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Home My WebLink About00 - OrdinanceEMERGENCY ORDINANCE NO. 2020-007 AN EMERGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA, CLOSING ALL CITY CONTROLLED BEACHES IN THE CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH FROM JULY 3, 2020 AT 10:00 P.M. TO JULY 5, 2020 AT 6:00 A.M. AND GIVING THE CITY MANAGER DISCRETION TO CLOSE ALL CITY CONTROLLED BEACHES AT OTHER TIMES ON JULY 39 2020 AND JULY 59 20209 IF SHE DETERMINES CLOSURE IS NECESSARY TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELFARE WHEREAS, Section 200 of the Charter of the City of Newport Beach ("City") vests the City Council with the authority to make and enforce all laws, rules and regulations with respect to municipal affairs subject only to the restrictions and limitations contained in the Charter and the State Constitution, and the power to exercise, or act pursuant to any and all rights, powers, and privileges, or procedures granted or prescribed by any law of the State of California; WHEREAS, on January 31, 2020, the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services announced a nationwide public health emergency, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak; WHEREAS, on March 4, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a State of Emergency to make additional resources available, formalize emergency actions already underway across multiple state agencies and departments, and help the state prepare for broader spread of COVID-19 ("State of Emergency); WHEREAS, on March 15, 2020, Governor Newsom called for all bars, wineries, nightclubs and brewpubs to close throughout the state, urged all seniors and people with chronic health conditions to isolate themselves at home, and for restaurants to reduce occupancy by half to keep people farther away from each other; WHEREAS, on March 15, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Newport Beach City Manager Grace Leung, who is the Director of Emergency Services ("Director of Emergency Services") for the City, issued a Proclamation of Local Emergency ("Proclamation"); WHEREAS, on March 18, 2020, the Newport Beach City Council ratified the Proclamation and authorized the Director of Emergency Services to take certain actions to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public; Emergency Ordinance No. 2020-007 Page 2 of 4 WHEREAS, on March 19, 2020, Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-33- 20, requiring all individuals living in the State of California to stay home or at their place of residence, except as needed to maintain continuity of operations of the federal critical infrastructure sectors ("Stay at Home Order"); WHEREAS, COVID-19 has been detected in millions of people worldwide, including, as of June 30, 2020, 295 cases in the City, and is primarily spread from person to person; WHEREAS, the City recently discovered that two of its seasonal lifeguards have tested positive for COVI D-19; WHEREAS, based on contact tracing, other seasonal lifeguards have been quarantined, which impacts the City's lifeguard operations and the City's ability to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public during elevated periods of anticipated crowds including, and especially, July 4th; WHEREAS, it is expected that tens of thousands of people will utilize beaches controlled by the City on July 4, 2020, and that the City will be unable to properly protect the health, safety, and welfare of all beachgoers given the impact to operations caused by the quarantining of seasonal lifeguards; WHEREAS, depending on the number of individuals utilizing the City controlled beaches on July 3 and July 5, 2020, it may be necessary for the City Manager to close the beaches if she determines that there are insufficient lifeguards to protect the health, safety, and welfare of all beachgoers; WHEREAS, Charter Section 412 provides that an ordinance necessary to preserve the public peace, health or safety, may be introduced and adopted at one and the same meeting if passed by at least five affirmative votes; and WHEREAS, this emergency ordinance closing all City controlled beaches for a limited time is the least restrictive way to help ensure that the health, safety, and welfare of the public is protected. NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Newport Beach ordains as follows: Section 1: The City Council for the City of Newport Beach hereby finds and declares that this emergency ordinance is necessary to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public, including, but not limited to, the residents of the City, because reduced lifeguard staffing levels related to COVID-19 have impacted the ability of the City to properly protect the health, safety, and welfare of beachgoers during elevated periods of anticipated crowds including, and especially, July 4th. Emergency Ordinance No. 2020-007 Page 3 of 4 Section 2: The City of Newport Beach City Council hereby orders all City controlled beaches including, but not limited to, the Balboa Peninsula Beach, Newport Municipal Beach, the Balboa Pier Beach, China Cove Beach, Corona del Mar Beach, Little Corona del Mar Beach, Pirates Cove Beach, West Jetty View Beach, and West Newport Beach ("City Controlled Beaches"), closed to all members of the public from July 3, 2020 at 10:00 p.m. to July 5, 2020 at 6:00 a.m. Section 3: The City Council hereby grants the City Manager discretion to close all City Controlled Beaches at other times on July 3, 2020 and July 5, 20201 if she determines closure is necessary to protect the public health, safety, and welfare and notifies the public of her decision as provided herein. Section 4: The City Manager shall take any and all action to ensure that this emergency ordinance and the provisions contained herein are given widespread publicity including, but not limited to, posting signs at least one (1) hour prior to any closure. Section 5: No person shall enter, be within, or remain within any beach area within the City that has been closed to the public after receiving a written or oral order to either not enter or to leave such area from a peace officer. Section 6: A violation of this emergency ordinance shall be a misdemeanor punishable pursuant to Section 2.20.100 and/or Section 1.04.010 of the Newport Beach Municipal Code. Section 7: All peace officers are hereby authorized to enforce this emergency ordinance and to arrest any person who does not obey said ordinance. Section 8: The recitals provided in this emergency ordinance are true and correct and are incorporated into the substantive portion of this emergency ordinance. Section 9: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this emergency ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of the remaining portions of this emergency ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this emergency ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase hereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid or unconstitutional. Section 10: The City Council finds and determines that the introduction and adoption of this emergency ordinance is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") pursuant to Sections 15269(c) (the activity is necessary to prevent or mitigate an emergency), 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 Emergency Ordinance No. 2020-007 Page 4 of 4 Regulations, Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly. Section 11: This emergency ordinance shall become effective upon its adoption and shall continue in full force and effect until midnight on July 5, 2020. Section 12: The Mayor shall sign, and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage of this emergency ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the emergency ordinance, or a summary thereof, to be published pursuant to City Charter Section 414. This emergency ordinance was introduced and adopted at a special meeting of the City Council of the City of Newport Beach held on the list day of July 2020, by the following vote, to -wit: /_\'1x.91 NAYS: ABSENT: WILL O'NEILL, MAYOR ATTEST: LEILANI I. BROWN, CITY CLERK APPROVED AS TO FORM: CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE A .", C ff � AARON C. HARP, CITY ATTORNEY