Agenda Item No.
CITY OF YUCAIPA
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Ana V. Sauseda, Director of General Services/City Clerk rW5 FOR: City Council Meeting of August 14, 2023
SUBJECT: Second Reading of Ordinance No. 425, an Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Yucaipa, California, Adding Chapter 5.32 to the Yucaipa Municipal Code Regarding Hotels and Motels
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council approve the second reading of Ordinance No. 425, an Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Yucaipa, California, Adding Chapter 5.32 to the Yucaipa Municipal Code Regarding Hotels and Motels.
Attachment:
1. Ordinance No. 425
Approved By:%�� ``
ATTACHMENT 1
ORDINANCE NO.425
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF YUCAIPA, CALIFORNIA, ADDING CHAPTER 5.32 TO THE YUCAIPA MUNICIPAL
CODE REGARDING HOTELS AND MOTELS
WHEREAS, the City of Yucaipa's current development code requires a conditional use permit for any commercial property; and
WHEREAS, a variety of businesses intended for transient occupancy were built before the City of Yucaipa's incorporation; and
WHEREAS, hotels and motels developed today require a conditional use permit, upon which the City can impose conditions related to health, safety, and welfare of the public, visitors, and residents; and
WHEREAS, the City, pursuant to the California Constitution may make and enforce within its limits all local, police, sanitary, and other ordinances and regulations not in conflict with general law; and
WHEREAS, the City's hotels and motels which do not have a conditional use permit are no longer being used as designed for transient occupancy; and
WHEREAS, the City's hotels and motels that pre-exist incorporation are now being used for occupancy beyond thirty days, even though the existing structures lack certain sanitary facilities and procedures, including regular inspections by management, daily maid service, adequate kitchen facilities, irregular pest control, and other amenities; and WHEREAS, more recently, these properties have been magnets for criminal activity, create nuisances for their neighborhoods, and lead to numerous calls for service by fire and police; and WHEREAS, the City wishes to make and enforce standards regarding the use of these properties and return them to their original and intended purposes.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF YUCAIPA, CALIFORNIA, DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Municipal Code Amendment
Chapter 5.32, "Hotels and Motels" is hereby added to the Yucaipa Municipal Code to read as follows:
Chapter 5.32 Hotels and Motels
5.32.010. Purposes and Findings.
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The purpose of this Chapter is to ensure the continued availability of transient lodging within the City of Yucaipa and to ensure the continued use of hotels and motels in the manner they were built, for transient occupancy. The City Council finds that existing hotels and motels, other than those with conditional use permits, attract crime, create neighborhood nuisances, and are unsanitary because they do not have regular cleaning services, adequate food preparation locations, and other issues which create substandard conditions for occupants, including visitors to Yucaipa.
5.32.020 Limitation on Continuous and Cumulative Occupancy of Hotels and Motels.
It shall be unlawful for any hotel or motel to rent or let, or otherwise provide, any room therein to any person, firm, partnership, corporation, association or other business entity for thirty 30 or more consecutive days, or for more than 60 total days in any 180-consecutive day period, unless such hotel or motel complies with all development standards set forth in the then -current Yucaipa Development Code and adopted building codes and a conditional use permit has been obtained pursuant to Yucaipa Development Code section 83.030105. It is the intent of this section that if a room is rented, let or otherwise provided to any party for either of the maximum time periods allowed by this section, then such room may not again be rented, let or otherwise provided to that same party or to any individual, firm, or entity that was a member of said party within the 180-consecutive day period. Hotel and motel shall mean, for the purposes of this Chapter, the meaning of Hotel found in section 3.20.020 of this Code.
A. Each hotel or motel shall maintain daily written records reflecting the renting, letting, or other provision of any of its rooms, including but not limited to, check -in and check -outdates of each person who rents, lets, or is otherwise provided a room. Unless payment for the room is made by check or credit card, such records shall also include the name and home or business address and telephone number of each such person. The required records shall be maintained for no less than one year, or for such longer period as may be prescribed by law.
B. Except as otherwise provided by law, each hotel or motel shall post a legible copy of the text of this section in an open and conspicuous place within the public lobby area, and in an open and conspicuous place where other postings are required by law, in each room available for rent.
C. Any property left in a room by a person or party that has checked out shall be removed by the operator of the hotel or motel and stored or otherwise disposed of in accordance with applicable laws.
5.32.030 Penalty.
Each and every violation of this Chapter shall constitute a separate violation and shall be subject to all remedies and enforcement measures authorized by this Code including, but not limited to, the following:
A. Civil enforcement.
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1. Each and every violation of the provisions of this Chapter is hereby deemed unlawful and a public nuisance.
2. As a nuisance per se, any violation of this Chapter shall be subject to injunctive relief, and any permit issued pursuant to this Chapter deemed null and void.
3. Any monies unlawfully obtained as a result of violation of this Chapter shall be disgorged and paid to the City.
B. Administrative citations and civil penalties.
1. Any person causing, permitting, aiding, abetting, suffering or concealing a violation of this Chapter shall be subject to administrative citation and to a fine subject to the provisions of this Code.
2. The City Attorney may, in the City Attorney's discretion, utilize all processes or remedies legally available to collect amounts owing hereunder.
C. Criminal enforcement.
1. Any person causing, permitting, aiding, abetting, suffering or concealing a violation of this Chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and may, in the discretion of the City Attorney, be prosecuted as a misdemeanor and upon conviction be subject to a fine not to exceed $ 1,000 or imprisonment in the City or County jail for a period of not more than six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
2. The City Attorney, in the City Attorney's discretion, may prosecute a violation of this Chapter as an infraction, rather than a misdemeanor, or reduce or agree to the reduction of a previously filed misdemeanor to an infraction. Any person convicted of an infraction under the provisions of this Chapter shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $ 100 for the first violation, a fine not exceeding $ 200 for a second violation within one year, and a fine not exceeding $500 for a third violation within one year. A fourth violation of this Chapter within one year shall be charged as a misdemeanor and may not be reduced to an infraction.
3. Each day a violation is committed or permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense.
D. The remedies provided herein are not to be construed as exclusive remedies. The City is authorized to pursue any proceedings or remedies provided by law. The penalties herein are in addition to any other remedies provided by law and the payment of any penalty herein shall not relieve a person of the obligation to correct the violation.
E. The prevailing party in any judicial action, administrative proceeding, or special proceeding to enforce this Chapter may recover its reasonable attorneys' fees, provided that the City elected, at the initiation of such individual action or proceeding, to recover its own attorneys' fees. In no 4872-7790-6798.1
judicial action or administrative or special proceeding shall an award of attorneys' fees to a prevailing party exceed the amount of reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the City in the action or proceeding. A "judicial action" includes, but is not limited to, any civil or criminal action, inspection or abatement warrant or appeal. An "administrative proceeding" includes, but is not limited to, any public nuisance hearing, administrative citation or appeal(s) therefrom, revocation of permits by the City, or cost recovery hearing. Any recovery of attorneys' fees for abatement of a nuisance shall be in accordance with this Section.
SECTION 2. Severability.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have adopted the Ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, or phrases be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 3. CEQA.
The City Council finds that this Ordinance is exempt from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under the common sense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. 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, such as here, the activity is not subject to CEQA.
SECTION 4. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall be effective the 31 st day following its adoption by the City Council
SECTION 5. Publication and Posting. The Mayor shall sign this Ordinance and the City Clerk shall certify as to the adoption and shall cause the ordinance or a summary thereof to be published in accordance with state law.
PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED this 14th day of August, 2023.
ATTEST:
Justin Beaver, Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM
Ana V. Sauseda, CMC Steven Graham, City Attorney
Director of General Services/City Clerk
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