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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd 757 ORDINANCE NO. 757 AN INTERIM URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CATHEDRAL CITY PURSUANT TO CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65858 IMPOSING A TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON THE ESTABLISHMENT, INSTALLATION, PLACEMENT, CONSTRUCTION AND/OR EXPANSION OF ATTENDED AND UNATTENDED COLLECTION DONATION BINS, TO TAKE EFFECT IMMEDIATELY UPON ADOPTION WHEREAS, in recent years, the City has seen a proliferation and concentration of attended and unattended collection donation bins ("CDBs"); and WHEREAS, CDBs are defined as portable, attended or unattended bins or storage pods or containers for the reverse vending of salvageable personal property including, but not limited to, furniture, household items, appliances, clothing, and books and other such related items, installed on both private and public property; and WHEREAS, many of the CDBs and the areas around the CDBs have not been properly or consistently maintained, which has resulted in blighted conditions in many areas of the City; and WHEREAS, the CDBs often become a public nuisance as they attract graffiti, scavenging and illegal dumping near and surrounding the CDBs; and WHEREAS, the Cathedral City Municipal Code's stated policies and objectives for future land use and development in the City is to promote the quality of the City's neighborhoods and contains specific policies regarding the review of potential nuisance activities and the alleviation of public nuisances; and WHEREAS, the continued establishment, installation, placement, construction, and/or expansion (collectively called "installation") of CDBs may result in potential conflict with some of the policies and objectives of the Cathedral City Municipal Code; and WHEREAS, the City Staff desires to initiate a study of the effects of CDBs in the City and a review of the regulatory mechanisms available to regulate CDBs, including changes to the Municipal Code, to protect the public health, safety, and/or welfare from the negative effects of CDBs; and WHEREAS, until such time that the City concludes its review and possibly adopts new regulatory controls, the installation of such CDBs and their resulting negative effects will continue to pose a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety and/or welfare; and 1 WHEREAS, pursuant to Government Code Section 65858, a city may adopt an interim ordinance prohibiting any uses that may be in conflict with a contemplated general plan, specific plan, or zoning proposal that the legislative body, planning commission or the planning department is considering or studying or intends to study within a reasonable time; and WHEREAS, for the reasons set forth above, this interim ordinance ("Interim Ordinance") is declared by the City Council to be necessary for preserving the public health, safety and/or welfare and to avoid a current, immediate and direct threat to the health, safety and/or welfare of the community. NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CATHEDRAL CITY DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. RECITALS The recitals above are true and correct and are herein incorporated. SECTION 2. PURPOSE AND INTENT The purpose of this Interim Ordinance is to provide for the health, safety and welfare of the City and its residents by exercising the police power provided for in the California Constitution that underlies the City's zoning powers, so that CDBs in the City are compatible with existing and future uses. To accomplish this, the City Council intends to impose a temporary moratorium on the installation of any and all CDBs and/or the issuance of any permits or licenses for the installation of CDBs, in order to provide the City Staff, the City Council, and the residents of the City sufficient time to consider a comprehensive ordinance regulating CDBs. SECTION 3. APPLICABILITY The provisions of this Interim Ordinance will apply to all CDBs, which means any attended or unattended container, bin, box, bag, or similar receptacle that is located on any lot, public or private, within the City that is used for soliciting and collecting donation collections of any kind, including clothing, shoes, or other salvageable personal property. CDBs will be subject to all the provisions as set forth below, unless otherwise specified in this Interim Ordinance, notwithstanding other existing zoning provisions and regulations of the City of Cathedral City. 2 SECTION 4. TEMPORARY MORATORIUM a. The Moratorium Applies To All Zoning Districts And Public Rights Of Way Within The City. Within all areas situated in the City of Cathedral City, State of California, including, but not limited to, all public rights of way and each and every zone and zoning district, there shall be a temporary moratorium in effect, commencing on the effective date of this Interim Ordinance, prohibiting the installation of any and all CDBs described above, and/or the issuance of permits for installation of such CDBs, notwithstanding other existing zoning provisions and regulations of the City. b. The City Staff May Continue To Process And Review Applications During The Interim Ordinance; However, The City Is Prohibited From Issuing Or Denying Any Permit Or License For A CDB During The Effective Term Of This Interim Ordinance. This Interim Ordinance is not intended to affect the processing and review of permit applications for any and all CDBs described above by the City Staff- the City will still process and review applications. However, the moratorium prohibits the issuance or denial of any permits or licenses for or related to CDBs. The City Staff shall continue to process and review such CDB permit applications. Any new standards for the permitting and installation of CDBs which are adopted subsequent to the Interim Ordinance and any extension thereof, shall nevertheless apply to the pending application. Any time limits or mandatory approval of time frames relative to the processing and action upon permit applications for any and all CDBs are tolled during the term of this Interim Ordinance and any extension thereof. SECTION 5. AUTHORITY AND FINDINGS This Interim Ordinance is an interim zoning ordinance adopted as an urgency measure pursuant to Government Code Sections 65858 to protect the public safety, health and welfare by prohibiting land uses which may be in conflict with contemplated general plan and zoning proposal which the City Staff intent to consider and study within a reasonable time. The City Council hereby finds that there is a current and immediate threat to public health, safety and welfare resulting from the approval of business licenses, use permits, variances, building permits, or any other applicable land use or zoning entitlement or approval, for CDBs, and that such approvals and any further introduction of CDBs into the City would result in a threat to public health, safety and welfare, for the following reasons: 3 a. CDBs are proliferating the City. Further, the City Council can reasonably anticipate this trend to continue if swift action is not taken. b. The installation of new CDBs will likely conflict with, and be incompatible with, the established uses due to visual blight that will likely jeopardize residents' quiet enjoyment of their homes and property, and also potentially devalue their homes and property. Such disturbance could also have a dramatic effect on the peaceful atmosphere that characterizes the City. c. CDBs have become and are likely to continue to become a public nuisance since they can become a target for scavenging, graffiti and illegal dumping. d. CDBs have been and are likely to continue to be placed in inappropriate or illegal locations such as code-required parking spaces, code-required setbacks, or City rights of ways. e. CDBs placed in parking lots can restrict sight-lines and affect vehicle circulation and safety, including pedestrian safety. f. For the aforementioned reasons, the City must further collect data and study the effects that CDBs have in the community to ensure that they are compatible with existing and future uses in designated areas. SECTION 6. COUNCIL DIRECTION The City Council hereby directs the City Staff to consider and study possible means of regulating CDBs. SECTION 7. WRITTEN REPORT REQUIRED The written report required by Government Code Section 65858(d) shall be prepared by City Staff and issued prior to the expiration of this Interim Ordinance. SECTION 8. CEQA EXEMPTION The City Council finds that, regarding the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), there is no possibility that the adoption of this ordinance may have a significant adverse effect on the environment [14 CCR 15061(b)(3)] because this Interim Ordinance will reduce the possibility of such effects by limiting the range and intensity of new uses possible in the areas it covers and restricting new uses to those of a type which are more compatible with the established character of those areas. SECTION 9. SEVERABILITY 4 The City Council declares that, should any provision, section, paragraph, sentence or word of this Interim Ordinance be rendered or declared invalid by any final court action in a court of competent jurisdiction or by reason of any preemptive legislation, the remaining provisions, sections, paragraphs, sentences or words of this ordinance as hereby adopted shall remain in full force and effect. SECTION 10. REPEAL OF CONFLICTING PROVISIONS All the provisions of the Cathedral City Municipal Code as heretofore adopted by the City of Cathedral City that are in conflict with the provisions of this ordinance are hereby repealed. SECTION 11. EFFECTIVE DATE This Interim Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon its passage. It shall be of no further force and effect forty-five (45) days from its date of adoption unless extended following a public hearing, as provided in Government Code Section 65858. This 45-day period may be extended by the City Council in accordance with the provisions of California Government Code Section 65858. SECTION 12. CERTIFICATION The City Clerk shall certify to the passage of this ordinance and shall cause the same to be published according to law. [THIS PORTION OF PAGE LEFT INTENTIONALLY BLANK] 5 The foregoing Ordinance was approved and adopted at a meeting of the City Council held on May 13, 2015 by the following vote: Ayes: Noes: Abstain: Absent: Stanley E. enry, May: ATTEST: Gary '. Ha el , y lerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: / Charles R. Green, City Attorney P:\APPS\WPDATA\CATH\0001\DOC\2949.7-Interim Ordinance CDBs.docx 6