HomeMy WebLinkAbout15 - Proclaiming the Termination of the Local Emergency Declared on March 15, 2020Q �EwPpRT
CITY OF
O �
z NEWPORT BEACH
<,FORN'P City Council Staff Report
June 22, 2021
Agenda Item No. 15
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: Grace K. Leung, City Manager - 949-644-3001,
gleung@newportbeachca.gov
PREPARED BY: Tara Finnigan, Deputy City Manager,
tfinnigan@newportbeachca.gov
PHONE: 949-644-3035
TITLE: Resolution No. 2021-62: Proclaiming the Termination of the Local
Emergency Declared on March 15, 2020
ABSTRACT -
At its June 8, 2021 meeting, the City Council supported, via a straw poll, staff bringing
forward an item for the Council's consideration that would terminate the local emergency
declared by City Manager Grace Leung on March 15, 2020, and ratified by the City
Council on March 18, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Resolution
No. 2021-62, if adopted, would terminate the local emergency effective June 22, 2021.
RECOMMENDATION:
a) Determine this action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) and 15060(c)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines because
this action will not result in a physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly;
and
b) Adopt Resolution No. 2021-62, A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Newport
Beach, California, Proclaiming the Termination of the Local Emergency Declared on
March 15, 2020.
DISCUSSION:
Background
On March 4, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a State of Emergency as part of
the State of California's (State's) response to the then developing COVID-19 crisis. The
action was intended to help preserve available medical resources and prevent the
catastrophic failure of the hospital system due to an anticipated surge in COVID-19 cases.
Later that month, on March 15, Newport Beach City Manager Grace Leung, acting in her
capacity as the City of Newport Beach's (City's) director of emergency services, issued a
Proclamation of Local Emergency in response to guidance from the State about
controlling the spread of the coronavirus. The action also enabled the City to access
federal and state resources and recoup some of the City funds spent responding to the
pandemic.
15-1
Resolution No. 2021- 62: Proclaiming the Termination of the
Local Emergency Declared on March 15, 2020
June 22, 2021
Page 2
The Newport Beach City Council ratified the Proclamation of Local Emergency by
adopting Resolution No. 2020-25 on March 18, 2020. The Council's action also
authorized the City's director of emergency services to take certain actions to protect the
health and safety of the community and stated that the local emergency would remain in
effect until it is terminated by proclamation of the City Council.
Proposed Termination of Local Emergency
In early April of this year, Governor Newsom announced the State's intention to move
beyond its Blueprint for a Safer Economy and fully reopen the California economy on
June 15, provided that: there is sufficient vaccine supply for all Californians aged 16 years
and older, who desire to be immunized; and the State's hospitalization rate remains stable
and low. As of June 15, 2021, those conditions have been met and all sectors, except
mega events, which are defined as having 5,000 indoor or 10,000 outdoor attendees,
have been permitted to return to normal business operations, with no capacity limits or
social distancing required.
At the June 8, 2021 City Council meeting, Council Member Will O'Neill inquired about the
process and timing for lifting the City's local emergency, particularly in light of the City's
planned Fourth of July activities. He then asked the City Manager to place a discussion
item for terminating the local emergency on this Council agenda. A straw poll of the
Council that evening indicated its unanimous support for having such a discussion.
Staff has prepared Resolution No. 2021-62, which, if adopted, would terminate the local
emergency declared on March 15, 2020, effective June 22, 2021. This action would also
repeal all related emergency ordinances and orders, including those related to outdoor
dining, short-term lodging permits, and the emergency duties and powers afforded the
City Manager, in her capacity as director of emergency services, set forth in Resolution
No. 2020-25, emergency ordinances, and Newport Beach Municipal Code Section
2.20.070.
It should be noted that the City Council has already taken action to extend the outdoor
dining permits. On June 8, the Council adopted Resolution No. 2021-58, which
automatically extended the emergency temporary use permits for outdoor dining until
September 6, 2021, and provided permit holders who wish to continue their permitted
outdoor uses the option to apply for a limited -term permit.
The termination of the local emergency will, however, repeal Emergency Ordinance
No. 2020-004, which placed a moratorium on the issuance of new short-term lodging
permits and set a minimum number of consecutive nights that a unit could be rented. The
proposed action will not affect the Council's recent, non -emergency actions regarding
short-term lodging permits, some of which are now pending before the California Coastal
Commission.
Except as provided above, the community would notice no other changes if the local
emergency is terminated because the City's beaches, parks, trails and playgrounds have
been fully reopened for months, and all capacity limits at other City facilities, such as the
libraries, were lifted on June 15.
15-2
Resolution No. 2021- 62: Proclaiming the Termination of the
Local Emergency Declared on March 15, 2020
June 22, 2021
Page 3
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no immediate fiscal impact related to the adoption of Resolution No. 2021-62.
However, it remains unclear if the termination of the local emergency will in any way limit
the City's access to additional funds from federal or state resources or reimbursements
related to the pandemic.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
Staff recommends the City Council find this action 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.
NOTICING:
The agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of
the meeting at which the City Council considers the item).
ATTACHMENT:
Attachment A — Resolution No. 2021-62
15-3
ATTACHMENT A
RESOLUTION NO. 2021- 62
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA, PROCLAIMING
THE TERMINATION OF THE LOCAL EMERGENCY
DECLARED ON MARCH 15, 2020
WHEREAS, as part of the State of California's response to address the global
COVID-19 outbreak, on March 4, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a State of
Emergency in which he identified concerns that "the number of persons requiring medical
care may exceed locally available resources," "local authority is inadequate to cope with
the threat posed by COVID-19," and that "conditions of Government Code section
8558(b), relating to the declaration of a State of Emergency, have been met," among
other findings ("State of Emergency");
WHEREAS, on March 15, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 crisis, Newport
Beach City Manager Grace Leung, who is the Director of Emergency Services ("Director
of Emergency Services") for the City of Newport Beach ("City"), issued a Proclamation of
Local Emergency that referenced the Governor's declared State of Emergency and stated
that "the safety of persons within the territorial limits of the City of Newport Beach is in
extreme peril based on the existence or threatened existence of COVID-19, within and/or
around the City of Newport Beach" and further proclaimed that "no person shall enter, be
within, or remain within, any building or area within the City of Newport Beach after
receiving a written or oral order to either not enter or to leave such building or area from
a peace officer," violation of which shall be a misdemeanor;
WHEREAS, on March 18, 2020, the Newport Beach City Council ratified the
Proclamation of Local Emergency by adopting Resolution No. 2020-25, which identified
"conditions of extreme peril to the existence or threatened existence of COVID-19, within
and/or around the City of Newport Beach," found that "the aforesaid conditions of extreme
peril did warrant and necessitate the issuance" of the Proclamation of Local Emergency,
authorized the Director of Emergency Services to take certain actions to protect the
health, safety, and welfare of the public, and stated that the local emergency shall be
deemed to continue to exist throughout the City of Newport Beach and the Order and
Regulation shall remain in effect until the local emergency is terminated by proclamation
of the City Council of the City of Newport Beach;
WHEREAS, the original intent of the State of Emergency was to prevent
catastrophic failure of the hospital system due to an anticipated surge in COVID-19 cases,
described in the declared State of Emergency as a concern that "the number of persons
requiring medical care may exceed locally available resources";
WHEREAS, the County of Orange has been in the least restrictive yellow tier for
over four weeks, the State of California has one of lowest COVID-19 case rates of any
state and hospitalizations related to COVID-19, as of June 9, 2021, are near record lows
15-4
Resolution No. 2021 -
Page 2 of 2
with only 50 people out of 3.2 million residents being identified as hospitalized with
COVID-19;
WHEREAS, over 85% of people aged 65+ in Orange County have had at least
one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine;
WHEREAS, the cumulative COVID-19 case rate in Newport Beach is lower than
all but seven Orange County cities;
WHEREAS, the City plans to host multiple parades on the Fourth of July, which is
a prompt for the City Council to assess what precautions, if any, are needed to protect
the public from COVID-19 and to analyze whether the conditions of "extreme peril" due
to a contagious disease still exist; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has exercised due diligence and has determined that
the conditions of extreme peril presented by the spread of COVID-19 have been abated
to such a degree as to warrant the termination of the local emergency.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Newport Beach does hereby
resolve as follows:
Section 1: The City Council hereby proclaims that the local emergency that was
declared on March 15, 2020, by the Director of Emergency Services, which was ratified
by the City Council on March 18, 2020 via Resolution No. 2020-25, is hereby terminated.
Section 2: The recitals provided in this resolution are true and correct and are
incorporated into the operative part of this resolution.
Section 3: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this
resolution 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 resolution. The City
Council hereby declares that it would have passed this resolution, 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 4: The City Council finds the adoption of this resolution 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, Division 6, Chapter 3,
because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or
indirectly.
15-5
Resolution No. 2021 -
Page 3 of 2
Section 5: This resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption by the
City Council, and the City Clerk shall certify the vote adopting the resolution.
ADOPTED this 22nd day of June, 2021.
Brad Avery
Mayor
ATTEST:
Leilani L Brown
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Aaron C. Harp
City Attorney
15-6