ORDINANCE NO. 2023-05
AN INTERIM URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF HESPERIA, CALIFORNIA, ENACTED PURSUANT TO CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65858 EXTENDING A TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OR EXPANSION OF CAR WASH FACILITIES WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS FOR TEN MONTHS (10) AND FIFTEEN (15) DAYS.
WHEREAS, the City of Hesperia has the authority and responsibility to protect the public health, safety, and welfare of the City; and WHEREAS, the City has a compelling interest in protecting the public health, safety, and welfare of its citizens, residents, visitors and businesses, and preserving the peace and quiet of the neighborhoods within the City by regulating the establishment and expansion of car washes within City limits; and WHEREAS, the City is responsible for adopting and implementing land use regulations within its boundaries; and WHEREAS, the City has no other development standards or regulations applicable to the operation of Cash Washes; and WHEREAS, the City’s permissive policy towards car washes could result in a proliferation or oversaturation of said uses within the City; and WHEREAS, developable land becomes scarcer in the City, there is concern that the proliferation of car washes without due consideration presents an immediate threat to public health, safety, or welfare because car washes generate undesirable conditions for adjacent properties as a result of noisy, large-scale industrial equipment including vacuums, pumps, pressurized sprayers, dryers, engines, and car stereos. In addition the use increases vehicle traffic in the immediate vicinity, and can cause runoff of chemicals. Finally, airborne mist, odors from chemicals and vehicle exhaust are a result of such uses; and WHEREAS, the oversaturation of car washes in the City provides little economic benefit to the City or City residents; and WHEREAS, absent clear regulation, the proliferation and oversaturation of car washes in the City poses a threat to the public peace, health, and safety, and, unless the City takes action to regulate, the impacts described above are likely to continue to occur; and WHEREAS, the City desires to regulate car washes to ensure that public right-of-ways and public property remain free of public nuisances, safe and accessible for all users, and clear of conditions that pose threats to public health, safety, and welfare, to ensure that future development is undertaken in a manner consistent with the City’s General Plan, and to ensure that car wash Operators comply with State and City regulations that consider the public’s health, safety, and welfare; and WHEREAS, the City anticipates that car wash operators may seek to establish additional car washes, or desire to expand existing car washes before a non-urgency ordinance would become effective; and WHEREAS, Government Code Sections 36934, 36937 and 65858 expressly authorize the City Council to adopt an urgency ordinance for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety and to prohibit a use that is 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 require time to study and develop appropriate regulations for car wash operators consistent with State and federal law; and WHEREAS, on February 7, 2023 the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 2023-01 establishing a 45-day moratorium on the establishment or expansion of car washes within the City limits. Ordinance No. 2023-01 will expire on March 24, 2023; and WHEREAS, the City now desires to impose a ten month (10) and fifteen (15) day moratorium on the establishment or expansion of car washes within the City limits in order to complete a proposed development code amendment that will create new development regulations and development standards for car wash facilities; and WHEREAS, pursuant to the above-described express statutory authority and its police power, the City Council desires, on an urgency basis, to temporarily prohibit establishment of new, or expansion of existing, car washes within the City.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HESPERIA, CALIFORNIA DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS.
SECTION 1. FINDINGS
The City Council finds the facts set forth in the recitals in this Urgency Ordinance are true and correct, and are hereby incorporated by reference. Additionally, based on the foregoing, both verbal and written testimony at the public hearing, including the staff report, exhibits, and any materials provided by members of the public, the City Council finds as follows:
A. This Ordinance is being adopted in order to allow the City time to thoroughly study and develop the City’s laws, rules, procedures and fees related to the operation and establishment of car washes, to enable the City to adequately and appropriately preserve the health, safety and welfare of the community in the City of Hesperia.
B. For the purposes of this Ordinance the definition of “Car Wash” shall include full service, express, and ancillary facilities. Full-service car washes are usually stand-alone facilities where employees either hand wash or detail vehicles. Express car washes are usually fully automated car wash facilities with self-serve vacuum stalls. Ancillary facilities are typically automated facilities that are associated with gas stations, and more commonly called drive- thru car washes. This ordinance is intended to apply to car washes that are either the primary use or the accessory use of the relevant parcel. Temporary car washes (e.g., fundraising activities generally conducted at a service station or other automotive-related business, where volunteers wash vehicles by hand and the duration of the event is limited to one day) are not part of this definition.
C. For purposes of this Ordinance, “Car Wash Operator” shall mean a person that manages and/or operates a car wash, whether for profit or not.
D. The City finds that in the absence of a regulatory framework to govern car washes, the adverse impacts frequently associated with car washes likely will occur, resulting in unregulated and significant negative impacts upon the public health, safety, and welfare of the community.
E. The City finds that the adverse impacts from car washes include the following:
(1) The proliferation of car washes throughout the City without due consideration presents an immediate threat to public health, safety, or welfare because car washes generate undesirable conditions for adjacent properties as a result of use noisy, large-scale industrial equipment including vacuums, pumps, pressurized sprayers, dryers, engines and car stereos; and (2) In addition, the use tends to increase vehicle traffic in their immediate vicinity, and can cause runoff of chemicals; and (3) Also, airborne mist, odors from chemicals and vehicle exhaust are also a result of such uses; and F. The City also finds that car washes could have a negative economic impact for the City as follows:
(1) The use provides little economic benefit to the City or City residents, as there are minimal sales tax revenues associated with the use, few employees hired, and typical wages paid would not increase the City’s overall median income; and (2) The continued establishment of car washes will result in the immediate loss of potential revenues to the City and the immediate loss of desirable commercial and/or manufacturing sites throughout the City.
G. The City needs time to draft a proposed text amendment to the Zoning Code to preserve the health, safety and welfare of the community in the City of Hesperia with respect to the operation of car washes.
SECTION 2. AUTHORITY AND EFFECT
The State Planning and Zoning Law (Cal. Gov’t Code Sections 65000, et seq.) broadly empowers the City to plan for and regulate the use of land in order to provide for orderly development, the public health safety and welfare, and a balancing of property rights and the desires of the community and how its citizens envisions their city.
MORATORIUM
A. During the Effective Period of this Ordinance as specified below, no permit shall be issued, for any development of any new car wash, nor may a permit be issued for the expansion of an existing car wash, within the City. The foregoing shall explicitly prohibit the issuance of any zoning, land use, discretionary permit, building permit, environmental approval, business license or any other entitlement involving businesses defined as a car wash herein, during the Effective Period.
B. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any existing car wash facility shall be allowed to obtain their annual City of Hesperia business license. Additionally, permits may be issued for minor construction, rehabilitation and landscaping or other purposes not involving an expansion of building area. Any car wash facilities under construction with a valid building permit or any car wash facility approved by the Planning Commission on the effective date of this Urgency Ordinance shall be exempt from this Urgency Ordinance.
STUDY AND DEVELOPMENT
During the period of this Ordinance, the City shall study and develop as necessary City laws, rules, procedures and fees related to car washes, to enable the City to adequately and appropriately preserve the health, safety and welfare of the community in the City of Hesperia. Pursuant to Government Code Section 65858 the Planning Manager will issue a report for the legislative body on what has been accomplished during the moratorium before it expires or is extended.
URGENCY MEASURE
It is hereby declared that this Ordinance is necessary as an urgency measure for the preservation of the public health, safety and welfare. The City Council finds that current zoning regulations and land use plans do not adequately regulate the establishment and operation of car washes and therefore do not adequately protect the peace, health, safety and general welfare of the residents of the City or in communities around the City. The City Council finds the urgency measure is necessary in order to ensure adequate regulation of the operation of car washes. The facts constituting the urgency are:
The City of Hesperia does not currently have clear standards in the Hesperia Municipal Code related specifically to the establishment and expansion of car washes within the City.
The negative impacts frequently associated with operation of car washes will likely increase as car washes continue to proliferate throughout the City, resulting in an unregulated and significant negative impact upon public health, safety, and welfare of the community.
To permit the proliferation of car washes to continue within the City without being subject to specific regulations that are consistent with the General Plan, and that take into account the impacts that such establishments have, constitutes a threat to the health, safety, and welfare. Car washes generate undesirable conditions for adjacent properties. Airborne mist, odors from chemicals and vehicle exhaust, and noise from vacuums, pumps, pressurized sprayers, dryers, engines and car stereos are examples of common impacts generated by these uses. The impacts can be detrimental to the quality of life for adjacent residents and disruptive to adjacent businesses. Allowing the continued establishment of car washes will result in the immediate potential for disruptions to the quality of life for adjacent residents and businesses.
Car Wash facilities in the community provide the City with little economic benefit as there are minimal sales tax revenues associated with car wash operations.
Car Wash facilities hire few employees and typical wages paid at car wash facilities would not increase the City’s overall median incomes. Car washes therefore would not bolster employee densities in commercial and manufacturing zones or increase the per capita median income of the community. Allowing the continued establishment of car washes will result in the immediate loss of potential income to City residents and reduce potential employment opportunities throughout the City.
Car wash operators are likely to seek to be located in the City based on the lack of explicit regulations, which will further exacerbate the impacts of such businesses.
Absent the adoption of this Interim Urgency Ordinance, the operation of car washes in the City would likely result in the negative and harmful secondary effects, as identified above, including, but not limited to, increased noise, traffic, pollution, and public health and safety concerns, and other impacts identified herein.
As a result of the negative and harmful secondary effects associated with improperly regulated or unregulated operation of car washes, the current and immediate threat such effects pose to the public health, safety and welfare, it is necessary to adopt a temporary, ten month (10) and fifteen (15) day day moratorium on the establishment of new car washes and the expansion of existing car washes in the City.
A moratorium is immediately required to preserve the public health, safety and welfare and should be adopted immediately as an urgency ordinance, to make certain that the establishment and expansion of car washes is prohibited for the period of this Ordinance. Imposition of a moratorium will allow the City sufficient time to conclude the preparation of a comprehensive ordinance for the regulation of such activities.
SEVERABILITY
The City Council hereby declares, if any provision, section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, phrase or word of this Ordinance is rendered or declared invalid or unconstitutional by any final action in a court of competent jurisdiction or by reason of any preemptive legislation, then the City Council would have independently adopted the remaining provisions, sections, subsections, paragraphs, sentences, phrases or words of this Ordinance and as such they shall remain in full force and effect.
CEQA COMPLIANCE
Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines ("CEQA," California Code of Regulations Title 14, §§ 15000 et seq.), this Interim Urgency Ordinance is exempt from CEQA based on the following: (i) this Ordinance is not a project within the meaning of CEQA Section 15378 because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, either directly or indirectly and (ii) this Ordinance is also exempt pursuant to CEQA Section 15061(b)(3) since the proposed ordinance involves an Interim Urgency Ordinance establishing a ten month (10) and fifteen (15) day moratorium on the operation of car washes and thus there is no possibility that the proposed ordinance may have a significant effect on the environment.
EFFECTIVENESS OF ORDINANCE.
This Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon its adoption by a 4/5 vote, pursuant to the authority conferred upon the City Council by Government Code Sections 36934, 36937, and 65858. This Ordinance shall be effective during the Effective Period which shall be from its adoption and shall be of no further force and effect ten months (10) and fifteen (15) days following the date of its adoption unless extended in accordance with the provisions set forth in Government Code Section 65858(b).
PUBLICATION
The City Clerk shall certify as to the passage and adoption of this Interim Urgency Ordinance and shall cause the same to be published in a manner prescribed by law.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Hesperia, California, at a regular meeting held on this 21st day of March, 2023. ____________________________
Brigit Bennington, Mayor
ATTEST:
_____________________________
Erin Baum, Assistant City Clerk