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Home My WebLink About2010-09-28 - ORDINANCES - MORATORIUM RETAIL AUTO SALES (2)ORDINANCE NO. 10-12 AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA CLARITA, CALIFORNIA, EXTENDING A MORATORIUM ON THE ISSUANCE OF ANY NEW PERMIT, LICENSE, APPROVAL, OR ENTITLEMENT PERTAINING TO THE RETAIL SALE OF NEW OR USED AUTOMOBILES AND LIGHT TRUCKS ANYWHERE IN THE CITY OF SANTA CLARITA THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA CLARITA, CALIFORNIA, DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Findings. A. On August 24, 2010, pursuant to Government Code §36937 and 65858, the City Council adopted Urgency Ordinance No. 10-10 ("Initial Interim Ordinance") to establish a moratorium on the issuance of any new permits, licenses, approvals, or entitlements for retail automobile and light trucks sales businesses throughout the City of Santa Clarita ("City"). The Initial Interim Ordinance, by law, is effective for only 45 days. B. Pursuant to Government Code Section 65858, the City may, after notice and a public hearing, extend the moratorium for an additional 10 months and 15 days. C. The factual basis for extending the moratorium includes the following: 1. The City is currently in the process of studying and considering amendments to its zoning regulations to address public safety, health, and welfare issues related to the location of retail automobile sales businesses in the City. The City is working to develop standards that clearly articulate where automobile and light truck retail sales businesses should be allowed within the City. 2. Under Section 17.17.040 of the Santa Clarita Municipal Code, the City has a Vehicle Services Overlay Zone, the purpose of which is to encourage auto -related uses to locate in designated areas to reduce the proliferation of auto -related uses along commercial corridors. 3. There has been a recent proliferation of retail automobile and light trucks sales businesses throughout the City, including areas outside the Vehicle Services Overlay Zone. Consequently, the City is concerned about the negative impacts that these automobile retail businesses are having and may have on local businesses and the community in general, including, but not limited to, on and off-site vehicle storage and maintenance, as well as parking and signage impacts. �l 4. The City Council finds that the current regulatory scheme in the code regarding where retail automobile and light trucks sales businesses may be located is inadequate. 5. The City imposed a moratorium on the issuance of any new permits, licenses, approvals, or entitlements for retail automobile and light trucks sales businesses throughout the City to give it time to undertake a review of its current regulations to determine how they will need to be revised to address these concerns so that the publics safety, health and welfare remains protected. 6. -The City has begun to prepare a zoning code amendment to establish an overlay zone that would likely focus retail automobile and light truck sales in one central location in the City and would regulate the conduct of such businesses. This will require consideration by both the Planning Commission and the City Council and is a complex process that may involve amendments to two Specific Plans. 7. Without the extension of the moratorium, retail automobile and light truck sales businesses could quickly establish such uses despite the Council's determination that the City's existing regulations are inadequate and in need of revision. 8. Pursuant to Government Code Section 65858(d), the City has issued a written report describing the measures taken to alleviate the conditions that necessitated the adoption of the Initial Interim Ordinance, which report is incorporated by this reference. 9. The City Council finds that further studies and review are necessary to prepare appropriate code amendments and regulations. 10. In order to prevent the frustration of the implementation of such studies, the public health, safety, and welfare require the immediate enactment of this ordinance. 11. The absence of this ordinance would create a serious threat to the orderly and effective implementation of any amendments that may be adopted in that the establishment of such uses within the City may be in conflict with or frustrate the contemplated amendments. 12. This ordinance is also necessary to protect against the negative impacts of additional such businesses opening in an ad hoc manner throughout the City, including the protection of the City's commercial retail trade, maintenance of property values, and the protection and preservation of the quality of the City's neighborhoods and commercial zones and corridors. D. The City Council finds that there is a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety, and welfare based on the above findings, and upon that basis has determined that an extension of the moratorium enacted under Urgency Ordinance N No. 10-10 prohibiting the . issuance of new permits, licenses, approvals, or entitlements for retail automobile and light trucks sales businesses throughout the- City he-City is warranted. SECTION 2. Extension of Moratorium on the Issuance of any New Permit, License, Approval, or Entitlement Pertaining to the Retail Sale of New or Used Automobiles and Light Trucks in the City. The City Council orders as follows: The term of Ordinance No. 10-10 is hereby extended for a period -of 1.0 months.and 15 days through and including August 12, 2011, such that during that time rno per=mits;. lic nses, approvals, or entitlements may be issued for the retail sale of new or used autamobiies and -light trucks anywhere in the City. In addition, no such existing establishment may be expanded, whether by means of additional space, construction of new facility, or by recd -"n -figuration.:" SECTION 3. Legal, Operational and Planning Study. The Planning 'Division and the City Attorney's Office are directed to continue to study and analyze issues related to the establishment, permitting, approval and operation of retail automobile sales businesses throughout the City, and the potential impacts of the proliferation of such businesses on public health, safety and welfare of the community, the desirability of such facilities in various zones, and the extent of regulatory controls, if any, to impose on such facilities. SECTION 4. Environmental Review. The City Council finds that this ordinance is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it has. no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly; rather it prevents changes in the environment pending the completion of the contemplated municipal code review. SECTION 5. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision will not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this ordinance and every. section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional. SECTION 6. Effective Date and Duration. This ordinance is an urgency ordinance enacted under California Government Code Section 65858(a). This urgency ordinance is effective upon adoption by a 4/5th vote of the City Council and will automatically expire on the date set forth in Section 2 herein unless extended by the City Council in accordance with California Government Code Section 65858. SECTION 7. Publication. The City Clerk is directed to cause this ordinance to be published in the manner required by law. 3 PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED. this 28th day of September, 2010 ATTEST: CITY CLERK- STATE OF JCALI:ii ORNIA ) COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) ss. CITY OF SANTA CLARITA ) I, Sarah P. Gorman, City Clerk of the City of Santa Clarita, do hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. 10-12 was duly passed and adopted as an urgency measure at a regular meeting of the City Council on the 28th day of September, 2010, by the following vote, to wit: AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS: McLean, Ferry, Ender, Kellar, Weste None None AND I FURTHER CERTIFY that the foregoing is the original of Ordinance No. 10-12 and was published in The Signal newspaper in accordance with State Law (G.C. 40806). 9'7'ativ� CITY CLERK 1o1ailw Dated 1 1 1 STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) ss. CITY OF SANTA CLARITA ) CERTIFICATION OF CITY COUNCIL ORDINANCE I, , City Clerk of the City of Santa Clarita, do hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of the original Ordinance No. 10-12, adopted by the City Council of the City of Santa Clarita, CA on September 28, 2010, which is now on file in my office. Witness my hand and seal of the City of Santa Clarita, California, this day of , 20 City Clerk By Deputy City Clerk 1 1 n