HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD 03(2015)ORDINANCE NO.03(2015)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR EXTENDING ORDINANCE NO.
02(2015) PROHIBITING THE ISSUANCE OF LAND USE PERMITS OR BUSINESS
LICENSES FOR ESTABLISHMENT, EXPANSION OR RELOCATION OF MASSAGE
ESTABLISHMENTS CITYWIDE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF
GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65858.
The City Council of the City of Diamond Bar does hereby ordain as follows:
SECTION 1. Moratorium Extended. Ordinance No. 02 (2015), adopted January 6,
2015, is hereby extended for 10 months and 15 days.
SECTION 2. Purpose and Findings: Urgency. Since the enactment of SB 731
and AB 619, jurisdictions have seen an increase in the number of massage establishments
as a whole, as well as an increase in illicit massage establishments which engage in
prostitution and human trafficking. Diamond Bar saw its number of massage
establishments increase from four to 15. Moreover, the City was compelled to permit at
least seven massage establishments to open simply on the basis that the owners and/or
massage technicians were CAMTC certified. In light of the enforcement issues
encountered in other jurisdictions where the number of massage establishments have
dramatically increased, illegal activity may also be occurring in some of Diamond Bar's
massage establishments.
In response to the rapid proliferation of massage establishments and the impacts
directly associated with them, cities, counties, and elected representatives, law
enforcement agencies and the League of California Cities successfully advocated for more
carefully crafted legislation. On September 18, 2014, the Governor signed into law AB
1147 (Bonilla), which, upon its effective date of January 1, 2015, restores significant local
land use authority over massage establishments by removing SB 731 and AB 619's broad
state preemption of local massage ordinances and gives local governments greater
authority to enact reasonable regulations to manage massage establishments in the best
interests of the individual community, including restoring authority to impose regulations on
massage establishments that do not apply to other professional service providers.
The City is currently studying this matter to draft amendments to the Diamond Bar
Municipal Code pertaining to the regulation of massage establishments that are consistent
with AB 1147 in a manner that protects the health, safety and general welfare of all
persons from the negative effects that illicit massage establishments impose on
communities. Due to the time required to prepare and adopt these new regulations and
update the zoning ordinance, this Ordinance is intended to place an interim prohibition on
the establishment, expansion or relocation of massage establishments Citywide as of the
date of adoption hereof until new permanent regulations are prepared and adopted by the
City Council.
SECTION 3. Land Use Permits and Business Licenses Prohibited. The
issuance of land use permits and business licenses for establishment, expansion or
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relocation of massage establishments Citywide is hereby prohibited. Notwithstanding any
provision of the Diamond Bar Municipal Code to the contrary, no zoning permits or
approvals, business licenses for any massage establishments shall be approved or issued
Citywide during the pendency of this Ordinance or any extension thereof.
SECTION 4. Penalties. Violation of any provision of this Ordinance shall constitute
a misdemeanor and shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000 or by imprisonment
in County jail for not to exceed six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Each and every day such a violation exists shall constitute a separate and distinct violation
of this Ordinance. In addition to the foregoing, any violation of this Ordinance shall
constitute a public nuisance and shall be subject to abatement as provided by all
applicable provisions of law.
SECTION 5. Severability. If any part or provision of this Ordinance or the
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of this Ordinance,
including the application of such part of provision to other persons or circumstances, shall
not be affected and shall continue in full force and effect. To this end, the provisions of this
Ordinance are severable.
SECTION 6. Conflicting Laws. For the term of this Ordinance, or any extension
thereof, the provisions of this Ordinance shall govern over any conflicting provisions of any
other City code, ordinance, resolution or policy.
SECTION 7. California Environmental Quality Act Finding. This Urgency
Ordinance is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA') because this
ordinance is covered by the general rule that CEQA applies only to projects that have the
potential for causing a significant effect on the environment (Section 15061 (b)(3) of the
CEQA Guidelines); moreover, this Ordinance is also exempt from CEQA pursuant to
Section 15308 of the CEQA Guidelines (Actions by Regulatory Agencies for Protection of
the Environment).
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 3r0 day of February 3, 2015.
BY: i�d
Steve Tye, Nayor
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I, Tommye Cribbins, City Clerk of the City of Diamond Bar, do hereby certify that the
foregoing Urgency Ordinance was duly introduced, passed, and adopted by the City
Council of the City of Diamond Bar, at a regular meeting of the City Council held on the
31d day of January 2015, by the following vote:
AYES: Council Member: Herrera, Tanaka, MPT/Lyons, M/Tye
NOES: Council Member: None
ABSTAIN: Council Member: None
ABSENT: Council Member: Lin
ATTEST:
Tommye City Clerk
City of Diamond Bar
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