the Community Development Commission to the West Covina Housing Authority and combine all of the housing functions of the Commission and the Housing Authority pursuant to California Health and Safety Code Section 34115.5 4. It is necessary to adopt this ordinance as an urgency ordinance because there is not sufficient time to have a first and second reading of the ordinance and then wait 31 days for the ordinance to become effective because the Community Development Commission may cease to exist during that time period. In order to safely preserve the housing functions of the Commission and combine those housing function with the housing functions of the West Covina Housing Authority, it is necessary for this ordinance to become effective prior to February 1, 2012. SECTION 6. The proposed action is considered to be exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines, in that the proposed action consists of a transfer of existing governmental functions, and it can be seen with certainty that the proposed action will not have an adverse effect on the environment SECTION 7.   If any part of this Ordinance, or its application to any person or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of the ordinance, including the application or provision to other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected and shall continue in full force and effect.  To this end, the provisions of this ordinance are severable. SECTION 5.  The City Clerk shall certify to the passage of this ordinance by the City Council of the City of West Covina and cause it to be posted in three conspicuous places in the City of West Covina, and it shall take effect immediately upon its adoption. APPROVED, PASSED AND ADOPTED THIS _____ DAY OF ____________, 2012.                                                                                          __________________________                                                                                          Mayor       ATTEST: __________________________ City Clerk I, LAURIE CARRICO, City Clerk of the City of West Covina, California, do hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. _________ was regularly introduced and placed upon its first reading at a regular meeting of the City Council on the ___ day of ________, 2011.  That thereafter said Ordinance was duly adopted and passed at a regular meeting of the City Council on the _____ day of __________ 2012 by the following vote. AYES: NOES: ABSENT:                                                                                                                                                                                                                    City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM:                                                                         City Attorney