HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 2267 N.C.S. 03/19/2007 EFFECTIVE DATE ORDINANCE NO. 2267 N.C.S.
OF ORDINANCE
March 19, 2007
1 Introduced by Seconded by
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4 Teresa Barrett Mike Harris
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8 AN INTERIM URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PETALUMA
9 PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65858 EXTENDING FOR A PERIOD OF AN
10 ADDITIONAL TWELVE MONTHS A MORATORIUM PROHIBITING THE ISSUANCE OF BUILDING
11 PERMITS IN THE 100-YEAR FLOOD PLAIN DEPICTED IN THE 1989 FEDERAL EMERGENCY
12 MANAGEMENT AGENCY FLOOD INSURANCE RATE MAP AND UPSTREAM OF THE
13 CONSTRICTION WE1R OF THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS FLOOD CONTROL PROJECT
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15 WHEREAS, the Federal Emergency Management Agency ("FEMA") issued in 1989 a Flood
16 Insurance Rate Map ("FIRM") depicting a 100 Year Flood .Plain in the City of Petaluma ("City");
17 and,
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19 WHEREAS, "100 Year Flood Plain," as that term is used by the FEMA National Flood
20 Insurance Program, refers to the area subject to flooding with a 1 percent chance of occurrence
21 each year; and,
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23 WHEREAS, on December 31, 2005, a number of Sonoma County cities, and communities,
24 including the City, experienced flooding events; and,
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26 WHEREAS, the estimated total cost of public and private damage due to flooding in
27 Petaluma on December 31, 2005 has been estimated at approximately $55 million, as reflected
28 in initial damages estimates submitted to the Sonoma County Office of Emergency Services;
29 and,
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31 WHEREAS, flooding such as occurred in the City on December 31, 2005 threatens the
32 safety of residents and their real and personal property, commercial property and inventory,
33 continued operation of businesses, economic development, employment of City workers, the
34 availability of goods and services, tax revenue and other public and private revenue generation
35 and the City economy generally, public facilities, infrastructure and services, including
36 emergency services, safe transportation, and other critical and necessary aspects of life and
37 work in the City necessary to its continued health, vitality and growth; and,
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39 WHEREAS, Article XI, Section 5 of the California Constitution provides that it shall be
40 competent in any city charter to provide that the city governed there under may make and
41 enforce all ordinances and regulation in respect to municipal affairs subject only to restrictions
42 and limitations provided in their several charters and in respect to other matters they shall be
43 subject to the general laws; and,
Ordinance No. 2267 N.C.S. Page 1
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2 WHEREAS, Section 54 of Article VIII of the Petaluma Charter provides that the City, by and
3 through its council and other officials shall have and may exercise all powers necessary or
4 appropriate to the municipal corporation and the general welfare of its inhabitants, which are
5 not prohibited by the constitution and which it would be competent for the charter to set forth
6 particularly or specifically, and the specification of any particu?ar powers shall not be held to be
7 exclusive or any limitation on the general grant of powers; and,
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9 WHEREAS, California Government Code Section 65858; subdivision (a) provides: that city
10 legislative bodies may, to protect public safety, health and welfare, adopt as an urgency
11 measure an interim ordinance prohibiting any uses that may be in conflict with a contemplated
12 general plan, specific plan, or zoning proposal that the legislative body is considering or studying
13 or intends to study within a reasonable time; that adoption of such urgency measures requires a
14 four-fifths vote of the legislative body; that such measures shall be of no effect 45 days from the
15 date of adoption, and may be extended a maximum of two times and have a maximum total
16 duration o.f 2 years; and,
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18 WHEREAS, pursuant to California Government Code Section 65858, the City Council of
19 the City of Petaluma adopted on April 3, 2006, Ordinance 2239 N.C.S. imposing a moratorium on
20 the issuance of .building permits for new development in the City of Petaluma in the 100-year
21 floodplain deposited in the 1989 Federal Emergency Management Agency flood insurance rate
22 maps and upstream of the constriction weir of the Army Corps of Engineers Flood Control Project
23 in the City of Petaluma; and,
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25 WHEREAS, pursuant to California Government Code Section 65658, the City Council of
26 the City of Petaluma adopted on May 15, 2006, Ordinance 2244 N.C.S. extending the
27 moratorium established under Ordinance 2239 N.C.S. for an additional ten months and fifteen
28 days; and,
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30 WHEREAS, California Government Code Section 65858, subdivision (c) provides: that
31 legislative bodies may not adopt or extend such interim ordinances unless they contain findings
32 that there is a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety, or welfare, and that the
33 approval of additional entitlements would result in that threat to the public health, safety or
34 welfare; and,
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36 WHEREAS, in accordance with California Government Code Section 65858, subdivision
37 (c), which provides that such interim ordinances that have the effect of denying approvals
38 needed for the development of projects with a significant component of multifamily housing (as
39 defined in California Government Code Section 65858, subdivisions (g) and (h)) may not be
40 extended except upon written findings adopted by the legislative body as specified in the
41 subdivision, the City Council hereby finds that; although a portion of the Moratorium Area
42 established in this ordinance includes properties on which a significant component of multi-
43 family housing could be built in accordance with the 1987-2005 Petaluma General Plan;
44 nonetheless, based on the location of proposed multi-family development on such properties
45 and the present status of the related development application, the moratorium established
46 pursuant to this ordinance will not have the effect of denying approvals needed for the
47 development of projects with a significant component of multi-family housing; and that,
48 therefore, the findings specified in Section 65858, subdivision (c), need not be made; and,
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50 WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 15001 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
51 Guidelines, this ordinance is exempt from CEQA based on the following:
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1 (1) This ordinance is not a project within the meaning of Section 15378 of the State
2 CEQA Guidelines, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change in the
3 environment, directly or ultimately.
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5 (2) This ordinance is categorically exempt from CEQA under Section 15308 of the
6 CEQA Guidelines as a regulatory action taken by the City pursuant to its police power and in
7 accordance with Government Code Section 65858 to assure maintenance and protection of
8 the environment pending the evaluation and adoption of contemplated local legislation,
9 regulation and policies.
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11 (3) This ordinance is not subject to CEQA under the general rule that CEQA applies
12 only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment.
13 For the reasons set forth in subparagraphs (1 }and (2}, above, it can be seen with certainty that
14 there is no possibility that this ordinance will have a significant effect on the environment.
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17 NOW THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Petaluma does ordain as follows:
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19 Section 1. Recitals Made Findings. The above recitals are hereby declared to be true and
20 correct and findings of the City Council of the City of Petaluma.
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22 Section 2. Moratorium Extended. A moratorium is hereby extended for an additional and
23 final period of twelve months on certain specified development in the City of Petaluma in the
• 24 1989 FEMA FIRM 100 Year Floodplain in accordance with the City's powers under Article XI,
25 Section 5 of the California Constitution, Article VII, Section 54, of the City Charter, and California
26 Government Code Section 65858, as follows:
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28 A. Sco e
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30 No application for the issuance of permits for the construction of a building located on
31 any part of a parcel in the City of Petaluma located in the floodplain as depicted in the 1989
32 FEMA FIRM 100 Year Floodplain Map, as amended by an approved Letter of Map Amendment
33 ("COMA"} or Letters of Map Revision ("LOMR") on file with the City of Petaluma and upstream of
34 the constriction weir of the Corps of Engineers Payran Flood Control Project ("Moratorium Area")
35 shall be approved during the moratorium period.
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37 B. Statutory Findings and Purpose.
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39 This ordinance is declared to be an interim ordinance as defined under California
40 Government Code section 65858. This ordinance is deemed necessary for the following reasons:
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42 1. The purpose of this Ordinance is to protect the public safety, health, and
43 welfare from a current and immediate threat posed by the issuance of development
44 entitlements that could result in development in the Moratorium Area that may result in negative
45 safety and economic impacts on or of such proposed new development on other or existing
46 development.
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48 2. New development projects have been and/or may be proposed for
49 construction in the Moratorium Area, and unless a moratorium is imposed. on the issuance of
50 permits for the construction of buildings located in the Moratorium Area, development in the
51 Moratorium Area may result in negative safety and economic impacts on or of such proposed
52 new development on other or existing development, thus increasing the potential damage to
Ordinance No. 2267 N.C.S. Page 3
1 the public health, safety, welfare of Petalumans from events such as the flooding event of
2 December 31, 2005.
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4 3. It is, therefore, necessary to extend a moratorium on issuance of permits
5 for the construction of buildings located in the Moratorium Area to provide time to evaluate and
6 adopt legis{ation, guidelines and/or policies as required to avert negative safety and economic
7 impacts on or of such proposed new development on other or existing development.
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9 C. Applicability.
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11 This ordinance shall apply to all applications for the issuance of permits for the
12 construction of any building located in the Moratorium Area that have not received final
13 approval as of the effective date of this ordinance.
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15 D. Exceptions.
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17 This ordinance shall not apply to the following:
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19 1. Tenant improvements and/or any other construction, repair or
20 maintenance work on a building existing as of the effective date of this ordinance; provided
21 that, such work does not result in any' increase in the square footage of the existing footprint of
22 the building.
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24 2. Development projects that are subject to City Council approval, and that
25 have been approved by the City Council prior to the effective date of this ordinance, and that
26 are not subject to further approval of the City Council, whether or not such projects are subject
27 to further approval by subordinate City bodies or officials.
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29 3. Modifications of projects approved by the City Council in accordance
30 with provision D~2), above, provided that such modifications do not result in any increase in the
31 square footage of the existing footprint of the project.
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33 Section 3. In accordance with California Government Code Section 65858, subdivision (a),
34 this interim urgency zoning ordinance shall by operation of law be of no further force and effect
35 twelve months from and after the date of its adoption.
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37 Section 4. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase or word of this ordinance is
38 for any reason held to be unconstitutional, unlawful or otherwise invalid by a court of competent
39 jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance.
40 The City Council of the City of Petaluma hereby declares that it would have passed and
41 adopted this ordinance and each and all sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases or
42 words thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more of said sections, subsections,
43 sentences, clauses, phrases or words be declared unconstitutional, unlawful or otherwise invalid.
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45 Section 5. This ordinance is hereby declared to be an urgency ordinance and shall be in full
46 force and effect immediately upon its adoption. Within fifteen days after adoption, this
47 ordinance shall be published with the names of the members voting for and against the same at
48 least once in a newspaper of general circulation published in the City of Petaluma.
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1 Section 6. The City Clerk is hereby further directed to post and publish this ordinance or a
2 synopsis of this ordinance for the period and in the manner required by the City Charter.
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4 Introduced, Adopted, and Ordered Published this 19'" day of March, 2007.
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7 AYES: Barrett, Freitas, Harris, Vice Mayor Nau, Rabbitt, Mayor Torliatt
8 NOES: O'Brien
9 ABSENT: None
10 ABSTAIN: None
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16 Pamela Torliatt, Mayor
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19 ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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23 Deborah Padovan, Deputy City Clerk Eric W. Danly, City Att ney
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