CITY OF SAN JUAN BAUTISTA
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CITIZEN ADVISORY COMMITTEE BYLAWS
Adopted January 6, 2023
A. POWERS AND DUTIES
The Economic Development Citizens Advisory Committee (EDCAC) is established pursuant to Attachment “A” of City Council Resolution 2021-74 and the respective members thereof shall perform the duties and activities described therein in order to accomplish the limited objective of recommending economic development strategies to the City Council.
The EDCAC may establish ad hoc committees. The EDCAC shall establish roles and responsibilities of any such committee deemed necessary by the EDCAC to accomplish the duties and complete the activities described in Attachment “A” of City Council Resolution 2021-74.
B. MEMBERSHIP
The EDCAC shall be established with eleven (11) voting members. Membership requirements and considerations include the following established via City Council resolution 2021-74:
1. Members shall reside, operate a business within, have gainful employment with, or be involved in a substantial, meaningful way with entities whose mission and activity includes education, social services, health services, historic preservation activities, culture and the arts.
2. Members shall take an interest in issues associated with economic development, business development, resiliency, the arts, culture, historic preservation, recreation and public education.
3. Members may have special knowledge, expertise, or skills related to economic development, business operation, public private partnerships including finance, federal state and local economic development programs.
4. Members may also have special knowledge or experience in the arts and culture, education, recreation, transportation or other qualifications related to economic development. Special knowledge, skills, or expertise is not mandatory for appointment to the committee.
In addition to membership requirements stated above, members shall review the City of San Juan Bautista Code of Ethics established by the City Council via Resolution 2018-17.
C. APPOINTMENTS
Appointments to the EDCAC shall be made by the City Council based on review of applications submitted on the City of San Juan Bautista standard application form.
D. TERMS
EDCAC BYLAWS ADOPTED _________
The Terms of the Committee members shall be as set forth in City Council Resolution 2021-74.
E. OFFICERS AND ROLES
1. The Chairperson shall be selected by the membership, from among the membership, to serve a one-year term.
2. The Chairperson shall preside at all regular meetings of the committee and may delegate duties to the members, subject to the approval of the Committee.
3. The Vice Chairperson shall serve in the capacity of the Chairperson in his or her absence, and shall assist the Chairperson in fulfilling his or her duties as requested.
4. A Recording Secretary shall keep a true record of minutes of all Committee meetings to be presented to the Committee for approval at the following regular meeting. The Committee may delegate this function to a City staff person. Minutes and any recordings shall be posted to the City’s website.
F. MEETINGS
1. The EDCAC shall typically meet monthly at a time and place established by the EDCAC and shall meet at least once quarterly.
2. Meetings shall be conducted in accordance with Roberts Rules of Order.
3. EDCAC meetings and communications shall be subject to the Brown Act, California Government Code Section 54950 et. seq.
4. Consistent with Powers and Duties Ad hoc sub-committee meetings of less than a quorum of the full membership of the committee may be held as needed to research and compile information to apprise the EDCAC. Such meetings shall not be subject to the Brown Act requirements.
5. Any member of the EDCAC who has a conflict of interest on any item before the EDCAC shall announce on the public record the nature of the conflict, vacate his/her seat, and recuse themselves from discussing and voting on said item.
G. QUORUM
A majority of the members of the committee shall constitute a quorum. A quorum is necessary at a regular meeting of the EDCAC for any action to be taken. In the event that there is no quorum, any discussions which are held by those assembled shall be regarded as informal and meeting minutes will not be prepared.
H. ATTENDANCE
EDCAC BYLAWS ADOPTED _________
An EDCAC member who is absent without excuse from two (2) regular meetings of the Committee in a six (6) month period shall automatically forfeit his/her position.
Absences will be deemed excused if the Chairperson receives notification in advance of the meeting and identifies the member as excused in the minutes of the meeting during which the absence is noted.
AMENDMENTS
Amendments to these bylaws may be initiated at any EDCAC meeting, to be voted upon not sooner than the next regularly scheduled meeting. Bylaws shall not conflict with the City Code or other Council approved policy, rule, or regulation.
Recommendation of any amendment shall require a majority vote of the Committee members.
Upon approval by the EDCAC, these bylaws and future amendments to these bylaws, shall take effect immediately.
Item: 9.E
City Council Meeting
April 18, 2023
CITY OF SAN JUAN BAUTISTA
CITY COUNCIL REPORT
DATE: APRIL 18, 2023 – Continued
DEPARTMENT: CITY ATTORNEY
BY: ROBERT W. RATHIE, CITY ATTORNEY
TITLE: REVISITING ZONING CODE SECTION 11-04-110
REGARDING REGULATION OF LARGE-SCALE RETAIL,
FORMULA RETAIL, FORMULA RESTAURANT AND
FORMULA VISITOR ACCOMMODATIONS BUSINESSES.
DISCUSSION ITEM:
During the discussion of Item 6.C. at the City Council meeting on March 21, 2023, Council Members discussed and received comments from members of the public concerning possibly revisiting the “Formula Business Ordinance” with the goal of encouraging a bank, pharmacy or another hotel to locate in San Juan Bautista. The City Council requested that an ordinance revision be brought back at this meeting as a discussion item. The attached change to Section 11- 04-110, which like any revision to the Municipal Code would need to be adopted by ordinance, is submitted for that purpose.
This revision would establish a purpose for the regulation and describes the three types of businesses that would continue to be regulated - large-scale retail, formula retail and formula restaurant and further describes and defines the attributes of “large-scale” retail and “formula” retail and restaurant businesses. Reference to “Visitor accommodations” is deleted in the revision.
Neither the present ordinance nor the revision effect a total ban on such businesses and the findings required for a conditional use permit, required in each instance, remain essentially the same.
The proposal would exclude as formula businesses banks or credit unions, pharmacies not otherwise located within a large-scale retail business, grocery stores, and gas stations. Hotels, motels and inns are also excluded from categorization as formula businesses and each is permitted as a conditional use in the Commercial and Mixed Use Districts. Banks are a permitted use in the Commercial and Mixed Use Districts as are drug stores and grocery stores. Gas stations are conditional uses in the Commercial and Industrial Districts. “Large-scale retail business development” is defined in the Zoning Code as meaning any structure of 5,000 square feet or greater occupied by one retail establishment.
The revision also provides that in the event of any conflict with another section of the Municipal Code, Section 11-04-110 would control and that in the event an applicant challenges the www.san-juan-bautista.ca.us
designation of the business as one of the types of businesses regulated by Section 11-04-110 the burden is on the applicant to prove otherwise.
California has a well-established history with formula business restrictions at the city level. In addition to prominent “big box” store regulations, many cities of varying size across the state have enacted prohibitions against formula businesses. California courts have largely upheld these restrictions against legal challenges under the dormant commerce1 and equal protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution.
It is also a well-established legal principle that a city’s police power has broad application to protect the public health, safety and welfare of its residents which has been interpreted to include regulating formula businesses.
The attached proposed revision of Section 11-04-110 is submitted for purposes of discussion. -RWR
1 The Dormant Commerce Clause, or Negative Commerce Clause, in American constitutional law, is a legal doctrine that courts in the United States have inferred from the Commerce Clause in Article I of the US Constitution. The primary focus of the doctrine is barring state protectionism. The Dormant Commerce Clause is used to prohibit state legislation that discriminates against, or unduly burdens, interstate or international commerce.
D R A F T – APRIL 18, 2023
1 11-04-110 Large-scale retail business, formula retail or formula restaurant business. (A) The purpose of this section is to regulate the location and design of large-scale retail business, formula retail business, and formula restaurant business establishments in order to maintain the unique and historic small town visual appearance and character of the City, the diversity of the community’s unique commercial area, the quality of life for City residents, and to promote the long-term economic health of visitor-serving businesses and the community as a whole. (B) “Large-scale retail” means a commercial retail establishment for the sale of merchandise, services or a product to which either of the following apply: (i) such establishment has ground floor street-level facade exceeding twenty-five (25) linear feet on any street, or (ii) the useable area of the building or structure wherein a single business is to be located and conducted is five thousand (5,000) square feet or greater. (C) “Formula” for purposes of this section means a type of business activity which is required by contractual or other arrangement or affiliation to maintain a standardized (“formula”) array of merchandise and/or a product, menu, employee uniforms, décor, façade, design, signage, color scheme, trademark or service mark, name, or similar standardized features which cause it to be substantially identical to other businesses in the United States, regardless of ownership or location, at the time the conditional use permit application required herein is deemed complete.
(D) “Formula retail business” means a commercial retail establishment for the sale of merchandise, services and/or a product including a standard array of merchandise and/or a product and one or more of the other attributes described in subsection (C) above. (E) “Formula restaurant business” means a retail establishment primarily devoted to the on-site preparation and offering of food and beverage for sale to the public for consumption either on or off the premises and which is required by contractual other arrangement to offer any of the following:
standardized menus, ingredients, food preparation, décor, uniforms, architecture, signs or similar standardized features and which causes it to be substantially identical to other restaurants. (F) Other Definitions.
“Color scheme” means selection of colors used throughout, such as on the furnishings, permanent fixtures, and wall coverings, or as used on the façade. “Decor” means the style of interior furnishings, which may include, but is not limited to, style of furniture, wall coverings or permanent fixtures.
“Facade” means the face or front of a building, including awnings, looking onto a street or an open space. “Ground floor street-level facade” means that street level portion of a building facing a public street. “Service mark” means word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of words, phrases, symbols or designs that identifies and distinguishes the source of a service from one party from those of others. “Signage” means a sign pursuant to Chapter 11-10 of this title.
D R A F T – APRIL 18, 2023
2 “Standardized array of merchandise or a product” means fifty (50) percent or more of in-stock merchandise or a product are from a single distributor bearing uniform markings. “Standardized array of services” means a substantially common menu or set of services priced and performed in a consistent manner.
“Trademark” means a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of words, phrases, symbols or designs that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods from one party from those of others. “Uniform apparel” means standardized items of clothing including but not limited to standardized aprons, pants, shirts, smocks, dresses, hats, and pins (other than name tags) as well as standardized colors of clothing.
(G) A Conditional Use Permit shall be required for any large-scale retail business, formula retail business, or formula restaurant business in the City. Procedures for each such business’ conditional use permit application shall conform to Chapter 11-20. The following findings shall be required:
(1) The business offers merchandise, a product and/or services that serve the unmet needs of the population.
(2) Although a formula-based business may have other store locations throughout the country, State, or region, the business will complement and enhance the existing character of the City. (3) Both exterior and interior appearance and presentation of the business are compatible with the existing scale of development, distinctive architecture and pedestrian orientation of the town character and result in an enhancement of the look and feel (i.e., unique historic character) of the surrounding area.
(4) Signs shall conform to the City sign standards and design guidelines. (5) Drive-through food establishments are prohibited.
(H) Large-scale retail. formula retail business, and formula restaurant business are subject to review by the Planning Commission so therefore the business/applicant shall fill out the application requirements for a conditional use permit and any other pertinent applications as specified therein, pay fees specified, and submit plans as set forth therein.
(I) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the following types of businesses are not formula businesses: hotels, motels, and inns, banks or credit unions, pharmacies not otherwise located within large-scale retail businesses, grocery stores, or automobile service (i.e., gas) stations. (J) This section is in addition to, and not in replacement of, any other regulations set forth elsewhere in this title. In the event of a conflict between the provisions of this section, and any other regulations in this title, the provisions of this section shall prevail.
(K) In the event the City determines that a permit application or permit subject to this section is for a largescale retail or a formula business, the permit applicant or holder bears the burden of proving to the City that the proposed or existing use does not constitute a large-scale retail or a formula business.