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Home My WebLink About03 - Hotel Guest Registry InspectionsCTY OF F NEWPORT BEACH City Council Staff Report July 14, 2015 Agenda Item No. 3 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: Aaron Harp, City Attorney — (949) 644-3131, aharp@newportbeachca.gov PREPARED BY: Jason M. Guyser, Assistant City Attorney PHONE: (949) 644-3131 TITLE: Hotel Guest Registry Inspections ABSTRACT: The City of Newport Beach ("City") regulates hotel guest registries and registration cards under Chapter 5.36 of the Newport Beach Municipal Code ("NBMC"). Currently, NBMC Section 5.36.020 requires such registries and registration cards to be open to the inspection of any police officer of the City. In light of a recent decision by the United States Supreme Court concerning hotel guest registry inspections, NBMC Section 5.36.020 should be amended to ensure compliance with the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. RECOMMENDATION: Introduce Ordinance No. 2015-22, An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Newport Beach, California, Amending Section 5.36.020 of the Newport Beach Municipal Code Regarding Inspections of Hotel Guest Registries, and pass to second reading on July 28, 2015. FUNDING REQUIREMENTS: There is no fiscal impact related to this item. DISCUSSION: The City regulates guest registration at hotels and other similar establishments through NBMC Chapter 5.36. Pursuant to NBMC Chapter 5.36, hotels and other similar establishments are required to keep and maintain a guest register or series of registration cards. Under the current NBMC Section 5.36.020, such register or registration cards are required to be open to the inspection of any police officer of the City. On June 22, 2015, the United States Supreme Court issued a ruling in City of Los Angeles v. Patel, et al. regarding the constitutionality of a municipal ordinance from the City of Los Angeles that requires hotel operators to record information about guests (i.e., a guest registry) and to allow the police to inspect the register upon demand. A group of hotel operators challenged the ordinance claiming it was facially invalid under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution based on their expectation of privacy in their own records. 3-7 The Supreme Court held that the ordinance was facially invalid under the Fourth Amendment. The Court held that the City of Los Angeles could require hotel operators to make and keep the records required by the ordinance. However, the ordinance violated the Fourth Amendment by compelling hotel operators to turn over these records without a proper administrative warrant. Because the ordinance authorized an administrative search, it was subject to the requirement of affording the hotel operators an opportunity to obtain pre -compliance review before a neutral decision maker. The Los Angeles ordinance failed to provide for such pre -compliance review and thus facially violated the Fourth Amendment. Similar to the Los Angeles ordinance at issue in Patel, NBMC Section 5.36.020 currently requires hotel operators to allow police officers to inspect their guest registries or registration cards. To comply with the Supreme Court's recent decision in Patel, the City should amend NBMC Section 5.36.020 to eliminate the requirement that all guest registries or registration cards be open to the inspection of any police officer of the City. Under the proposed amended ordinance, City police officers will still have the ability to inspect such records, but such inspection shall be done in accordance with federal and state law. 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). ATTACHMENTS: Description Attachment A - Ordinance 3-2 ATTACHMENT A ORDINANCE NO. 2015 - AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA AMENDING SECTION 5.36.020 OF THE NEWPORT BEACH MUNICIPAL CODE REGARDING INSPECTIONS OF HOTEL GUEST REGISTRIES WHEREAS, Chapter 5.36 of the Newport Beach Municipal Code ("NBMC") regulates every person conducting any rooming house, lodging house, hotel, inn, motel, auto court, or any other similar place in the City of Newport Beach ("City") and requires such person to maintain a guest register or guest registration cards; WHEREAS, Section 5.36.020 of the NBMC currently requires that such register or registration cards be open to the inspection of any police officer of the City; WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court's recent decision in City of Los Angeles v. Patel et al. held that a hotel owner must be afforded an opportunity to obtain pre -compliance review before a neutral decision -maker prior to being required to give its guest registry to the police for inspection; and WHEREAS, the City desires to amend Section 5.36.020 of the NBMC to comply with the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution in accordance with the United States Supreme Court's ruling in City of Los Angeles v. Pate/ et al. NOW THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Newport Beach ordains as follows: Section 1: Section 5.36.020 of the Newport Beach Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: 5.36.020 Entry of Departure Time—Inspection. When the occupant or occupants of such room so rented shall quit and surrender the same, it shall be the duty of the proprietor or an agent thereof to enter the departure time as nearly as can be determined in such register or on such registration card opposite the name of such occupant or occupants. Erasures or alterations shall not be made for any purpose. Such register or all such registration cards shall be kept in the office of the person renting such rooms. 3-3 Any police officer of the City of Newport Beach may inspect the register or registration cards as long as such inspection complies with federal and state law. Section 2: The recitals provided in this ordinance are true and correct and are incorporated into the substantive portion of this ordinance. Section 3: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this 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 ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this ordinance, and each section, subsection, clause or phrase hereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses and phrases be declared unconstitutional. Section 4: The City Council finds the approval of 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. Alternatively, the City Council finds the approval of this ordinance is not a project under CEQA Regulation Section 15061(b)(3) because it has no potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Section 5: The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage of this ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause this ordinance, or a summary thereof, to be published pursuant to Charter Section 414. This ordinance was introduced at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Newport Beach, held on the _ day of 2015, and adopted on the day of , 2015, by the following vote, to wit: AYES, COUNCILMEMBERS NOES, COUNCILMEMBERS ABSENT COUNCILMEMBERS K 3-4 EDWARD D. SELICH, MAYOR APPROVED AS TO FORM: THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AAO C. HARP, CITY A NEY ATTEST: LEILANI I. BROWN, CITY CLERK 3-5