ORDINANCE NO. 1755
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING SECTION 10.04.010(B)(1) OF THE SAN CLEMENTE MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO THE DEFINITION OF “COMMERCIAL VEHICLE” AND FINDING THE ORDINANCE NOT SUBJECT TO THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT WHEREAS, the City of San Clemente, California (“City”) is a municipal corporation, duly organized under the constitution and laws of the State of California; and WHEREAS, the City Council desires to reduce restrictions on the parking of commercial vehicles in response to public comments received during multiple public meetings; and WHEREAS, at its meeting of July 18, 2023, the City Council held a duly-noticed public hearing to consider the City’s existing code pertaining to commercial, recreational, and wide vehicle parking, including various definitions for such, and continued the public hearing to August 15, 2023; and WHEREAS, modifying the definition of “commercial vehicle” in the San Clemente Municipal Code is in the best interests of the City and the public; and WHEREAS, all legal prerequisites to the adoption of this Ordinance have occurred.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of San Clemente does ordain as follows:
Section 1. Incorporation of Recitals. The recitals above are true and correct and are hereby incorporated as findings as if fully set forth herein.
Section 2. CEQA. The City Council finds that this Ordinance is not a “project” subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The Ordinance does not qualify as a project because it has no potential to result in either a direct, or reasonably foreseeable indirect, physical change in the environment. (State CEQA Guidelines, § 15378(a).) The language merely modifies existing restrictions and prohibitions, absent an applicable exception, regarding the parking of commercial vehicles on public property. The City Council also finds that the Ordinance falls within the “common sense” exemption set forth in State CEQA Guidelines section 15061, subdivision (b)(3), which exempts activity from CEQA where “it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment.” Here, it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the Ordinance may have a significant effect on the environment because the Ordinance simply modifies existing restrictions and prohibitions, absent an applicable exception, regarding the parking of commercial vehicles on public property; the Ordinance will not result in any development or in any new activity with the potential to impact the environment.
Section 3. Code Amendment. The definition of “Commercial vehicle” is hereby revised in Section 10.04.010(B)(1) – Definitions, of the San Clemente Municipal Code, to read as follows (underlined text indicates portion to be added):
1. "Commercial vehicle" means any vehicle meeting the definition of "Commercial Vehicle" in Section 260 of the California Vehicle Code, as that definition may be amended from time to time; provided, however, that for the purposes of this chapter no "Pick Up Truck," as that term is defined in California Vehicle Code Section 471, shall be considered a commercial vehicle unless: (1) goods, wares, or property of a commercial nature loaded thereon extend above the manufacturer's box; or (2) the standard bed of the vehicle has been replaced with a utility or stake bed over eighty (80) inches in width; or (3) the vehicle has been modified to include a rack extending over the length of the vehicle's bed which currently has goods or wares of a commercial nature, with the exception of ladders that do not extend beyond the horizontal limits of the vehicle, stored thereon.
Section 4. Publication. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this ordinance by the City Council and cause it, or a summary of it, to be published once within 15 days of adoption in a newspaper of general circulation printed and published within the City of San Clemente, and shall post a certified copy of this ordinance, including the vote for and against the same, in the Office of the City Clerk in accordance with California Government Code, section 36933.
Section 5. Records. The documents and materials associated with this ordinance that constitute the record of proceedings on which the City Council’s findings and determinations are based are located at City Hall, 910 Calle Negocio, San Clemente, CA 92673.
Section 6. Severability. If any provision of this ordinance or its application to any person or circumstance is held 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.
Section 7. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall become effective 30 days after its adoption.
APPROVED AND ADOPTED this ____ day of _______________, 2023.
ATTEST:
_______________________________ ___________________________ City Clerk of the City of Mayor of the City of San
San Clemente, California Clemente, California
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) ss.
CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE )
I, LAURA CAMPAGNOLO, City Clerk of the City of San Clemente, California, hereby certify that Ordinance No. 1755 having been regularly introduced at the meeting of _______________, 2023, was again introduced, the reading in full thereof unanimously waived, and duly passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council held on the _____ day of ____, 2023, and said ordinance was adopted by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the City of San Clemente, California, this _____ day of ____________, 2023. __________________________
CITY CLERK of the City of
San Clemente, California
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
________________________________
Elizabeth A. Mitchell, CITY ATTORNEY
Ordinance No. 1755 Page 2