Ordinance - 2270ORDINANCE NO. 2270
AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
WEST COVINA, CALIFORNIA EXTENDING A MORATORIUM FOR AN
ADDITIONAL PERIOD OF TWELVE MONTHS, 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 City of West Covina ("City") has adopted a General Plan, including a
Land Use Element; and
WHEREAS, state law requires that the City's Zoning Code (Chapter 26 of the West
Covina Municipal Code) conform with the General Plan's goals and policies; and
WHEREAS, the public health, safety and welfare is fully articulated in the City's General
Plan; and
WHEREAS, the Adult Oriented Business section of the Municipal Code was created in
1994 and last updated in 1996; and
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; and
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; and
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; and
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; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 65858 of the California Government Code, the City
Council may, in order fo protect the public health, safety and welfare, adopt as an urgency
measure an interim ordinance prohibiting any use that may be in conflict with a contemplated
specific plan, general plan amendment, or zoning proposal that the legislative body, plarming
commission or the planning department is considering or studying or intends to study within a
reasonable time;
WHEREAS, on February 4, 2014, the City Council adopted Urgency Ordinance No.
2256 enacting an initial, temporary 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; and
WHEREAS, on March 4, 2014, the City Council adopted Urgency Ordinance No. 2257,
extending the 45-day moratorium for an additional 10 months and 15 days; and
Z:\Ordinances\New Moratorium ordinance Exlension.doe
Ordinance No.
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WHEREAS, pursuant to Government Code section 65858, the City may, after notice and
a public hearing, extend the moratorium imposed under Ordinances No. 2256 and 2257 for an
additional 12 months; and
WHEREAS, on January 15, 2015, 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; and
WHEREAS, a public hearing to extend the moratorium was duly noticed by City staff
pursuant to Section 65090 of the Government Code; and
WHEREAS, on January 20, 2015, the City Council approved 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 12 months (unless otherwise earlier superseded or
rescinded by the City Council) pursuant to Government Code Section 65858.
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 Ordinances No. 2256 and 2257 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 Ordinances No. 2256 and 2257 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, safely 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. 2256, and extended by
Ordinance No. 2257, 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. For the purposes of this ordinance, adult oriented businesses shall be defined by
Section 26-685.4200 of the West Covina Municipal Code.
2. The recitals, staff report, presentation, oral testimony and evidence presented are
hereby incorporated herein by this reference and made part of the record in support of the
findings.
3. The existing adult oriented business standards were adopted 18 years ago. Adult
Oriented Businesses are protected under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the
free speech clause of the California 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.
4. If an Urgency Interim Zoning Ordinance is not adopted immediately, and the
approvals are issued to allow the operation of adult oriented businesses based on non-existent,
outdated, or ineffective development standards that do not safeguard the public health, safety,
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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 provides City staff the necessary time 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.
5. The negative secondary effects associated with adult oriented businesses that are
improperly regulated constitute an immediate threat to the health, safety and welfare of the
public and the secondary effects associated with such establishments undermine the goals of the
City's General Plan; and
6. 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. 2256 be extended for an additional term of 12 months, in addition to
the 10 months and 15 days that the moratorium was extended by Ordinance No. 2257, subject to
all of the terms and provisions contained in Ordinance No. 2256, 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 Enviromnental Quality Act (CEQA),
pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines, in that the proposed action consists of the
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. 2256 for a period of 12 months from the date of the expiration of
the 10 months and 15 days extension enacted by Ordinance No. 2257, 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.
.l
Fredrick Sykes
Mayor
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Page 4
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
4
Kimberly Hal arlow
City Attorney
ATTEST:
Nic colas S, Lewis
City Clerk..
1, NICKOLAS S. LEWIS, CITY CLERK of the City of West Covina, California, do hereby
certify that the foregoing Ordinance was regularly introduced and placed upon its first reading at
a regular meeting of the City Council on the 20°i day of January, 2015. That thereafter said
Ordinance was duly adopted and passed at a regular meeting of the City Council on the 20a' day
of January, 2015, by the following vote:
AYES: Herfert, Spence, Toma, Warshaw, Sykes
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
Nickola-s S,.-Lewis-
City Clerk
e
CERTIFICATION
1, Rosalia A. Conde, Assistant City Clerk of the City of West Covina, State of California,
do hereby certify that a true and accurate copy of Ordinance No. 2270 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 (P floor)
Los Angeles County Public Library (West Covina Branch)
West Covina Police Department (front lobby)
• dam.; J_i ,/
City Clerk
Posted: 2 1
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