ORDINANCE NO. 2022-06-1535
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SIGNAL HILL, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING POLICE DEPARTMENT POLICY NO. 709 (MILITARY EQUIPMENT POLICY), IN ACCORDANCE WITH ASSEMBLY BILL 481 WHEREAS, the City of Signal Hill, California (“City”) is a charter city, duly organized under the California Constitution and laws of the State of California; and WHEREAS, on September 30, 2021, Governor Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 481 (“AB 481”) to address the funding, acquisition, and use of military equipment, as that term is defined by Government Code § 7070(c), by law enforcement agencies; and WHEREAS, AB 481 seeks to provide transparency, oversight, and an opportunity for public input on decisions regarding whether and how military equipment is funded, acquired, or used; and WHEREAS, AB 481, codified at California Government Code §§ 7070 through 7075, requires adoption of a military equipment use policy (“Policy”) by the City Council before the Signal Hill Police Department (“Department”) may take action to request military equipment; seek funds (such as grants or in-kind donations) for acquiring military equipment; actually acquire military equipment, either permanently or temporarily by owning, borrowing, or leasing; collaborate with other law enforcement agencies to deploy or use military equipment in the agency’s territorial jurisdiction; use new or existing military equipment in a manner not previously subject to AB 481’s scope; solicit or respond to a proposal for, or enter into an agreement with, any person or entity to seek funds for, apply for, acquire, use, or collaborate in using military equipment; or to acquire military equipment through any other means not specifically detailed in the statute; and WHEREAS, to continue to use military equipment acquired prior to January 1, 2022, the law enforcement agency must commence the process of adopting the Policy no later than May 1, 2022; and WHEREAS, in accordance with AB 481, the proposed Policy was made available on the website on the Department website at least thirty (30) days prior to the public hearing by the City Council to adopt the Policy; and WHEREAS, once adopted, the Policy will be made publicly available on the Department website for as long as the covered military equipment is available for use; and WHEREAS, once adopted, a copy of the Policy will be provided to the Governor or the Governor’s designee, as specified; and WHEREAS, notice of a City Council public hearing was published in the Signal Tribune newspaper per Government Code Section 65091 (a)(4) on June 10 and June 17, 2022; and notice was posted in accordance with Signal Hill Municipal Code Section 1.08.010 on June 10, 2022; and WHEREAS, in accordance with AB 481, the Policy is on the agenda as an open session item at a regular meeting of the City Council, and public comment on the item will be allowed in accordance with the Brown Act; and WHEREAS, this Ordinance shall be reviewed by the City Council at least annually, and based on an annual military equipment report that will be submitted to the City Council pursuant to AB 481, the City Council shall determine whether each type of military equipment identified in the report has complied with the standards for continued approval.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SIGNAL HILL DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The above recitals are true and correct and are incorporated herein by this reference.
Section 2. Findings. Pursuant to Government Code section 7071(d)(1), as may be amended or renumbered from time to time, the City Council hereby makes the following findings in support of its adoption of the Policy:
A. The military equipment identified in the Policy is necessary because there is no reasonable alternative that can achieve the same objective of officer and civilian safety.
B. The proposed Policy will safeguard the public’s welfare, safety, civil rights, and civil liberties.
C. If the Department purchases military equipment pursuant to the Policy, the equipment is reasonably cost effective compared to available alternatives that can achieve the same objective of officer and civilian safety.
D. Prior military equipment use complied with the military equipment use policy that was in effect at the time, or if prior uses did not comply with the accompanying military equipment use policy, corrective action has been taken to remedy nonconforming uses and ensure future compliance.
Section 3. Adoption of Military Equipment Policy. The City Council hereby adopts Policy No. 709, Military Equipment Policy, along with any related Attachments, which are all attached hereto as Exhibit “A”.
Section 4. Notice of Adoption. The City Clerk of the City of Signal Hill shall certify to the adoption of this Ordinance and cause publication to occur in a newspaper of general circulation and published and circulated in the City in a manner permitted under section 36933 of the Government Code of the State of California.
Section 5. CEQA. The City Council finds that this Ordinance is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly.
Section 6. Severability. If any section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance, or any part thereof, is for any reason held to be unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion of this Ordinance or any part thereof. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed each section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase be declared unconstitutional. If for any reason any portion of this ordinance is found to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the balance of this ordinance shall not be affected.
Section 7. Certification and Effective Date. The City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption of this ordinance by the City Council of the City of Signal Hill and shall cause a summary of this ordinance to be published in accordance with Government Code Section 36933, in a newspaper of general circulation which is hereby designated for that purpose, and this ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) days after its passage.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Signal Hill, California, on this 12th day of July, 2022. ________________________________
KEIR JONES
MAYOR
ATTEST:
___________________________
CARMEN R. BROOKS
CITY CLERK
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) ss.
CITY OF SIGNAL HILL )
I, Carmen R. Brooks, City Clerk of the City of Signal Hill, California, hereby certify that Ordinance No. 2022-06-1535 was introduced by the City Council of the City of Signal Hill, California, at a regular meeting held on the 28th day of June, 2022, and that the same was adopted by the City Council of the City of Signal Hill, California, at a regular meeting held on the 12th day of July, 2022, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
________________________________
CARMEN R. BROOKS
CITY CLERK
Ordinance No. 2022-06-1535
July 12, 2022