January 13, 2023
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
Arron Brown, Acting City Manager
Paul Gonzales, Community Development Manager
Interim Moratorium Outdoor Storage of Trailer and/or Truck Yards Follow-up Report
BACKGROUND
On December 13, 2022, at a regularly scheduled City Council meeting, Interim Urgency Ordinance No. 1674 was adopted by the City Council prohibiting the establishment and/or expansion of outdoor storage uses for trailer and/or truck yards in the City of Rialto except as otherwise provided by law”. The ordinance went into effect immediately and will continue in effect for the remainder of the forty-five (45) days from the date of its adoption. The City Council may choose to extend the moratorium an additional 22 months and 15 days.
Proposed Additional Regulations for Outdoor Storage Uses Since the adoption of the interim ordinance on December 13th, 2022, City staff has taken measures to address issues associated with the outdoor storage of trucks and trailers use. Staff continues to analyze the existing outdoor storage yard standards in Chapter 18 of the Municipal Code. This includes revisiting Ordinance 1654 adopted January 26, 2021, by the City Council to regulate outdoor storage facilities for trucking yards and outdoor storage of trailers. Draft sections for the Rialto Municipal Code (RMC) will then be crafted to include additional conditions and language to ensure these uses are regulated appropriately and health and safety of residents is taken into consideration. City staff will recommend these amendments for the City Council’s consideration at a future meeting.
Additional Measures
Proactive measures taken by staff to address current issues associated with trailer storage uses include putting on hold the three (3) active applications submitted to the City for outdoor storage of tractors and trailers. Community Compliance has also actively monitored open code compliance cases on nonpermitted outdoor trailer storage and truck yards identified throughout the City in different stages of enforcement. Nonpermitted outdoor storage yards have caused concern for residents of the City, as they regularly locate on sites that are unimproved resulting in public health, and safety impacts caused by congestion, dust, parking, poor air quality, and site degradation.
During this initial 45-day moratorium period, staff is reviewing the Rialto Municipal Code and evaluating possible additional regulations for outdoor storage of trailers and trucking yards as directed by the City Council. City staff, the Planning Commission, and the City Council each require a reasonable period of time to further study the outdoor storage of trailers use and determine the potential adverse impacts on the environment, traffic, aesthetics, and visual quality of properties within the City. After further review and examination of the outdoor storage trailer use, staff will need additional time to thoroughly analyze and bring back to a future City Council meeting recommendations to be considered by the City Council. As noted, the City Council may extend the moratorium up to 22 months and 15 days to allow staff time to completely analyze and craft recommendations for the City Council’s consideration.