Ordinance - 2257ORDINANCE NO.2257
AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF WEST COVINA, CALIFORNIA EXTENDING A MORATORIUM
FOR AN ADDITIONAL PERIOD OF TEN MONTHS AND FIFTEEN
DAYS, PROHIBITING THE ISSUANCE OF APPROVALS FOR THE
OPERATION OF ADULT ORIENTED BUSINESSES TO STUDY
DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS PENDING COMPLETION OF STUDY
AND REPORT BY THE PLANNING COMMISSION PERTAINING TO
THE PROPER CONDITIONS AND REGULATIONS FOR SUCH USES,
DECLARING THIS AN INTERIM ZONING ORDINANCE, AND
SETTING FORTH FACTS CONSTITUTING THE SAME AS AN
URGENCY ORDINANCE
WHEREAS, the Adult Oriented Business section of the Municipal Code was created in
1994 and last updated in 1996.
WHEREAS, in the last eighteen years there have been legal precedents established
through litigation that may affect the standards of the Adult Oriented Business section,
WHEREAS, City staff desires to study the adequacy of existing standards and
requirements in the Adult Oriented Business section of the Municipal Code in light of the City's
General Plan and zoning and to work the City Attorney's Office to determine if the current
ordinance is legally adequate in protecting First Amendment rights, and in establishing standards
that are appropriate for the City.
WHEREAS, City staff further desires to seek input from residents, the City Attorney's
Office, the Planning Commission and City Council, and other stakeholders on the appropriate
development standards and regulations that are necessary to preserve the public health, safety,
and welfare.
WHEREAS, the City Council desires, on an urgency basis, to temporarily prohibit the
issuance of approvals for the operation of an Adult Oriented Business or issuance of any
licenses, permits, building permits, or other entitlements to allow the operation of an Adult
Oriented Business.
WHEREAS, on February 4, 2014, the City Council adopted Urgency Ordinance No.
2256 enacting an initial, temporary forty-five (45) day moratorium prohibiting the approval or
issuance of approvals for the operation of an adult oriented business pursuant to the Government
Code section 65858;
WHEREAS, pursuant to Government Code section 65858, the City may, after notice and
a public hearing, extend the moratorium imposed under the Ordinance No. 2243 for an additional
ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days;
WHEREAS, on March 4, 2014 the City Council issued its report pursuant to
Government Code section 65858(d) describing the measures taken to alleviate the conditions
which led to the adoption of the moratorium;
WHEREAS, a public hearing to extend the moratorium was duly noticed by City staff
pursuant to Section 65090 of the Government Code;
WHEREAS, on March 4, 2014, the City Council approved and issued its report pursuant
to Government Code section 65858(d) describing the measures taken to alleviate the conditions
which led to the adoption of Ordinance No. 2256; and
WHEREAS, the City Council now desires to extend interim urgency Ordinance No.
2256, enacting a moratorium to temporarily prohibit issuance of approvals for the operation of an
adult oriented business for a period of 10 months and 15 days (unless otherwise earlier
superseded or rescinded by the City Council) pursuant to Government Code Section 65858.
Ordinance No. 2257
Page 2
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WEST COVINA CALIFORNIA DOES
HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION NO. 1: After hearing all applicable evidence, the City Council finds that
the conditions and findings recited in Ordinance No. 2243 continue to exist (and are incorporated
herein by this reference) and that further studies by the Planning Commission are necessary in
order to develop the proper criteria, conditions of approval and regulations for the orderly
planned and coordinated development and future use of adult oriented businesses. As such, the
City Council approves and hereby issues its report as set forth in the staff report accompanying
this Ordinance which describes the measures taken to alleviate the conditions which led to the
adoption of this Ordinance and Ordinance No. 2243 pursuant to Government Code section
65858(d).
SECTION NO. 2: FINDINGS. The City Council hereby finds, determines and
declares that there is a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety and welfare
necessitating the adoption of this Ordinance as an interim urgency ordinance pursuant to
Government Code section 65858. The City Council further finds that the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, safety and welfare necessitates the enactment of this
Interim Urgency Ordinance extending the moratorium enacted by Ordinance No. 2243 because
the issuance of approvals for the operation of an adult oriented business under the City of West
Covina Municipal Code would result in a threat to public health, safety, or welfare. The above
findings are based on the following facts:
1. The recitals, staff report, presentation, oral testimony and evidence presented are
hereby incorporated herein by this reference and made part of record in support of the findings.
2. The existing adult oriented business standards were adopted 18 years ago. Adult
Oriented Businesses are protected under Free Speech in the First Amendment of the U.S.
Constitution. It is appropriate to study the current Municipal Code standards for adult oriented
businesses to determine if any changes are required based on changes in law as well as legal
precedents that may have occurred over the last two decades. It is also necessary to study the
current code standards to determine if those standards continue to be appropriate for the welfare
of the City and its residents.
3. If an Urgency Interim Zoning Ordinance is not adopted immediately, and the
approvals are issued to allow the operation of an adult oriented business based on non-existent,
out dated, or ineffective development standards that do not safeguard the public health, safety,
and welfare, the approvals could lead to negative impacts and circumstances relating to
secondary effects of adult oriented business such as public indecency, prostitution, illicit drug
use, negative impacts on surrounding properties, blight, litter and sexual assault and exploitation.
The adoption of this Urgency Ordinance allows City staff to study the existing development
standards and regulations and determine their adequacy and, if necessary, amend or draft new
development standards and regulations that protect and preserve the public health, safety, and
welfare.
4. City staff requires additional time to allow the City Attorney's office to study the
current legal issues, for, staff to study potential municipal code amendments, and receive and
consider public input.
SECTION NO.3: EXTENSION OF MORATORIUM. The City Council hereby
orders that Ordinance No. 2243 be extended for an additional term of ten (10) months and fifteen
(15) days subject to all of the terms and provisions contained in Ordinance No. 2243, unless
otherwise superseded or rescinded by the City Council or extended pursuant to Government
Code section 65858. During the extension period, the issuance of approvals for the operation of
an Adult Oriented Business is prohibited on all properties within the City of West Covina.
SECTION NO.4: ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW. 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 the
Ordinance No. 2257
Page 3
adoption of a zoning moratorium ordinance which does not have the potential for causing a
significant effect on the environment.
SECTION NO.5: SEVERABILITY. The City Council hereby declares it would
have passed this Ordinance sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph, and section by
section, and does hereby declare that the provisions of this Ordinance are severable and, if for
any reason any sentence, paragraph, or section of this Ordinance shall be held invalid, such
decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining parts of this Ordinance.
SECTION NO.6: EFFECTIVE DATE AND DURATION. This ordinance is an
urgency ordinance enacted under Government Code section 65858. This urgency ordinance is
effective upon adoption by a four -fifths vote of the City Council and extends the moratorium
enacted under Ordinance No. 2243 for a period of ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days from the
date of the expiration of the initial forty-five (45) moratorium enacted by Ordinance No. 2243 at
which time it will automatically expire, unless sooner superseded, rescinded, or extended by the
City Council in accordance with Government Code section 65858.
SECTION NO. 7: PENALTIES. The definitions and penalties for land use
violations that are prescribed in the West Covina Municipal Code shall apply to violations of the
provisions of this Ordinance.
SECTION NO.8: PUBLICATION. The City Clerk shall certify the adoption of
this Ordinance, and the City Clerk shall cause this Ordinance to be posted or published as
prescribed by law.
Signatures on Following Page
Ordinance No. 2257
Page 3
APPROVED AND ADOPTED on this 41" day of March 2014.
• ATTEST:
City Clerk Nickolas;$. L wis
I, NICKOLAS S. LEWIS, CITY CLERK of the City of West Covina, California, do hereby
certify that the foregoing Urgency Ordinance was introduced, approved and duly adopted at a
regular meeting of the City Council on the 41h day of March 2014 by the following vote:
AYES:
Spence, Sykes, Toma, Warshaw, Herfert
NOES:
None
ABSENT:
None
ABSTAIN:
None
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
C4 Attorney Arkld Alvarez-Glasman
0
Clerk Nickolas S. Lewis
CERTIFICATION
I, Susan Rush, Assistant City Clerk of the City of West Covina, State of California, do
• hereby certify that a true and accurate copy of Ordinance No. 2257 was duly enacted and passed
by the West Covina City Council, and caused to be posted pursuant to law (G.C. 36933), at the
following locations:
West Covina City Clerk's Office (3rd floor)
Los Angeles County Public Library (West Covina Branch)
West Covina Police Department (front lobby)
Susan Rush, Assistant City Clerk
Posted: March 13, 2014