ORDINANCE NO. 3918
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF TORRANCE, CALIFORNIA, REPEALING ARTICLE 3
OF CHAPTER 2 OF DIVISION 6 OF THE TORRANCE
MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO LOST AND
UNCLAIMED PROPERTY, ADDING A NEW SECTION TO
ARTICLE 9 OF CHAPTER 1 OF DIVISION 1 RELATING TO
DISPOSITION OF UNCLAIMED PROPERTY, MONEY, AND
GOODS, AND AMENDING SECTION 21.2.3 OF ARTICLE 2
OF CHAPTER 2 OF DIVISION 2 TO EXEMPT CERTAIN
FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION
The City Council of the City of Torrance does hereby ordain as follows:
SECTION 1
That Article 3 of Chapter 2 of Division 6 of the Torrance Municipal Code is hereby repealed in its entirety.
SECTION 2
That a new Article 9 is added to Chapter 1 of Division 1 of the Torrance Municipal Code to read in its entirety as follows:
"Article 9 -Abandoned or Unclaimed Property, Money, and Goods
11.9.010 DISPOSITION OF UNCLAIMED PROPERTY, MONEY, AND GOODS.
The provisions of Section 2080 et seq. of the Civil Code of California or any successor statute thereto, shall govern the disposition of unclaimed or abandoned property, money, and goods found or saved within the jurisdiction of the City."
SECTION 3
That Article 2 of Division 2, Section 21.2.3 of the Torrance Municipal Code is amended to read in its entirety as follows:
"21.2.3 METHODS OF DISPOSITION OF OBSOLETE PERSONAL PROPERTY. a) Abandonment, Destruction or Donation. Obsolete Personal Property that has no commercial value or of which the estimated cost of continued care, handling, maintenance or storage would exceed the estimated proceeds of sale, may be abandoned, destroyed or donated. The determination to dispose of Obsolete Personal Property of no commercial value must be made in a writing signed by the City Manager and countersigned by the City's Purchasing Agent.
b) Formal Bidding. Obsolete Personal Property may be offered for sale by formal, sealed bidding, in the manner provided by Article 3 of Chapter 2 of this Division. c) Informal Price Quotations. Obsolete Personal Property with a value of less than $25,000.00 may be offered for sale by means of informal telephone price quotations, in the manner provided by Article 4 of Chapter 2 of this Division. '
ct) Public Auction. Obsolete Personal Property may be sold at auction. When appropriate, an experienced auctioneer should be used to conduct the sale and assist in preparation of the sale.
e) Trade-ins. Obsolete Personal Property may be traded-in for credit to a vendor of new goods, provided one of the following conditions is met:
a. The Purchasing Agent determines that the trade-in value is equal to or exceeds the value estimated to be obtained by an auction of the Obsolete Personal Property; or
b. The Purchasing Agent determines that the trade-in value is equal to or exceeds the price offered by the lowest responsive and responsible bidder in the solicitation of bids.
f) Retail Sales. Obsolete Personal Property that has an estimated value of less than $25,000 .00 may be offered for sale to the public, either at advertised one-time sales, or by offering the personal property for sale in a retail store operated by the City or in joint venture with an established retail sales establishment, provided all of the following conditions are met:
a. The value and asking price for the goods are established at current market value of like goods in the market;
b. The goods are offered for sale openly to the general public; and c. No licensed motor vehicle may be sold in this manner. g) Transfer to a Public Agency or a Charitable, Civic or Non-profit Organization. The City Council may authorize the sale, lease or donation of Obsolete Personal Property to the federal government or one of its agencies; to the State of California; to any county, city, school district, special district; other governmental agency; or to any charitable, civic or non-profit organization . The price and terms of transfer must be established by the City Council, but may be made without advertisement for or receipt of bids. h) The methods of disposition in this section shall not apply to any firearm or ammunition obtained by the City via voluntarily relinquishment or through a gun buyback program or event operated for the purpose of firearm and ammunition destruction . Firearms and ammunition obtained via voluntarily relinquishment or through a gun buyback program operated for the purpose of destruction, regardless of commercial value, may be destroyed.
a. "Gun buyback program or event" as used in this Article is a program or event where firearms and ammunition are voluntarily relinquished to law enforcement for destruction and some form of incentive, which may include financial compensation, is offered in return for each relinquished firearm."
SECTION4
This Ordinance is exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") pursuant to the CEQA Guidelines because there is no possibility that this Ordinance or its implementation would have a significant negative effect on the environment. (14 Cal. Code Regs§ 15061(b)(3)).
2 --------------------
SECTION 5
Any provisions of the Torrance Municipal Code or its appendices, or any other ordinances of the City inconsistent with this Ordinance, to the extent of the inconsistencies and no further, are repealed.
SECTION 6
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this ordinance is for any reason deemed or held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision will not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance.
The City Council of the City of Torrance hereby declares that it would have adopted this Ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases or other portions might subsequently be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 7
This Ordinance will take effect thirty days after the date of its adoption. Within fifteen days following adoption, this Ordinance or a summary of this Ordinance, if authority by the City Council, will be published at least once in the Daily Breeze, a newspaper of general circulation, published and circulated in the City of Torrance.
INTRODUCED and APPROVED this 23rd day of May, 2023 .
ADOPTED and PASSED this 6th day of June, 2023 .
Mayor George K. Chen
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
PATRICK Q. SULLIVAN, City Attorney ATTEST :
3 TORRANCE CITY COUNCIL ORDINANCE NO. 3918
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES
CITY OF TORRANCE
)
)
)
ss
I, Rebecca Poirier, City Clerk of the City of Torrance, California, do hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance was duly introduced and approved at an adjourned regular meeting of the City Council held on the 23 rd day of May 2023 and was duly adopted at a regular meeting of said Council held on the 6th of June 2023 by the following roll call vote:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS Kaji, Kalani, Lewis, Mattucci, Sheikh and Mayor Chen
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS None.
RECUSE: COUNCILMEMBERS None.
ABSTAIN: COUNCILMEMBERS Griffiths.
This ordinance was duly published in accordance with State law (GC 40806).
Date : _______._.,____!,tff------+-/l I 'tJ~Q
Rebe~
City Clerk of the City of Torrance
4