2013/08/27 City Council Ordinance 864ORDINANCE NO. 864
AN INTERIM URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF ROHNERT PARK, CALIFORNIA,
EXTENDING THE CITY'S MORATORIUM ON AND
PROHIBITION OF THE ISSUANCE OF PERMITS OR OTHER
ENTITLEMENTS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT, EXPANSION,
OR RELOCATION OF ADULT ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESSES
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROHNERT PARK ORDAINS AS
FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Findings. The City Council finds as follows:
A. On July 23, 2013, pursuant to Government Code Sections 36937 and 65858(b), following
notice and a public hearing, the City Council adopted Urgency Ordinance No. 856
establishing a 45 -day moratorium on the issuance of any new permit, license, approval, or
entitlement pertaining to Adult Entertainment Businesses (the "Interim Ordinance ").
B. Pursuant to Government Code Section 65858(b), the City may, after notice and a public
hearing, extend the Interim Ordinance for an additional period of up to 22 months and 15
days.
C. Based on substantial evidence in the record, the Development Services Manager has
recommended that the approval or issuance of permits for Adult Entertainment
Businesses presents an immediate threat to and specific adverse impact upon the public
health, safety, and welfare of the community.
D. On August 27, 2013, the City Council held a duly noticed public hearing to consider
extending Ordinance No. 856 for an additional twenty two (22) months and fifteen (15)
days from the date Ordinance No. 856 expires.
E. The City Council considered all of the written and oral testimony offered at the duly
noticed public hearing held on August 27, 2013, concerning whether to extend Ordinance
No. 856.
F. The factual basis for extending the Interim Ordinance includes the following:
1. The recitals, provisions, and findings made in Ordinance No. 856 are hereby
reaffirmed, readopted, and incorporated by reference as though they were fully restated
herein.
2. The City desires to further study the potential effects of Adult Entertainment
Businesses on the public health, safety, and welfare, in order to determine whether
reasonable conditions, such as those imposed by neighboring jurisdictions should be
placed on Adult Entertainment Businesses in the City.
3. City staff is reviewing RPMC Chapter 17 as well as the provisions of neighboring
jurisdictions. However, as provided for in the staff report, which is incorporated by
reference, the City Council finds that staff needs additional time to study, review and
make an informed recommendation regarding possible amendments to RPMC that would
impose reasonable regulations on Adult Entertainment Businesses.
4. Once a draft ordinance is prepared, that legislation must first be reviewed by the
Planning Commission and City Council and the public at two meetings and, if adopted,
the ordinance would not go into effect for an additional 30 -days.
5. In order to avoid a lapse in the moratorium, it is necessary that the Interim
Ordinance be extended.
6. Until such time as the proposed amended regulations are adopted and effective,
there is a significant risk of illegal and potentially injurious activity, and the City has a
legitimate interest in providing reasonable safeguards against unlawful acts as well as
injury and economic loss to such adult entertainment patrons.
7. Adult Entertainment Businesses are businesses that involve intimate contact
between persons, which creates opportunities for acts of prostitution and other unlawful
sexual activity to occur.
8. The establishment of new reasonable standards for the issuance of permits for
Adult Entertainment Businesses and regulations on the operation of Adult Entertainment
Businesses will serve to reduce the risk of illegal and potential injurious activity.
9. The absence of this ordinance would create a serious threat to the orderly and
effective implementation of any RPMC amendments that may be adopted in that the
issuance of permits to Adult Entertainment Businesses within the City may be in conflict
with or frustrate the contemplated RPMC amendments.
G. Pursuant to Government Code Section 65858(d), the City has issued a report relative to
the steps taken to alleviate the conditions that necessitated the adoption of the Interim
Ordinance, which report is incorporated by this reference.
H. The City Council finds that there is a current and immediate threat to the public health,
safety, and welfare based on the above findings and, upon that basis, has determined that
an extension of the moratorium prohibiting the issuance of new permits for Adult
Entertainment Businesses is warranted.
SECTION 2. Extension of Moratorium. The City Council orders that, pursuant to the
authority granted to the City Council by California Government Code Section 65858 to protect
the health, safety, and general welfare of the residents of the City of Rohnert Park, the City
Council hereby extends Ordinance No. 856 which established a moratorium on Adult
Entertainment Businesses as follows:
A. No permits (including use permits, conditional use permits, special or temporary
permits) or other applicable use entitlement (including variances, building permits, or business
licenses) under Chapters 17 of the RPMC may be issued for the establishment or operation of a
Ord. 864
Page 2 of 5
new Adult Entertainment Businesses within the City, except as otherwise provided for herein. hl
addition, no existing Adult Entertainment Businesses may be relocated or expanded, whether by
means of additional space, construction of new facility, or by reconfiguration.
The moratorium set forth above shall not apply to the renewal of any existing business
license for an Adult Entertainment Business (provided the renewal seeks to maintain the business
in the existing location)
B. For purposes of this Ordinance, the terms Adult Entertainment Businesses shall have
the meaning set forth in RPMC Chapter 7.04, which is excerpted in Attachment 1 hereto and
incorporated by this reference.
C. Establishment or operation of unpermitted Adult Entertainment Businesses in the City
of Rohnert Park shall be a public nuisance per se, enforceable by any applicable law, including
but not limited to injunctions, administrative citations, or criminal penalties.
SECTION 3. Legal, Operational and Planning Study. The Planning Department and the City
Attorney's Office are directed to continue to study and analyze issues related to the
establishment, permitting, and operation within the City of Adult Entertainment Businesses, and
their potential impacts on public health, safety, and welfare of the community, the desirability of
such Adult Entertainment Businesses in various zones, and the extent of regulatory controls, if
any, to impose on such Adult Entertainment Businesses. The City Council directs that all studies
be pursued as expeditiously as practicable. In order to prevent frustration of these studies and
the implementation of new regulations, the public interest, health, safety, and welfare require
immediate enactment of this Ordinance.
SECTION 4. Environmental Review. The City Council finds that this 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 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; rather it
prevents changes in the environment pending the completion of the contemplated municipal code
review.
SECTION 5. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this
ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of
competent jurisdiction, such decision will not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this
ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this ordinance and each
and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional
without regard to whether any portion of the ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid
or unconstitutional.
SECTION 6. Effective Date and Duration. This ordinance is an urgency ordinance enacted
under California Government Code Section 65858(b). This urgency ordinance is effective
immediately upon adoption by a four - fifths (4/5) vote of the City Council and, unless terminated
Ord. 864
Page 3 of 5
sooner by the City Council, will extend for a period of 22 months and 15 days from the date of
adoption at which time it will automatically expire.
SECTION 7. Publication. The City Clerk is directed to cause this ordinance to be published in
the manner required by law.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 27th day of August, 2013 by the
following vote:
AYES: Five (5) Council Members Ah.anotu, Belforte, Mackenzie, Callinan and Mayor
NOES: None (0) Stafford
ABSENT: None (0)
ABSTAIN:None (0)
ATTEST:
JoAnne Bue gler
City Clerk
APPJ(OVED A£ Tp FORM:
Mi�hTearchetta Kenyon
City Attorney
Ord. 864
Page 4 of 5
Pam Stafford, Mayor
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF SONOMA
CITY OF ROHNERT PARK
ss.
CITY CLERK'S CERTIFICATION OF
THE ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE
I, JoAnne Buergler, City Clerk of the City of Rohnert Park, do hereby certify that the foregoing
Ordinance No. 864 was adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council on the 27th day of August, 2013
by the following roll -call vote:
AYES: Five (5) Council Members Ahanotu, Belforte, Mackenzie, Callinan and Mayor Stafford
NOES: None (0)
ABSENT: None (0)
ABSTAIN: None (0)
JoAnne Buergler
ITY CLERK
Ord. 864
Page 5 of 5
Attachment to Ordinance 864
17.04.030 Definitions of words and terms
"Adult entertainment business"
A. "Adult book store" means an establishment having as a substantial or significant portion
of its stock -in -trade (i.e., at least twenty -five percent) books, magazines, and other
periodicals which are distinguished or characterized by their emphasis on matter
depicting, describing, or relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical
areas, or an establishment with a segment or section devoted to the sale or display of
such materials.
B. "Adult cabaret" means a nightclub, theater, or other establishment which features live
performances by dancers, "go -go" dancers, exotic dancers, strippers, or similar
entertainers where such performances are distinguished by an emphasis on specified
sexual activities or specified anatomical areas, whether covered or not.
C. "Adult hotel or motel" means a hotel or motel wherein Adult material is presented which
is distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing, or
relating to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.
D. "Adult mini - motion picture theater" means an enclosed building meeting the definition of
"Adult motion picture theater," except that it has a capacity of less than fifty persons.
E. "Adult motion picture arcade" means any place to which the public is permitted or invited
wherein coin -or -slug- operated or electronically, electrically, or mechanically controlled
still or motion picture machines, projectors, or other image - producing devices are
maintained to show images to five or fewer persons per machine at any one time, and
where the images so displayed are distinguished or characterized by an emphasis on
depicting or describing specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.
F. "Adult motion picture theater" means an enclosed building, with a capacity of fifty or
more persons, used for presenting material distinguished or characterized by its
emphasis on matter depicting, describing, or relating to specified sexual activities or
specified anatomical areas for observation by the patrons therein. For the purposes of
this definition, a theater may be considered to be an adult motion picture theater if
twenty -five percent or more of the movies shown in a six month period are distinguished
or characterized by sexual emphasis as described in this subsection.
G. "Specified anatomical areas" are defined as follows:
1 Less than completely and opaquely covered:
a. Human genitals or the pubic region;
b. Buttocks; and
c. Female breasts below a point immediately above the top of the areola; and
2. Human male genitals in a discernibly turgid state, even if completely and
opaquely covered.
H. "Specified sexual activities" are defined as follows:
1. Actual or simulated sexual intercourse, oral copulation and intercourse, oral -anal
copulation, bestiality, direct physical stimulation of unclothed genitals, flagellation
or torture in the context of sexual relationship, the use of excretory functions in
the context of a sexual relationship, and depictions of any of the following
sexually oriented acts or conduct: anilingus, buggery, coprophagy, coprophilia,
cunnilingus, fellatio, necrophilia, pederasty, pedophilia, piquerism, sapphism,
zooerasty; or
2. Clearly depicted human genitals in a state of sexual stimulation, arousal, or
tumescence; or
3. The use of human or animal masturbation, sodomy, oral copulation, coitus,
ejaculation; or
4. Fondling or touching nude human genitals, the pubic region, buttocks, or female
breasts; or
5. Masochism, erotic or sexually oriented torture, beating, or the infliction of pain; or
6. Erotic or lewd touching, fondling, or other contact with an animal by a human
being; or
7. Human excretion, urination, menstruation, or vaginal or anal irrigation.
"Other" means any other business or establishment which offers its patrons services or
entertainment characterized by an emphasis on matter depicting, describing, or relating
to specified sexual activities or specified anatomical areas.
J. "Sexual encounter center" means any business, agency, or person who, for any form of
consideration or gratuity, provides a place where three or more persons, not all
members of the same family, may congregate, assemble, or associate for the purpose of
engaging in specified sexual activities or exposing specified anatomical areas.