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HomeMy Public PortalAboutOrd. 1641ORDINANCE NO. 1641 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LYNWOOD AMENDING CHAPTER 13 -7 OF THE LYNWOOD MUNICIPAL CODE REGLATING VENDING, PEDDLING, SELLING AND /OR SOLICITING ON PUBLIC STREETS, SIDEWALKS, PARKS, PARKWAYS, MEDIANS, LANDS, OR PROPERTIES UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE CITY WHEREAS, pursuant to California Business & Professional Code Section 16000, the City of Lynwood ( "City ") enacted an ordinance requiring all operators of commercial vehicles vending, peddling, selling, or soliciting any merchandise, goods, or services on public property within the City's jurisdiction to obtain a business license and to pay an annual license fee prior to operation under Lynwood Municipal Code Chapter 13 -7; and WHEREAS, pursuant to California Vehicle Code Section 22455, the City enacted an ordinance regulating the type of vending, and the time, place, and manner of vending, peddling, selling, or soliciting from vehicles upon any public street within the City under Lynwood Municipal Code Chapter 13 -7 but has no effective penalty provisions for violation of said regulations; and WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Lynwood ( "City Council ") finds that the primary purpose of public streets and sidewalks is for general public vehicular and pedestrian use, and that commercial activities on said public streets and sidewalks can cause a safety hazard and otherwise interfere with this purpose; and WHEREAS, in recent years, the City has experienced an increase in the presence of unlicensed commercial vehicle vendors, specifically ice cream truck vendors, illegally operating within the City's limits; and WHEREAS, California Government Code Section 53069.4 authorizes a city to make violation of any ordinance subject to an administrative fine or penalty and to set forth procedures to govern the imposition, enforcement, collection, and review of said fines and penalties; and WHEREAS, the City Council finds it necessary to regulate unlicensed commercial vehicle vendors on public streets and sidewalks to protect the public safety and welfare. NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LYNWOOD DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Chapter 13 -7 of the Lynwood Municipal Code is hereby amended by deleting the existing Chapter and adding the following, in its entirety: 'VENDING, PEDDLING, SELLING AND /OR SOLICITING ON PUBLIC STREETS, SIDEWALKS, PARKS, PARKWAYS, MEDIANS, LANDS, PROPERTIES OR OTHER LANDS OR PROPERTIES UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE CITY 13 -7.1 Findings. The city council finds and determines that its public lands (which include streets, sidewalks, parks, parkways, medians, and any lands or properties under its control) are to be used only for public purposes. The use of these areas is public and there is no vested right to conduct commercial business upon those public lands or properties. 13 -7.2 Vending, Peddling, Selling And /Or Soliciting On Public Lands, Rights Of Way Or Property; Regulated Or Prohibited. a. Prohibition. No person shall vend, peddle, sell or solicit any merchandise, goods or services on a public street, sidewalk, park, parkway, median, land, real property or any other land or property under the control of the city, except as provided in subsections 13- 7.2(b) and 13- 7.2(c). b. Commercial Vehicles. The operator of any commercial vehicle shall not vend, peddle, sell or solicit any merchandise, goods, or services on a public street under the control of the city without conforming to all of the following: 1. The vehicle owner or operator first shall have obtained a business license from the Business License Division and shall have paid any required permit fee. 2. The vehicle operator and any assistant thereto shall conduct such commercial activities only between the hours of 9:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. during standard time. Beginning with the annual observance of daylight savings time until the annual observance of the Labor Day holiday, licensed ice cream truck vendors may operate between the hours of 9:00 A.M. and 8:00 P.M. with the approval of a Special Permit through the Development Services Department. 3. The vehicle operator shall first bring the vehicle to a complete stop, and shall have lawfully parked the vehicle adjacent to the street curb. 4. The vehicle operator shall not park the vehicle within five hundred feet (500') of a public school or park or within two hundred fifty feet (250') of another vehicle engaged in vending, peddling, selling, or soliciting. 5. The vehicle owner or operator shall have obtained for each vehicle owned or operated thereby a comprehensive liability insurance policy which shall protect the owner, the operator and the city (as an additional insured) under the policy with types and amounts of coverage as follows: Bodily injury and property damage liability insurance, five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000.00) for each person and two million dollars ($2,000,000.00) in the aggregate; personal injury liability, one million dollars ($1,000,000.00) each occurrence; workers' compensation and employer's liability, one million dollars ($1,000,000.00) each accident. The owner or operator of the vehicle shall furnish a certificate of insurance countersigned by an authorized agent of the insurance carrier on a form of the insurance carrier setting forth the general provisions of the insurance coverage. This countersigned certificate shall name the city as an additional insured under the policy, and shall contain a statement of obligation on the part of the insurance carrier to notify the Business License Division by certified mail, return receipt requested, of any material change, cancellation or termination of such insurance. The required certificate shall be furnished by the owner or operator of the vehicle to the Business License Division as a condition precedent to the Business License Division issuing a business license for such vending, peddling, selling or soliciting and a copy thereof shall be carried at all times in the vehicle. 6. Every vehicle owner and operator shall consent to a background investigation by the city's law enforcement personnel. 7. Every vehicle owner or operator involved in the sale or provision of food products of any kind within the city shall obtain and openly display a health certificate from the Los Angeles County department of health on each vehicle operated within the city for such purpose. 8. Business Licensing of mobile Ice Cream Vendors is limited to fourteen (14) licenses. C. Exemptions. Except as provided in subsection 13- 7.2(b) of this section, no person shall vend, peddle, sell and /or solicit any merchandise, goods or services on any publicly controlled lands, rights of way or property controlled by the city, except- 1 . When the activity occurs at events as determined by the city council to be special events and the city specifically approves the conducting of such activity at such special event by such person. 2. When the activity involves the selling of books, newspapers, periodicals, magazines and other constitutionally protected forms of free speech. d. Grounds For Revocation. 1. In the event that the holder of any permit issued pursuant to this Section is convicted in any court of competent jurisdiction for violating any of the provisions of this Section, the permit shall be revoked by the City Manager upon the filing of the record of such conviction with the city clerk, and no permit shall thereafter be issued to that person or firm until six (6) months have elapsed from the date of the revocation. 2. In the event that the holder of any permit issued pursuant to this section is convicted in any court of competent jurisdiction for violating any of the provisions of this Chapter after being reissued a permit within a twelve (12) month period and after being convicted for a first time offense of said Chapter within a twelve (12) month period, the City Manager shall permanently revoke said permit and immediately thereafter notify city council of said action(s) /violation(s). No permit pursuant to this section shall thereafter be reissued to the person, firm, business or company. 13 -7.3 Violation; Penalty. a. Violation. It is unlawful for any person or entity to vend, peddle, sell and /or solicit any merchandise, goods or services on any publicly controlled lands, rights of way or property controlled by the city except as provided in sections 13- 7.2(b) and 13- 7.2(c). Any person violating this section is guilty of a misdemeanor unless the offense is charged as an infraction. Whenever the Director of Development Services Department, or his or her designee, determines that a violation of this section has occurred, any combination of administrative, civil, and criminal penalties allowed under this Code may be imposed. b. Issuance of Administrative Fines. Whenever the Director of Development Services Department, or his or her designee, determines that a provision of this Chapter has been violated, the Director of Development Services Department, or his or her designee, is authorized to pursue administrative fines pursuant to this Section. A fine shall be assessed by means of an administrative citation issued by a code enforcement officer and shall be payable directly to the City of Lynwood. The citation shall state all of the following information: 1. Date, approximate time, vehicle information, and address or detailed description of the location where the violation(s) occurred; 2. An amount of the administrative fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) and explanation of how the fine shall be paid and the time period by which it shall be paid; 3. The code sections or conditions violated and a description of the violation(s); 4. An order to the responsible person to correct the violations within the time specified in this chapter, if applicable, and an explanation of the consequences of failure to correct the violation(s); 5. An order prohibiting the continuation or repeated occurrence of the violation described in the administrative citation; 6. A notification that payment of the fine does not excuse or discharge the failure to correct the violation and does not bar further enforcement action by the City; 7. A statement that if the fine is not timely paid, a late payment penalty of twenty five percent (25 %) of the amount of the fine will be added to the fine; 8. Identification of rights of appeal pursuant to Chapter 20 of this Code, including the time within which the citation may be contested and the place to obtain a request for hearing form to contest the administrative citation; and 9. The name and signature of the enforcement officer, the name and address of the responsible person, and, if possible, the signature of the responsible person. Administrative fines imposed for violations of this Section shall be consistent with Chapter 20 of this Code. To the extent the provisions of this Section conflict with Chapter 20 of this Code, the provisions of this Chapter shall prevail. The penalties and methods of enforcement set forth in this Section are in addition to any other penalties or methods of enforcement authorized by law. Appeals of any administrative fines shall be made pursuant to Chapter 20 of this Code. Failure of the person or entity cited to follow the procedures set forth in Chapter 20 shall constitute a failure to exhaust administrative remedies and shall preclude the person or entity cited from asserting standing for judicial review of the validity of the citation. Any person aggrieved by the action of a hearing officer taken pursuant to Chapter 20 may obtain review of the administrative decision by filing a petition for review in accordance with the timelines and provisions set forth in California Government Code Section 53069.4. C. Failure to Cease Vending, Peddling, Selling And /Or Soliciting Activities Subject to Impoundment. Any person found to be vending, peddling, selling and /or soliciting any merchandise, goods or services in violation of this Chapter and refusing to cease such activities when directed to do so by the Director of Development Services Department, or his or her designee, or a police officer shall be subject to the confiscation and /or impoundment of the vehicle, pushcart, and all merchandise, goods or services offered for sale by a police officer. This subsection (c) does not authorize the impoundment of any vehicle owned or operated by a nonprofit organization exempt from taxation pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code which serves youth or senior citizens and provides transportation incidental to its programs or services. 1. Notice. If the person from whom the vehicle, pushcart, and all merchandise, goods or services is seized is not the registered owner of the vehicle, the impounding authority shall immediately give notice to the legal and registered owners by certified first class mail, return receipt requested. 2. Return of the Vehicle. The vehicle shall be returned to the registered owner of the vehicle upon one of the following conditions: A. Payment of any fine owed to the City; or B. The violation is not prosecuted or is dismissed, the person is found not guilty of the offense, or it is found that the vehicle was used without the knowledge and consent of the registered owner of the vehicle. If the vehicle is returned pursuant to this subsection (A), the vehicle shall be returned without any cost to the owner. 3. Motion to Court for Return of Vehicle. At any time, a person may move the court for the immediate return of the vehicle on the ground that there was no probable cause to seize and impound said vehicle, or that there is some other good cause, as determined by the court, for the return of the vehicle. A proceeding under this subsection (3) is a proceeding in a limited civil case. 4. Unclaimed Vehicle. If, after the expiration of six weeks from the final disposition of the criminal case, the vehicle is not returned or claimed, the City shall deem the vehicle as lost or abandoned property under Section 1411 of the Penal Code." Section 2. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrase, or portions of this ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have adopted this ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions be declared invalid or unconstitutional. Section 3. This ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) days after its final passage. Section 4. The City Clerk of the City of Lynwood is hereby directed to certify to the passage and adoption of this Ordinance and to cause it to be published as required by law. First read at a regular meeting of the City Council held on the 7th day of June, 2011 and adopted and ordered published at a regular meeting of said Council held on the 21St day of June, 2011. s Aide Castro, Mayor ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM: Fred Galante, City Attorney STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) I, the undersigned, City Clerk of the City of Lynwood, do hereby certify that the above and foregoing Ordinance was duly adopted by the City Council of the City of Lynwood at its regular meeting held on the 21St day of June, 2011. AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS FLORES, RODRIGUEZ, SANTILLAN, MORTON AND CASTRO NOES: NONE ABSTAIN: NONE ABSENT: NONE aria Quinonez, City Clerk STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) I, the undersigned, City Clerk of the City of Lynwood, and Clerk of the City Council of said City, do hereby certify that the above and foregoing is a full, true and correct copy of Ordinance No. 1641 in my office and that said Ordinance was adopted on the date and by the vote therein stated. Dated this 21St day of June, 2011.