RESOLUTION NO. ________
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PACIFICA APPROVING THE
TEMPORARY SAFE PARKING PROGRAM, THE OPERATIONS AGREEMENT WITH THE PACIFICA RESOURCE CENTER AND FUNDING FOR THE PROGRAM; AND FINDING THE
APPROVAL OF THE PROGRAM EXEMPT FROM THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL
QUALITY ACT
WHEREAS, on March 15, 2021, the ACLU, the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County and Disability Rights Advocates filed a class action lawsuit (Geary, et al. v. City of Pacifica, Case No. 3:21-cv-01780) against the City of Pacifica on behalf of the Plaintiffs, Sean Geary, Linda Miles, Jared Carr, Harry Bode and Stephen Sanders, challenging the City’s Oversized Vehicle (OSV) Ordinance and its Vehicular Habitation Ordinance in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California; and
WHEREAS, the lawsuit alleges that the OSV Ordinance (Pacifica Municipal Code Sections 4-7.1204 and 4-7.1205) and the Vehicular Habitation Ordinance (Pacifica Municipal Code 4-7.1114) are unconstitutional and further alleges that the OSV Ordinance violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, the California Disabled Persons Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and California Government Code §11135; and
WHEREAS, through the lawsuit, Plaintiffs seek a declaration that the OSV Ordinance and the Vehicular Habitation Ordinance are unconstitutional, a preliminary and permanent injunction directing the City to cease all efforts to enforce the Ordinances, restitution for fines and penalties collected under the Ordinances, and attorney’s fees; and WHEREAS, on July 14, 2021, the Court issued a limited injunction that required the City to make available on its website, at City Hall and at Pacifica libraries a list and map of the already existing places where OSVs can safely park; and WHEREAS, on November 8, 2021, the City Council of the City of Pacifica adopted Resolution No. 72-2021, approving execution of the Settlement Agreement for the lawsuit and approving a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with Pacifica Resource Center (“PRC”), which formalized the City and PRC’s agreement to work together to identify the substantive terms and details of a temporary safe parking program (“Program”) and an operations agreement for the Program; and
WHEREAS, under the Program, the City would allow parking of oversized vehicles under certain conditions such as meeting certain safety standards, operable toileting facilities, and adherence by owners of the oversized vehicle to a strict code of conduct; and WHEREAS, pursuant to the Settlement Agreement and the MOU, the City has been working with PRC to prepare the proposed Program Operations Agreement with PRC, the Code of Conduct for Regular and Provisional Permit Holders, the Code of Conduct for Short-Term Permit Holders, and the Release of Liability in furtherance of the development of the proposed Program.
WHEREAS, the City has allocated in the adopted Fiscal Year 2021-22 Budget, $150,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for assistance to the vehicularly housed and a mobile dumping station program; and
WHEREAS, up to $120,000 in FY2021-22 ARPA funding could be committed to the Safe Permit Parking Program; and
WHEREAS, the City’s funding obligation for the Program will total up to $360,000, payable in installments of $120,000 by June 30, 2022; $120,000 by June 30, 2023; and $120,000 by June 30, 2024; and
WHEREAS, other funding necessary for the Program will be provided by San Mateo County and PRC.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Pacifica hereby finds that the approval of this Resolution is exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 – Existing Facilities exempts the operation, permitting, leasing, or licensing of existing public facilities involving negligible or no expansion of the use beyond that existing at the time of determination of exemption. In this case the public facility, parking areas on existing streets, will continue to be used for that purpose. Section CEQA Guidelines 15304(e) – Minor Alterations to Land exempts minor temporary uses having negligible or no permanent effects on the environment. Further, since the parking areas in the ROW are being used for the purpose they are originally intended, it could be argued that the Program and Ordinance are not a “project” that may cause a direct, or reasonably foreseeable indirect, physical change in the environment and are exempt under the “common sense” exception (14 Cal. Code Regs. § 15061(b)(3)) because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that these actions to approve the Safe Parking Program and the Operations Agreement would have a significant effect on the environment.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council hereby approves a three-year Temporary Safe Parking Program in the City of Pacifica which provides participants living in an operational recreational vehicle, trailer or motorhome with operating toileting facilities a temporary parking space for a limited period of time while participants in the Program try to find permanent housing solutions which Program is more fully described in the staff report prepared for adoption of this Resolution and the Operations Agreement between PRC and the City.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council hereby approves the Operations Agreement and authorizes the City Manager to execute the Operations Agreement between the City and PRC in substantially the form attached hereto as Exhibit A, with minor revisions that may be approved by the City Manager and the City Attorney, and to execute any other necessary documents to effectuate the terms of the Operations Agreement.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council hereby approves funding for the City’s obligations relating to the Program, as set forth in the Operations Agreement, including payments to PRC in installments of $120,000 to PRC by June 30th of each year of the Program. • • • •
PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Pacifica, California, held on the 28
th day of February, 2022, by the following vote:
AYES, Councilmembers:
NOES, Councilmembers:
ABSENT, Councilmembers:
ABSTAIN, Councilmembers:
Mary Bier, Mayor
ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
______________________________ ______________________________ Sarah Coffey, City Clerk Michelle Marchetta Kenyon, City Attorney