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HomeMy WebLinkAboutD-1 - Staff Report for Massage Moratorium Extension 2016-c2PUBLIC HEARING D-1 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL VIA: TROY L. BUTZLAFF, ICMA-CM, CITY MANAGER FROM: MARCO A. MARTINEZ, CITY ATTORNEY STEVE HUNT, ACTING CHIEF OF POLICE KURT CHRISTIANSEN, DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DATE: JULY 18, 2016 SUBJECT: ADOPTION OF AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AZUSA, IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65858, EXTENDING FOR A PERIOD OF ONE YEAR A MORATORIUM TEMPORARILY PROHIBITING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF BUSINESSES OFFERING MASSAGES PENDING STUDY AND ADOPTION OF REGULATORY AND ZONING STANDARDS. SUMMARY: On July 27, 2015, the Azusa City Council adopted an Urgency Ordinance No. 2015-O7 prohibiting the issuance of business licenses, use permits, and entitlements to massage establishments. . On September 8, 2015, the Azusa City Council adopted a first extension of the Urgency Ordinance extending the moratorium for an additional ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days. The current moratorium expires on July 22, 2016 This action adopts an Urgency Ordinance extending the moratorium on the establishment of new massage establishments in the City for a second and final time, lasting one year. The extension is authorized pursuant to Government Code Section 65858 and will provide City Staff with additional time to study and address the issues associated with massage establishments. RECOMMENDATION(S): Staff recommends that the City Council take the following actions: 1)Waive further reading, read by title only and adopt Urgency Ordinance No. 2016-O4, an urgency ordinance of the City Council of the City of Azusa, California: AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AZUSA, IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65858, EXTENDING FOR A PERIOD OF ONE YEAR A MORATORIUM TEMPORARILY PROHIBITING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF BUSINESSES OFFERING MASSAGES PENDING STUDY AND ADOPTION OF REGULATORY AND ZONING STANDARDS. DISCUSSION: On July 27, 2015, the Azusa City Council adopted an Urgency Ordinance No. 2015-O7 (attached) prohibiting the issuance of business licenses, use permits, and entitlements to massage establishments. Pursuant to California Government Code Section 65858(d), the City issued a written report describing measures taken to alleviate the APPROVED COUNCIL MEETING 7/18/2016 Massage Moratorium Extension July 18, 2016 Page 2 condition which led to the adoption of Urgency Ordinance No. 2015-O7. These conditions are listed in Urgency Ordinance No. 2015-O7. On September 8, 2015, the Azusa City Council adopted a first extension of the Urgency Ordinance to last ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days (attached). City Staff has determined that the Azusa Municipal Code must be amended in order to alleviate these conditions. On July 7, 2016, City Staff issued a written report describing the measures taken to alleviate the conditions which led to the adoption of Urgency Ordinance No. 2015-O7 and the subsequent extension. According to the report, the following actions have been taken since the last extension of the Urgency Ordinance No. 2015-O7: (1) The City’s Police Department has contacted and met with other law enforcement agencies in Southern California regarding their approach to regulating massage establishments; (2) The City’s Planning Department has begun the process of reviewing the City’s Zoning Code and identifying which zones might be appropriate for massage establishments; (3) The City’s Police Department, Planning Department and City Attorney have begun the process of determining appropriate standards for massage establishments within the City; (4) The City’s Police Department completed two (2) compliance inspections of the existing massage establishments with Azusa Code Enforcement and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department; and (5) The City Attorney has prepared a one year extension for the moratorium in accordance with Government Code Section 65858. The City’s Planning Department, Police Department and City Attorney’s Office are currently working together to prepare a new ordinance regarding massage establishments. While the amendments are being prepared and adopted, City Staff believes it is critical that the moratorium be extended in accordance with Government Code Section 65858. The moratorium established by Urgency Ordinance No. 2015-O7 is currently set to expire on July 22, 2016. City Staff recommends extending the moratorium for a second and final time for a period of one year. FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact associated with the recommended action. Prepared by: Reviewed and Approved: Marco A. Martinez Louie F. Lacasella City Attorney Management Analyst Reviewed and Approved: Troy L. Butzlaff, ICMA-CM City Manager Attachments: 1) Proposed Urgency Ordinance No. 2016-O4 2) Urgency Ordinance No. 2015-O7 3) Urgency Ordinance No. 2015-O9 (First Extension) 4) Report issued July 7, 2016 URGENCY ORDINANCE NO. 2016-O4 AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AZUSA, IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65858, EXTENDING FOR A PERIOD OF ONE YEAR A MORATORIUM TEMPORARILY PROHIBITING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF BUSINESSES OFFERING MASSAGES 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, in 2008, the California Legislature passed legislation, Senate Bill 731, which effectively ended most local regulation of massage establishments; and WHEREAS, Senate Bill 731 has been widely criticized by local agencies and other groups for providing massage establishments with unprecedented protection from local zoning and land use authority, as well as interfering with local law enforcement efforts to close massage establishments allowing prostitution and other illegal activities; and WHEREAS, prior to the passage of Senate Bill 731 and the City’s previous moratorium, there were only four massage establishments within the City; and WHEREAS, since the prior moratorium ended, the City has seen the number of massage establishments in the City explode from four to a peak of seventeen; and WHEREAS, the increased number of massage establishments resulted in an increase of police and code enforcement calls and services to many of those establishments, some of which are suspected of allowing and encouraging sexually explicit activity to occur on the premises, including prostitution; and WHEREAS, during City inspections of some existing massage establishments before the first ten (10) month and fifteen (15) day moratorium extension was adopted, the Azusa Police Department found violations of the Azusa Municipal Code (“AMC”) and California law, including workers’ compensation insurance and minimum wage violations that led to over $50,000 in fines; and WHEREAS, arrests have occurred throughout Southern California on prostitution charges associated with massage establishments and arrests both in Southern California and nationwide have tied massage establishments to human trafficking; and WHEREAS, in the last 46 months, the Azusa Police Department has received numerous calls for service and complaints for incidents occurring at massage establishments, including reports of prostitution being conducted on the premises and human trafficking occurring through the establishments; and WHEREAS, a citizen informant has specifically testified that two years ago, employees of several different massage establishments he has attended offered him sex and encouraged him to pay them for sexual services; and WHEREAS, in accordance with Senate Bill 731, the AMC currently allows massage establishments to locate as of right in the same zones, with the same zoning restrictions and requirements of other personal services or professional businesses; and WHEREAS, the California Legislature passed Assembly Bill 1147, recently signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown, which went into effect on January 1, 2015, in response to widespread criticism of Senate Bill 731; and WHEREAS, Assembly Bill 1147 authorizes cities and counties to use zoning and licensing processes to regulate massage establishments by imposing reasonable zoning, business licensing, and health and safety requirements on massage establishments; and WHEREAS, on July 27, 2015, the City Council adopted Urgency Ordinance No. 2015- O7 pursuant to Government Code Section 65858 establishing a forty-five (45) day moratorium on the issuance of any entitlements for the establishment or operation of a “massage establishment,” as defined in Assembly Bill 1147; and WHEREAS, on September 8, 2015, following notice and a public hearing, the City Council adopted Urgency Ordinance No. 2015-O9 pursuant to Government Code Section 65858 extending the moratorium an additional ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days; and WHEREAS, since the first extension of ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days was adopted by the City Council, the Azusa Police Department along with Azusa Code Enforcement and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department conducted two massage establishment code and compliance operations, the first conducted on September 17, 2015 and the second conducted on May 3, 2016. The two operations collectively issued twenty-nine (29) citations amounting to $39,750 in fines, including the following: • In two massage establishments, Azusa Police officers discovered customers naked and having their genitals massaged; • One massage establishment received fifteen citations alone and is still operating today; and • One customer advised law enforcement that the massage establishment he was at accepts cash in exchange for sexual acts; and WHEREAS, these operations confirmed the City’s concern that massage establishments in the City of Azusa were being used as gateways for illicit activities, including illegal sexual activity such as prostitution; and WHEREAS, these operations revealed that even the most basic rules and regulations are not being followed, such as failing to have business licenses posted in the lobby, not having permanently installed soap dispensers in the restroom, not labeling clean and soiled linens, having various internal and external doors locked, not having a manager on the premises, and using flashing lights in front of the business. Many of the same violations were recorded in the second code and compliance operation as were recorded in the first; and WHEREAS, while no new regulations have been formulated or proposed in the time since the adoption of the moratorium and during the subsequent first extension of ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days, much progress has been made toward identifying key stakeholders and logical next steps; and WHEREAS, City Staff, the Police Department, and the City Attorney’s office are continuing to conduct research into the possible and likely impacts of further regulating massage establishments in the City in order to mitigate such impacts; and WHEREAS, City Staff is continuing to gather factual data regarding the adverse impacts experienced by other cities that permit massage establishments in order to draft provisions for regulating massage establishments in the City; and WHEREAS, as a result, the City Council desires to extend the moratorium a second and final time for a period of one year to allow City Staff the opportunity to continue to research and select the best course of action for the City; and WHEREAS, in preparation for further extending Urgency Ordinance No. 2015-O7 , and pursuant to Government Code Section 65858(d), the City staff issued a written report on July 7, 2016 describing the measures taken to alleviate the conditions which led to the adoption of Urgency Ordinance No. 2015-O7; and WHEREAS, based on the report, the City Council has determined that the circumstances and conditions that led to the adoption of Urgency Ordinance No. 2015-O7, which are set in the recitals of Urgency Ordinance No. 2015-O7, have not been alleviated as of the date of this Urgency Ordinance and continue to create the concerns described in Urgency Ordinance No. 2015-O7; and WHEREAS, the City has substantially complied with the notice and public hearing required by Government Code Section 65858(a) of the California Government Code for the extension of Urgency Ordinance No. 2015-O7. THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AZUSA DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. FINDINGS. The above recitals, and the recitals accompanying Urgency Ordinance No. 2015-O7, are true and correct and are incorporated herein by reference. The Azusa City Council hereby finds and determines that this Urgency Ordinance is necessary for the immediate protection of the public safety, health, and welfare of the City and its residents. SECTION 2. SECOND AND FINAL EXTENSION OF MORATORIUM. The City Council hereby extends the moratorium established under Urgency Ordinance No. 2015-O7 a second and final time for a period of one year. No business license or other permit or entitlement shall be issued for the establishment or operation of a “massage establishment,” as defined in Assembly Bill 1147, until July 22, 2017. The Azusa City Council hereby finds that there is an urgent need to extend this temporary prohibition in order to eliminate the current and immediate threats set forth above. SECTION 3. ADOPTION. Pursuant to Government Code Section 36937, this Urgency Ordinance is designed to protect the public safety, health, 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 Urgency 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 (4/5) vote of the City Council. This Urgency Ordinance shall remain in effect for one year from its adoption, unless earlier repealed. SECTION 5. COMPLIANCE WITH CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT The City Council finds that this Urgency 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 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 6. SEVERABILITY If any provision of this Urgency 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 Urgency Ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this Urgency Ordinance are severable. The City Council hereby declares that it would have adopted this Urgency Ordinance irrespective of the invalidity of any particular portion thereof. PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this 18th day of July, 2016. ___________________________________ 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 Urgency Ordinance No. _____ was duly introduced and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council on the 18th day of July, 2016, 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 REPORT TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: MARCO A. MARTINEZ, CITY ATTORNEY STEVE HUNT, ACTING CHIEF OF POLICE KURT CHRISTIANSEN, DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT VIA: TROY L. BUTZLAFF, ICMA-CM, CITY MANAGER DATE: JULY 7, 2016 SUBJECT: SECOND REPORT ON MEASURES TAKEN TO ALLEVIATE THE CONDITIONS WHICH LED TO THE ADOPTION OF INTERIM URGENCY ORDINANCE NO. 2015-O7 ESTABLISHING A MORATORIUM ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF BUSINESSES OFFERING MASSAGES PENDING STUDY AND ADOPTION OF REGULATORY AND ZONING STANDARDS SUMMARY In accordance with Government Code Section 65858 (d) and Section 5 of Interim Urgency Ordinance No. 2015-O7, Staff is issuing this report on behalf of the City Council. REPORT On July 27, 2015, the City Council adopted Interim Urgency Ordinance No. 2015-O7 (“Interim Ordinance”), enacting a forty-five (45) day moratorium on the establishment of businesses offering massages (“massage establishments”), pending study and adoption of regulatory and zoning standards in order to protect the public health, safety, and welfare of the City and its residents. The moratorium was extended a first time on September 8, 2015 and was to last ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days. The first extension is due to expire on July 22, 2016. Government Code Section 65858 (d) requires that at least ten (10) days prior to the expiration of an interim ordinance or any extension, the City Council must issue a written report describing the measures taken to alleviate the condition(s) which led to the adoption of the Interim Ordinance. The conditions that led to the adoption of the moratorium were listed in the Interim Ordinance and still exist as of the date of this report. In Section 5 of the Interim Ordinance, the City Council instructed Staff to issue this Report. Since the enactment of the first extension of the Interim Ordinance, the following actions have been taken: Report on Massage Moratorium August 28, 2015 Page 2 (1) The City’s Police Department has contacted and met with other law enforcement agencies in Southern California regarding their approach to regulating massage establishments; (2) The City’s Planning Department has begun the process of reviewing the City’s Zoning Code and identifying which zones might be appropriate for massage establishments; (3) The City’s Police Department, Planning Department, and City Attorney have begun the process of determining appropriate standards for massage establishments within the City; (4) The City’s Police Department completed two (2) compliance inspections of the existing massage establishments with Azusa Code Enforcement and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department; and (5) The City Attorney has prepared a one year extension for the moratorium in accordance with Government Code Section 65858. In light of the complexity of this matter, City Staff requires additional time to study the issue in depth in order to determine the best way to serve all interests while protecting the public health, safety, and welfare of the City and its residents. While this study is being continued and a new ordinance is being prepared, City Staff believes it is critical that the moratorium established by the Interim Ordinance be extended in accordance with Government Code Section 65858. cc: Jeffrey Lawrence Cornejo, Jr., City Clerk