FROM:
Development Services
SUBJECT:
Title
AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FONTANA IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65858 EXTENDING THE MORATORIUM ON THE APPROVAL OF ANY BUILDING PERMIT, OCCUPANCY PERMIT, CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT, VARIANCE, SUBDIVISION MAP, DESIGN REVIEW, ADMINISTRATIVE SITE PLAN REVIEW OR OTHER LAND USE ENTITLEMENT OR PERMIT, OR REGULATORY LICENSE OR PERMIT REQUIRED TO COMPLY WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE OR SPECIFIC PLAN FOR SERVICE BASED, NON-ENTERTAINMENT USES FOR AN ADDITIONAL YEAR
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RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Waive the reading of the text in its entirety, read by title only, and adopt Ordinance No.___, “AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FONTANA IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65858 EXTENDING A MORATORIUM ON THE APPROVAL OF ANY BUILDING PERMIT, OCCUPANCY PERMIT, CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT, VARIANCE, SUBDIVISION MAP, DESIGN REVIEW, ADMINISTRATIVE SITE PLAN REVIEW OR OTHER LAND USE ENTITLEMENT OR PERMIT, OR REGULATORY LICENSE OR PERMIT REQUIRED TO COMPLY WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE OR SPECIFIC PLAN FOR SERVICE BASED, NON-ENTERTAINMENT USES FOR AN ADDITIONAL YEAR”
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COUNCIL GOALS:
• Promote economic development by pursuing business attraction, retention, and expansion.
• Promote economic development by establishing a quick, consistent development process.
• Preserve the local environment for generations to come and to create a healthy economic and environmental future by creating communities and neighborhoods that are attractive, safe, and convenient for walkers and bicyclists.
• Preserve To preserve the local environment for generations to come and to create a healthy economic and environmental future by adopting policies that promote compact and efficient development in new and existing communities.
DISCUSSION:
The City Council will consider a one year extension of Urgency Ordinance No. 1924, which placed an additional ten (10) month and fifteen (15) day moratorium on the City’s issuance and approval of any building permit, occupancy permit, conditional use permit, variance, subdivision map or other land use entitlement or permit; regulatory license or permit required to comply with the provisions of the City’s Municipal Code or a Specific Plan for any “Service based, Non Entertainment Uses” in the primary corridors of Sierra Avenue (from the I-10 Freeway and Arrow Boulevard, and between Foothill Boulevard and the I-210 Freeway), and Foothill Boulevard (from Cherry Avenue to Maple Avenue), to allow the City to study its General Plan, Municipal Code, or other amendments to local regulations.
On November 13, 2018, the City adopted its most recent General Plan which detailed the goals and objectives for the City over the next twenty (20) years. In Chapter 14 -Downtown- the City set forth its intention to create a regional hub of the downtown area for dining, shopping, and entertainment purposes to attract local and regional visitors, that would drive economic growth for the City as a whole. As the main thoroughfares to downtown, the Sierra Avenue corridor and Foothill Boulevard corridor funnel these visitors to the area and promote economic growth to the downtown area and the City in general.
Government Code Section 65858 permits a city to adopt an interim urgency ordinance to protect the public safety, health and welfare and to prohibit uses which may be in conflict with a contemplated General Plan or zoning proposal which the city is considering, studying or intends to study within a reasonable time. In light of the above-referenced potential for conflicting uses, on July 25, 2023, the City Council enacted Ordinance No. 1922, an Ordinance temporarily prohibiting the issuance or approval of any building permit, occupancy permit, conditional use permit, variance, subdivision map, design review, administrative site plan review or other land use entitlement or permit or regulatory license or permit required to comply with the provisions of the City’s Municipal Code or a Specific Plan for any “Service based, Non-Entertainment uses.”
Pursuant to Government Code Section 65858, Ordinance No. 1922 remained in effect for forty-five (45) days and could be extended by the City Council for an additional ten (10) months and fifteen (15) days. Thereafter, on September 5, 2023, the City Council of the City of Fontana enacted Ordinance No. 1924, a ten (10) month and fifteen (15) day extension of the initial moratorium, which went into effect on September 8, 2023 and expires on July 23, 2024.
On November 15, 2023, the City entered into a contract with a third-party consultant, Kosmont Companies (“Kosmont”), to assist with research into comprehensive zoning regulations for the Sierra Avenue and Foothill Boulevard corridors that align with the City’s Downtown Plan, including to attract high value and mixed-use development. City staff continues to research examples of compatible dining, shopping and entertainment land uses that align with the goals and objectives of the General Plan to prepare potential zoning code amendments.
If the current moratorium were to expire without an extension, permits or other land use entitlements could be issued and may result in uses that could potentially conflict with zoning changes that City staff are studying. As a result, the same current, immediate threat to the public safety, health and welfare that caused the City Council to adopt the prior ordinances remains.
Pursuant to Government Code Section 65858, the second extension of this moratorium ordinance, Urgency Ordinance No. 1924, continues the prior ten (10) month and fifteen (15) day moratorium placed on service based, non-entertainment uses for the two economic corridors by a period of one year. If adopted, this moratorium extension will continue to pause any approval of service based, non-entertainment uses for the two corridors to allow the City additional time to study and consider potential amendments to the General Plan or Municipal Code to address the standards, processes, and potential impacts of such uses.
During the moratorium extension, the City will not approve or issue any permit, variance, subdivision map, design review, administrative site plan review, business license, or other applicable entitlements for any service based, non-entertainment uses and activities. However, the moratorium does not prevent the City from taking steps to process permits up to the point at which the City can approve such a permit or entitlement.
The moratorium extension requires a four-fifths vote of the City Council to pass. If adopted, the moratorium will take effect on July 23, 2024 and extend to July 23, 2025. No further extensions are allowed by statute.
During the one-year extension of the moratorium, the City will continue to analyze potential amendments to the General Plan, any specific plan, the Fontana Municipal Code, and/or any other governing document(s) or policy(ies) related to service-based, non-entertainment uses and activity.
Pursuant to the Urgency Ordinance, a 10-day report has been prepared and made available for public inspection.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
An extension of the Urgency Ordinance qualifies for a categorical exemption pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines 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 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; and it prevents changes in the environment pending the completion of zoning code revisions and related impact studies.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Speculative loss of land use application, and permit and license issuance, fees and revenues by the City; and speculative loss of sales and property tax revenue due to any delay in development or improvement of property related to the moratorium.
MOTION:
Approve staff’s recommendation.
ATTACHMENTS:
• Proposed Ordinance Extending the Moratorium
• Ordinance 1924
• 10 Day Report