DATE:
August 20, 2024
TO:
Mayor and Council Members
FROM:
Rachel Molina, City Manager
BY:
Nathan R. Freeman, Director of Development Services
Ryan Leonard, Principal Planner
SUBJECT:
Urgency Ordinance-Wooden Pallet Yards Moratorium
RECOMMENDED ACTION
It is recommended that the City Council waive further reading and adopt Urgency Ordinance 2024-10, pursuant to California Government Code Section 65858, establishing a forty-five (45) day moratorium on the establishment or expansion of wooden pallet yards, pending study and adoption of regulatory and zoning standards.
BACKGROUND
Pursuant to State law, Government Code Section 65858, a municipality, such as Hesperia, may enact an interim zoning ordinance on an urgency basis (“Urgency Ordinance”) for the protection of public safety, health, and welfare by prohibiting any use(s) that a city is/are intending to study within a reasonable period of time. An Urgency Ordinance takes effect immediately upon adoption and no public hearing notice is required. If approved, the Urgency Ordinance will be effective for a period of 45 days from the date of adoption. The City may extend the Urgency Ordinance for a period of 10 months and 15 days with public notice and a public hearing. A written report is required pursuant to Government Code Section 65858(d) describing the measures taken to alleviate the conditions that led up to the adoption of the Urgency Ordinance, and said report must be published either before the Urgency Ordinance’s expiration or extension.
ISSUES/ANALYSIS
The City’s Municipal Code currently lacks regulatory and zoning standards to assure that wooden pallet yards do not adversely affect the health, safety, and welfare of the public. For example, pallet storage yards are currently classified as a general industrial use in the Municipal Code and are subject to the general development standards regulating outdoor storage. However, the existing standards do not contain regulations or criteria specifically addressing wooden pallet yards.
Under California Government Code Section 65858, the City may adopt an interim urgency moratorium ordinance temporarily prohibiting land uses which constitute an immediate threat to public health, safety, and welfare and which may be in conflict with contemplated land use policies and regulations which the City is studying, or intends to study, within a reasonable time. Should wooden pallet yards continue to be permitted without further regulation, such developments would constitute a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety, and welfare for the following reasons:
Fire Risk: Wooden pallet storage yards present an obvious fire hazard due to the storage of large quantities of wood, a combustible material, at a single site. Within the past few years there have been multiple fires associated with pallet yards in nearby cities that have caused millions of dollars in losses.
Stacking Hazards: Pallet storage yards often store wooden pallets in high stacks. Without adequate regulation of the location, height, and volume of these stacks, or the separation between these stacks, the health, safety, and welfare of the public may be endangered. The improper or unsafe stacking of wood pallets could also be a falling risk, endangering employees, and visitors to these sites, or may become a fire hazard, endangering the public and neighboring properties.
Staff intends to study the issues associated with wooden pallet yards including new development standards that may be imposed on their operation to mitigate any potential impacts. This could include evaluating all land use districts in which wooden pallet yards are permitted for suitability and evaluating development standards and best practices from other jurisdictions to determine if they would be appropriate in Hesperia.
Further, staff believes that the continued approval of entitlements, building permits, or other approvals for new pallet storage yards without further studies and regulatory standards, poses a current and immediate threat to public health, safety, and general welfare. Further regulations are needed for the purpose of protecting neighborhoods from the negative effects created by such businesses.
Because this is an urgency ordinance, it must be adopted by a four-fifths vote of the City Council. If approved, the moratorium will be effective for forty-five (45) days, unless it is extended by future Council action, which will require a noticed public hearing. After conducting the public hearing, the Council may extend this Ordinance for an additional 10 months and 15 days.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Approval of the Urgency Ordinance is exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act per Section 15061(b)(3), where it can be seen with certainty that there is no significant effect on the environment.
CITY GOAL SUPPORTED BY THIS ITEM
Future Development: Facilitate balanced growth to ensure cohesive community development and pursue economic development.
FISCAL IMPACT
There are no fiscal impacts identified with this action.
ALTERNATIVE(S)
Provide alternative direction to staff.
ATTACHMENT(S)
Urgency Ordinance 2024-10
City of Hesperia STAFF REPORT City of Hesperia STAFF REPORT City of Hesperia
STAFF REPORT
City of Hesperia
STAFF REPORT
Staff Report to the Mayor and Council Members
Urgency Ordinance – Wooden Pallet Yards Moratorium
August 20, 2024