City Council
MEETING DATE: 7/22/2015
TITLE:
Title
Ordinance prohibiting the establishment, installation, placement, construction and/or expansion of attended and unattended collection bins.
End
FROM:
Charles Green, City Attorney
Katie Podein, Deputy City Attorney
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Staff recommends the City Council receive and consider this report and adopt the attached Ordinance prohibiting the establishment, installation, placement, construction and/or expansion of attended and unattended collection donation bins (“CDBs”), or taking whatever other action the City Council deems appropriate.
Body
BACKGROUND:
In recent years, the City has seen a proliferation and concentration of CDBs. CDBs are defined as portable, attended or unattended bins or storage pods or containers for the reverse vending of salvageable personal property including, but not limited to, furniture, household items, appliances, clothing, books and other such related items, installed on both private and public property. CDBs are usually placed on private property, but also are known to be placed at schools, grocery stores, gas stations, in parking lots and near businesses.
On May 13, 2015, the City Council adopted an Urgency Interim Ordinance imposing a temporary 45-day moratorium (“Moratorium”) on the establishment, installation, placement, construction, and/or expansion (collectively called "Installation") of attended and unattended CDBs. The City Council imposed the Moratorium after finding that there was a current and immediate threat to public health, safety and welfare resulting from the approval of CDBs, and that such further approvals and introduction of CDBs into the community would continue the threaten to public health, safety and welfare.
During the Moratorium, City Staff concluded that the establishment of CDBs has led to visual blight, they jeopardize residents’ quiet enjoyment of their homes and property, and they have the likely potential to devalue residents’ homes and property. CDBs have become and are likely to continue to become a public nuisance since they can become a target for scavenging, graffiti and illegal dumping if they are unattended or, if they are attended by personnel, during off hours and/or weekends. CDBs have been and are likely to continue to be placed in inappropriate or illegal locations such as code-required parking spaces, code-required setbacks, or City rights-of-ways. Additionally, CDBs placed in parking lots can restrict sight-lines and affect vehicle circulation and safety, including pedestrian safety.
The Cathedral City Municipal Code’s stated policies and objectives for future land use and development in the City are “to protect the public health, safety and general welfare of the residents and to provide economic and social benefits from an orderly planned use of land resources.” (CCMC Section 9.02.010.) As a result of the findings on the Installation of CDBs mentioned above, City Staff has concluded that CDBs are incompatible with the policies and objectives of the City, have negative effects on the community and pose a threat to the public health, safety and welfare.
DISCUSSION:
If the City Council adopts the Ordinance, the Installation of attended and unattended CDBs would be strictly prohibited in all zone classifications. No permit or any other applicable license or entitlement for use, including, but not limited to, the issuance of a business license, would be approved or issued for the establishment or operation of attended or unattended collection donation bins within city limits. The Ordinance would apply to all zoning district and public rights-of-way within the City.
CDBs currently and lawfully operating in the City prior to the enactment of the Ordinance shall be allowed to continue so long as they remain in compliance with all applicable City, State and Federal laws. Additionally, there are a sufficient number of local thrift and consignment stores in the City to handle donations from residents and businesses without the need for the continued installation of CDBs.
For purposes of the Ordinance, the term “collection donation bins” means any attended or unattended container, bin, storage pod, box, bag, or similar receptacle that is located on any lot, public or private, within the City that is used for soliciting and collecting of or reverse vending of donation collections of any kind, including but not limited to furniture, household items, appliances, books, clothing, shoes, or other salvageable personal property.
In regards to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), there is no possibility that the adoption of this Ordinance may have a significant adverse effect on the environment [14 CCR 15061(b)(3)] because this Ordinance will reduce the possibility of such effects by limiting the range and intensity of new uses possible in the areas it covers and restricting new uses to those of a type which are more compatible with the established character of those areas.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Adoption of this Ordinance is not anticipated to have any significant fiscal impact on the City
ATTACHMENTS:
Ordinance