AGENDA
ITEM
11 AGENDA
CALEXICO California ITEM
WHERE CALIFORNIA AND MEXICO MEET
CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA STAFF REPORT
DATE: July 2, 2025
TO: Mayor and City Council
APPROVED BY: Armando Orozco, Interim City Manager/Police Chief /O PREPARED BY: Michael Coyne, Planning & Building Director SUBJECT: Second Reading and Adoption of an Ordinance Establishing an Automatic Two- Year Extension for Active and Recently Lapsed Non-Cannabis Discretionary Project Approvals
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Recommendation:
Conduct the Second Reading and Adopt an Ordinance Establishing an Automatic Two-Year Extension for Active and Recently Lapsed Non-Cannabis Discretionary Project Approvals.
Background and Discussion:
Currently, businesses are struggling due to inflationary effects, labor shortages, supply chain challenges, market uncertainty and lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The City has also experienced recent voids in key staff that facilitate the processing of development projects. Recognizing the City's improved stability, developers have approached the City to reinitiate their approved projects, only to find out that their entitlements have lapsed. Discretionary project entitlements, such as residential subdivision maps and conditional use permits for commercial and industrial development are time consuming and costly. Requiring developers to reinitiate project entitlements could be potentially detrimental to the economic development of the City. Therefore, Staff recommends that the City Council approve a two-year automatic extension of development approvals.
The extension would be retroactive to any non-cannabis project that has lapsed since March 4, 2020 and would also apply to unexpired projects. This five-year period would cover the COVID-19 pandemic period, starting on March 4, 2020 when the Governor declared a State of Emergency, when many businesses experienced restrictions on operations which delayed their ability to proceed with approved development in the City. The extension would not apply to cannabis businesses, as cannabis permits have mandatory renewal requirements set forth in the Calexico Municipal Code. The extension will not have any impact on an applicant's eligibility for other extensions allowed under the Calexico Municipal Code. The proposed Ordinance establishes this two-year extension from the date the Ordinance is enacted for expired projects and from the pending expiration date for unexpired projects. The proposed Ordinance will support economic development within the City, which is one of the main strategic goals of the City Council.
The proposed Ordinance is not subject to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) and 15060(c)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines, because the Ordinance has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly.
Fiscal Impact: None.
Attachments):
1. Ordinance
ATTACHMENT NO. 1
ORDINANCE NO. 1245
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF CALEXICO, CALIFORNIA ESTABLISHING AN
AUTOMATIC TWO-YEAR EXTENSION FOR ACTIVE AND RECENTLY LAPSED
NON-CANNABIS DISCRETIONARY PROJECT APPROVALS
WHEREAS, as of the date of this Ordinance, businesses are struggling due to inflationary effects, labor shortages, supply chain challenges, market uncertainty and lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, on March 4, 2020 the Governor declared a State of Emergency due to COVID-19, whereafter many businesses experienced restrictions on operations which delayed their ability to proceed with approved development in the City; and WHEREAS, the City has experienced recent voids in key staff that facilitate the processing of development projects; and
WHEREAS, discretionary project entitlements, such as residential subdivision maps and conditional use permits for commercial and industrial development are time consuming and costly; and
WHEREAS, requiring developers to reinitiate project entitlements could be potentially detrimental to the economic development of the City; and WHEREAS, economic development is a key strategic goal of the City Council; and WHEREAS, this Ordinance does not apply to cannabis businesses, as cannabis permits have mandatory renewal requirements set forth in the Calexico Municipal Code.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Calexico does ordain as follows:
SECTION 1. The recitals above are each incorporated by reference and adopted as findings by the City Council.
SECTION 2. An automatic two-year extension is granted to all City non-cannabis discretionary approvals. For approved projects with entitlements that have lapsed since March 4, 2020, the two-year extension shall apply from the date this Ordinance is enacted. The life of non-lapsed entitlements shall be extended an additional two years from the original expiration date. This automatic two-year extension is in addition to any applicable legislative extensions granted by the State of California, and has no effect on an applicant's eligibility for other extensions otherwise allowed under the Calexico Municipal Code.
SECTION 3. In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (Pub.
Resources Code, § 21000 et seq.) ("CEQA") and the State CEQA Guidelines (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 14, § 15000 et seq.), the City Council finds that adoption and implementation of this Ordinance is not subject to 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), because this Ordinance has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly.
SECTION 4. The City Clerk shall either: (a) have this Ordinance published in a newspaper of general circulation within 15 days after its adoption or (b) have a summary of this Ordinance published twice in a newspaper of general circulation, once five days before its adoption and again within 15 days after its adoption.
SECTION 5. If any provision of this Ordinance or its application to any person or circumstance is held to be invalid, such invalidity has no effect on the other provisions or applications of the Ordinance that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this extent, the provisions of this Ordinance are severable. The City Council declares that it would have adopted this Ordinance irrespective of the invalidity of any portion thereof.
INTRODUCED AND FIRST READ at a Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of Calexico, California on the 18th day of June, 2025, and thereafter PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED at a Regular Meeting of the City Council held on the 2nd day of July, 2025, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
Diana Nuricumbo, Mayor
ATTEST:
Veronica L. Alvarado, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Carlos Campos, City Attorney
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF IMPERIAL ) SS
CITY OF CALEXICO
I, Veronica L. Alvarado, City Clerk of the City of Calexico, California, do hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance was adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Calexico held on the 2nd day of July, 2025, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
Veronica L. Alvarado
City Clerk