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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2250ORDINANCE NO. 2250 AN INTERIM URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF TFIE CITY OF ARCADIA, CALIFORNIA, ESTABLISHING A MORATORIUM ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MASSAGE THERAPY BUSINESSES PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65858 THE CITY COUNCIL FOR THE CITY OF ARCADIA, CALIFORNIA, DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The purpose of this interim urgency ordinance is to establish a moratorium on the establishment of massage therapy businesses in the City of Arcadia (`°City") to craft a more comprehensive approach to regulating massage therapy businesses to avoid possible negative effects on the health, safety and ~e elfare of the citizens of the City. SECTION 2. The City Council enacts this interim urgency ordinance under the authority granted to cities by Article Xl, Section 7 of the California Constitution, Section 51031 of the California Government Code, and Section 65858 of the California Government Code. SECTION 3. The City Council of the City of Arcadia hereby finds: A. The City has received applications for the issuance of business owner/operator identification cards and massage therapist identification cards, requests for business licenses, building permits, land use, zoning and other approvals for the establishment and/or conducting of massage therapy businesses. B. The City is authorized by virtue of the California State Constitution and California Government Code section 51031 to regulate massage establishments by imposing reasonable standards relative to the skill and experience of massage operators and massage technicians, and reasonable conditions on the operation of massage establishments. C. There is significant risk of injury to massage clients by improperly trained and/or educated massage therapists, and the City has a legitimate interest m providing reasonable safeguards against injury and economic loss to such massage clients. D. Massage therapy businesses are businesses which involve significant intimate contact between persons which creates opportunities for acts of prostitution and other unlawful sexual activity to occur. E. The establishment of reasonable standards for the issuance of permits and restrictions on operations of massage therapy businesses would serve to reduce the risk of illegal activity. F. The City is currently studying revised regulations to preserve the public health, safety and welfare as herein stated. SECTION 4. The purpose of this interim urgency ordinance is to establish aforty-five (45) day moratorium on the approval or issuance of any business owner/operator identification card, massage therapist identification card, 2 2250 business license, building permit, or land use, zoning or other approval which pertains to the establishment or conducting of massage therapy businesses for the immediate preservation of the public health, safety and welfare. SECTION 5. For purposes of This ordinance, the terms defined below shall have the following meanings: A. "Massage therapist' shall mean any person who, for any consideration whatsoever, performs or offers to perform a massage in a massage therapy business. B. "Massage therapy business" shall mean any establishment having a fixed place of business for the purpose of deriving income or compensation from massage therapy services. SECTION 6. The City Council hereby enacts this interim urgency ordinance by not less than afour-fifths vote, and in light of the findings set forth in Section 3, under the authority granted to it by Article XI, Section 7 of the California Constitution and Section 65858(a) of the California Government Code, which allows the City to adopt an interim urgency ordinance, in order to protect the public safety, health, and welfare, prohibiting any uses that may be in conflict with a zoning proposal that the City Council, planning commission or the planning department is considering or studying or intends to shady within a reasonable time. 3 2250 SI/CTION 7. The City Council hereby finds and determines as follows: A. The absence of adequate regulation of the operations of massage therapy businesses and massage therapists, as well as the location of massage therapy businesses, constitutes an immediate threat to the public health, safety and welfare, The adoption of this ordinance is necessary for the immediate protection of the public safety, health and welfare. B. There have been documented cases of prostihrtion and other inappropriate behavior at massage therapy businesses in the City. C. There has been a recent significant increase in the request for massage therapist identification cards and business licenses related to massage therapists. D. Medical offices, including acupuncturists and physical therapist offices, and day spas and salons ewrently have no limit as to the number of massage therapists they may hire. E. Based on the foregoing, the City Council finds that issuing business owner/operator identification cards, massage therapist identification cards, business licenses, building permits, or land use, zoning or other approvals which pertain to the establishment or conducting of massage therapy businesses, prior to the completion of the City of Arcadia's study of the potential impact of such facilities, poses a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety and welfare and that therefore a temporary moratorium on the issuance of such 4 2250 business owner/operator identification cards, massage therapist identification cards, business licenses, building permits, or land use, zoning or other approvals which pertain to The establishment or conducting of massage therapy businesses is necessary. F. A temporary moratorium is not placed on the issuance of renewals of currently valid business licenses, owner/operator identification cards or massage therapist identification cards. However, for massage therapist applicants desiring fo obtain business licenses wherein the business license has expired or the business has been closed for more than one (1) year, the moratorium shall be applicable. SECTION 8. The City Cormci] hereby directs the Building Department, Code Enforcement, Development Services Department, Fire Department and Police Department to consider and study possible means of regulating massage therapy businesses, including zoning-based regulations and other regulations. SECTION 9. The City Council finds that this Interim Urgency 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 5 2250 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 10. If any provision of this Interim Urgency Ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the Ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this ordinance are severable. The City Council hereby declares that it would have adopted this Ordinance irrespective of the invalidity of any particular portion thereof. SECTION 11. This Interim Urgency Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon its adoption by at least afour-fifths vote of the City Council. This interim urgency ordinance shall continue in effect for forty-five (45} days from the date of its adoption and shall thereafter be of no further force and effect unless, after notice and a hearing pursuant to California Government Code Section 65090, the City Council extends this interim urgency ordinance pursuant to Government Code Section 65858. SECTION 12. The City Clerk shall certify the adoption of this Ordinance and shall cause a copy of same to be published in the official newspaper of said City within fifteen (15) days of its adoption. 6 2250 Passed, approved and adopted this 2tst ATTEST: ity Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: ~~r ~ . ~.e~., P ~)-~~,c~, Stephen P. Deitsch City Attorney day of October ,2008. ~~~~ ~~ Mayor of the City of Arcadia 2250 STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES) SS: CITY OF ARCADiA ) I, JAMES H. BARROWS, City Clerk of the City of Arcadia, hereby certifies that the foregoing Ordinance No. 2250 was passed and adopted by the City Council of the City of Arcadia, signed by the Mayor and attested to by the City Clerk at a regular meeting of said Council held on the 21 st day of October, 2008 and that said Ordinance was adopted by the following vote, to wit: AYES: Council Member Amundson, Chandler, Kovacic, Wuo and Harbicht NOES: None ABSENT: None rty Clerk of the City of Arcadia s 2250