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HomeMy WebLinkAboutD-6 Staff Report - 45 Day Urgency Ordinance - Hookah Loungues and Tobacco StoresSCHEDULED ITEM D-6 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL VIA: TROY L. BUTZLAFF, ICMA-CM, CITY MANAGER FROM: KURT CHISTIANSEN, FAICP, ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR DATE: JUNE 19, 2017 SUBJECT: INTERIM URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AZUSA, CALIFORNIA, ENACTED PURSUANT TO CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65858 TEMPORARILY PROHIBITING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF HOOKAH LOUNGES AND TOBACCO STORES PENDING STUDY AND ADOPTION OF REGULATORY AND ZONING STANDARDS SUMMARY: The Azusa Municipal Code does not currently regulate hookah lounges and tobacco stores, including vape stores. Over the past year, the City has experienced a high level of interest in this type of business especially in the downtown area. These types of businesses are a known source of noise, safety, and other impacts on the community. The City has also seen an increase of marijuana paraphernalia being sold at various tobacco stores. The proposed urgency ordinance establishes a temporary moratorium for forty-five (45) days on all hookah lounges and tobacco stores, including vape stores, pending study and adoption of regulatory and zoning standards. The proposed action adopts urgency Ordinance No. 2017- 07. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the City Council take the following action: 1)Introduce, waive further reading, read by title only and adopt Urgency Ordinance No. 2017-07, enacted pursuant to California Government Code Section 65858 Temporarily Prohibiting the Establishment of Businesses Hookah Lounges and Tobacco Stores Pending Study and Adoption of Regulatory and Zoning Standards. DISCUSSION: The City of Azusa does not regulate hookah lounges and tobacco stores. Therefore, the unregulated land uses present an immediate threat to public health, safety and welfare for the following reasons: APPROVED CITY COUNCIL 6/19/2017 Urgency Ordinance – Hookah Lounges and Tobacco Uses June 19, 2017 Page 2 of 3 • The City does not have sufficient regulations in its Municipal Code governing the establishment of tobacco stores or hookah lounges. Specifically, there are no detailed regulations regarding the development, operation or location standards for these uses; • Significant concerns have been raised regarding the lack of current regulations to address tobacco stores and hookah lounges and the noise, safety, health, and other impacts of these uses on the community including on minors and sensitive land uses; • Many state laws have been adopted, which acknowledge the public health impacts of tobacco and specifically its effect on minors. For example, state law prohibits public school students from smoking or using tobacco products while on campus, while attending school sponsored activities, or while under the supervision or control of school district employees. State law also prohibits smoking in playgrounds. State law also prohibits smoking within 20 feet of the main entrances and exits of public buildings; • In recent years, e-cigarettes and other vape pens have become a popular alternative to traditional smoking. State laws have been amended to include these products within the definition of tobacco products. Although such products are too new for any long-terms studies that evaluate the health effects, current research indicates that chemicals contained in such products may be harmful and that vaping releases contents of e-cigarettes into the air. Further, e-cigarettes are made to mimic conventional cigarettes, making enforcement of smoking and tobacco product regulation difficult and confusing if e-cigarettes are excluded; • Tobacco stores can be a target for theft and vandalism and require such establishments to install retractable security bars on all doors and windows. Additionally, tobacco stores may be affiliated with the sale of drug paraphernalia that encourage illegal activity, which then can negatively affect the neighborhoods and surrounding community; • The establishment of hookah lounges produces secondary smoke, far more concentrated than cigarette smoke, which can negatively affect workers, passers-by, neighbors, the elderly, sick and disabled and particularly minors. Recognizing the health risks, state laws have been adopted to prohibit unlawful smoking of tobacco in hookah pipes in an enclosed place of employment as well as prohibiting smoking of tobacco in hookah pipes by those under 18 years of age; and • Due to the lack of development, operation and location standards for these uses, the City desires to study new zoning regulations in order to provide clear, consistent, and uniform guidance to businesses and individuals regarding the citing and operational characteristics while also addressing significant community concerns. The sale of e-cigarettes and other vaping paraphernalia is included in the definition of Tobacco Product and Tobacco Paraphernalia. As a result, vape shops will be subject to the moratorium. This is consistent with several provisions of state law, which include the use of e-cigarettes in the definition of smoking. The proposed ordinance will expire 45 days from the date of approval unless extended by action of the City Council. Under the proposed ordinance, City staff is obligated to prepare and release a report no less than 10 days prior to the scheduled expiration on the progress of its study and on determinations for how the City should proceed, insofar as conclusions have been drawn. Urgency Ordinance – Hookah Lounges and Tobacco Uses June 19, 2017 Page 3 of 3 FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact associated with the recommended action. Prepared by: Reviewed and Approved: Manuel Muñoz Kurt Christiansen, FAICP Associate Planner Economic and Community Development Director Reviewed and Approved: Reviewed and Approved: Louie F. Lacasella Troy L. Butzlaff, ICMA-CM Management Analyst City Manager Attachments: 1) Urgency Ordinance No. 2017-07 2) Map of Existing Tobacco Stores ORDINANCE NO. 2017-07 AN INTERIM URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AZUSA, CALIFORNIA, ENACTED PURSUANT TO CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65858 TEMPORARILY PROHIBITING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF BUSINESSES HOOKAH LOUNGES AND TOBACCO STORES PENDING STUDY AND ADOPTION OF REGULATORY AND ZONING STANDARDS WHEREAS, Article 11, Section 7 of the California Constitution authorizes the City of Azusa (“City”) to make and enforce within its limits all ordinances and regulations not in conflict with general laws; and WHEREAS, the unregulated development of Hookah Lounges and Tobacco Stores, as defined in Section 2 of this Ordinance, presents an immediate threat to the public health, safety and welfare for the following reasons:  The City does not have sufficient regulations in its Municipal Code governing the establishment of Tobacco Stores or Hookah Lounges. Specifically, there are no detailed regulations regarding the development, operation or location standards for these uses;  Significant concerns have been raised regarding the lack of current regulations to address Tobacco Stores and Hookah Lounges and the noise, safety, health, and other impacts of these uses on the community including on minors and sensitive land uses;  Many state laws have been adopted, which acknowledge the public health impacts of tobacco and specifically its effect on minors. For example, state law prohibits public school students from smoking or using tobacco products while on campus, while attending school sponsored activities, or while under the supervision or control of school district employees. State law also prohibits smoking in playgrounds. State law also prohibits smoking within 20 feet of the main entrances and exits of public buildings;  In recent years, e-cigarettes and other vape pens have become a popular alternative to traditional smoking. State laws have been amended to include these products within the definition of tobacco products. Although such products are too new for any long- terms studies that evaluate the health effects, current research indicates that chemicals contained in such products may be harmful and that vaping releases contents of e- cigarettes into the air. Further, e-cigarettes are made to mimic conventional cigarettes, making enforcement of smoking and tobacco product regulation difficult and confusing if e-cigarettes are excluded;  Tobacco Stores can be a target for theft and vandalism and require such establishments to install retractable security bars on all doors and windows. Additionally, Tobacco Stores may be affiliated with the sale of drug paraphernalia that encourage illegal activity, which then can negatively affect the neighborhoods and surrounding community;  The establishment of Hookah Lounges produces secondary smoke, far more concentrated than cigarette smoke, which can negatively affect workers, passers-by, neighbors, the elderly, sick and disabled and particularly minors. Recognizing the health risks, state laws have been adopted to prohibit unlawful smoking of tobacco in hookah pipes in an enclosed place of employment as well as prohibiting smoking of tobacco in hookah pipes by those under 18 years of age; and  Due to the lack of development, operation and location standards for these uses, the City desires to study new zoning regulations in order to provide clear, consistent, and uniform guidance to businesses and individuals regarding the citing and operational characteristics while also addressing significant community concerns; WHEREAS, due to the health, safety, and welfare impacts of Hookah Lounges and Tobacco Stores, the City wishes to study the appropriate types of local regulation required for these uses to address their impacts; and WHEREAS, per Government Code Section 65858, the legislative body may adopt an interim ordinance to protect the public safety, health, and welfare 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, City staff requires time to gather data about the adverse impacts of Hookah Lounges and Tobacco Stores, including vape stores, and to research, study, and consider ways to possibly amend the City’s business license process and the Azusa Municipal Code to address the potential impacts caused by these uses; and WHEREAS, City staff, the Police Department, and the City Attorney’s office are conducting research into the possible and likely impacts of further regulating Hookah Lounges and Tobacco Stores, including vape stores, in the City in order to mitigate adverse impacts; and WHEREAS, City staff is gathering factual data regarding the adverse impacts experienced by other cities that permit Hookah Lounges and Tobacco Stores, including vape stores. This information is currently being processed as a tool to draft provisions for regulating Hookah Lounges and Tobacco Stores in the City; and WHEREAS, as a result, the City Council desires to institute a forty-five (45) day moratorium to allow staff and the City Council the opportunity to research and select the best course of action for the City’s citizens and the community at large. THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AZUSA DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. FINDINGS. The above recitals are true and correct and are incorporated herein by reference. The Azusa City Council hereby finds and determines that hookah lounges and tobacco stores constitute an immediate threat to the public health, safety and welfare. The approval of additional entitlements for hookah lounges and tobacco stores establishments under the City’s current regulations will further threaten public health, safety, or welfare. The adoption of this Ordinance is therefore necessary for the immediate protection of the public safety, health and welfare. SECTION 2. IMPOSITION OF MORATORIUM. During the time this Ordinance is in effect, no business license or other permit or entitlement shall be issued for the establishment or operation of a Hookah Lounges and Tobacco Stores, as defined herein until August 3, 2017, unless this moratorium is extended or terminated by the City Council. As used in this Ordinance, the following definitions apply: A. “Establish” or “operate” a Hookah Lounge or Tobacco Store (as defined in this Ordinance) means and includes any of the following: (i) the opening or commencement of the operation of a Hookah Lounge or Tobacco Store; (ii) the conversion of an existing business, facility, use establishment, or location to a Hookah Lounge or Tobacco Store; and (iii) the addition of a Hookah Lounge or Tobacco Store to any other existing business, facility, use, establishment or location. B. “Hookah” means a glass or metal water pipe usually decorated and shaped somewhat like a bottle or small tank, with a long, flexible cord pipe, also known as shisha, nargile, hubble bubble, nag and Turkish water Pipe. C. “Hookah Lounge” means an area of a commercial establishment, whether enclosed, indoor or outdoor, designated specifically for the use of hookahs, but does not include private use of hookahs in personal residences if otherwise in compliance with applicable law. D. “Tobacco Paraphernalia” means any device, product, equipment, or material of any kind that is intended or designed for use for smoking, inhaling, or ingesting tobacco, notwithstanding that the device, product, equipment, or material may also be used for smoking, inhaling, or ingesting any controlled substance. “Tobacco paraphernalia” includes, but is not limited to, all of the following: (i) Metal, ivory, wooden, acrylic, glass, stone, plastic, or ceramic pipes with or without screens, permanent screens, hashish heads, or punctured bowls; (ii) Water pipes; (iii) Bongs; (iv) Chillums; (v) Ice pipes or chillers; (vi) Cigarette papers or wrappers; (vii) Cigarette rolling machines; (viii) Blunt wraps, as defined in Section 308 of the Penal Code; (ix) Hookahs and similar devices constructed with a receptacle or container in which water or some other liquid may be placed into which smoke passes and is cooled in the process of being inhaled or ingested; and (x) any electronic device that delivers nicotine or other vaporized liquids to the person inhaling from the device, including, but not limited to, an electronic cigarette, cigar, pipe, or hookah. “Tobacco Paraphernalia” shall include any component, part, or accessory of the foregoing, whether or not sold separately. E. “Tobacco Product” means any product containing, made, or derived from tobacco or nicotine that is intended for human consumption, whether smoked, heated, chewed, absorbed, dissolved, inhaled, snorted, sniffed, or ingested by any other means, including, but not limited to, cigarettes, cigars, little cigars, chewing tobacco, pipe tobacco, or snuff. “Tobacco Product” shall include any component, part, or accessory of the foregoing, whether or not sold separately. “Tobacco Product” does not include a product that has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for sale as a tobacco cessation product or for other therapeutic purposes where the product is marketed and sold solely for such an approved purpose. F. “Tobacco Store” means a retailer or wholesale business or any person that: (1) sells, offers for sale or offers to exchange for any form of consideration, tobacco, Tobacco Products or Tobacco Paraphernalia; and (2) has fifteen percent (15%) or more of the square feet in the establishment used for the sale or display of tobacco, Tobacco Products or Tobacco Paraphernalia. SECTION 3. ADOPTION. Pursuant to Government Code Section 36937, this interim urgency ordinance is designed to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the City and its residents and becomes effective immediately upon adoption by a four-fifths (4/5) vote of the City Council following the notice and public hearing required by Government Code Section 65858(a). SECTION 4. TERM. This Ordinance is adopted under the provisions of Government Code Section 65858 and 36937(b), and shall take effect immediately upon its passage by a four-fifths vote of the City Council. This Ordinance shall remain in effect for forty-five (45) days from its adoption, unless earlier repealed. SECTION 5. REPORT REQUIRED No less than ten (10) days prior to the scheduled expiration of this Ordinance, staff shall issue a report to the City Council on the progress of its study and on determinations for how the City should proceed, insofar as conclusions have been drawn. SECTION 6. COMPLIANCE WITH CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT The City Council finds that this Ordinance is not a project within the meaning of Section 15378 of the State of California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) Guidelines, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change in the environment, directly or indirectly. The City Council further finds, under Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, section 15061(b)(3) that this interim urgency ordinance is nonetheless exempt from the requirements of CEQA. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. SECTION 7. SEVERABILITY If any provision of this Ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid or unconstitutional, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect other provisions or applications of this Ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this Ordinance are severable. The City Council hereby declares that it would have adopted this Ordinance irrespective of the invalidity of any particular portion thereof. PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this 19th day of June, 2017. ___________________________________ Jose Romero Rocha, MAYOR ATTEST: _______________________________ Jeffrey Lawrence Cornejo, Jr., CITY CLERK APPROVED AS TO FORM: _______________________________ Marco Martinez, CITY ATTORNEY STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) ss. CITY OF AZUSA ) I, Jeffrey Lawrence Cornejo Jr., City Clerk of the City of Azusa, do hereby certify that the foregoing Interim Urgency Ordinance No. was duly introduced and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council on the 19th day of June, 2017, by the following roll-call vote, to wit: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: ABSTAIN: COUNCIL MEMBERS: _________________________________________ Jeffrey Lawrence Cornejo, Jr., CITY CLERK !( !( !( !( !(!(B E A D C F Sources: Esri, HERE, DeLorme, USGS, Intermap, increment P Corp., NRCAN, Esri Japan, METI, Esri China (Hong Kong), Esri (Thailand), MapmyIndia, ©OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS User Community Path: C:\ArcGIS_Misc Projects 5\Manny\Smoke shop\Map.mxd Date: Wednesday, June 14, 2017 J.Prado AGISA. 20 Past 4 Smoke Shop 310 N. Citrus Ave. Zoning: Mixed Use B. Arrow Smoke Shop 1185 W. Arrow Hwy. Zoning: Corridor Arrow Highway C. Azusa Smoke Shop 321 S. Azusa Ave. Zoning: Mixed Use D. Azusa Tobacco 728 N. Azusa Ave. Zoning: Village Core Neighborhood E. O G Smoke Shop 893 E. Arrow Hwy. Zoning: Corridor Arrow Highway F. Rippin Vapors Azusa 625 N. Azusa Ave. Zoning: Downtown ExistingSmoke Shops