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Home My Public Portal AboutOrd. 1645ORDINANCE NO. 1645 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LYNWOOD APPROVING AMENDENT OF CHAPTER 25 OF THE LYNWOOD MUNICIPAL CODE IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH ZONING REGULATIONS FOR SENSITIVE LAND USES, INCLUDING SECOND HAND /THRIFT ESTABLISHMENTS, PAWN SHOPS /GOLD BUYING & SELLING ESTABLISHMENTS, BAIL BOND ESTABLISHMENTS AND CHECK CASHING /PAYDAY LOAN ESTABLISHMENTS WHEREAS, at a public hearing held on August 16, 2011, the City Council considered all pertinent testimony offered at the public hearing; and WHEREAS, at a public hearing held on July, 12, 2011, the City's Planning Commission studied this issue and forwarded a recommendation that the City Council approve the proposed Zoning Ordinance Amendment; and WHEREAS, the City of Lynwood ( "City ") has received increased inquiries and applications from entrepreneurs to establish and operate second hand establishments, pawn shops, bail bond establishments, check - cashing /payday loan establishments, and gold buying & selling establishments in the City; and WHEREAS, the Lynwood Zoning Ordinance contains Chapter 25, Appendix A relating to the construction, modification, and placement of such establishments, which was enacted April 4, 2006 and has not been amended; and WHEREAS, while second hand /thrift stores provide the community with previously owned merchandise at a discounted price, the proliferation of such establishments in the City continues the degradation of the City's economic core as indicated in the City's General Plan; and WHEREAS, the City has experienced an increase in unlicensed individuals soliciting the sale of gold from door to door throughout residential neighborhoods in the City, which is a violation of Section 13 -7 of the LMC, a surge in burglaries and robberies attributed to the theft of gold in recent times, an increase in gold buying & selling establishments serving as an outlet for stolen gold property due to the fact that gold buying & selling establishments do not require an individual to provide a form of identification when selling gold or to place the typical (30) day hold on the pawned item; and WHEREAS, due to the close proximity of bail bond establishments to jail facilities and their required hours of operation (oftentimes 24 hours per day), there are public safety concerns related to sighting, security, and safety of bail bond establishment patrons; and WHEREAS, unregulated check - cashing establishments adversely affect the viability of traditional banking institutions and Pay -Day establishments promote predatory lending practices for patrons, leading to costly cycles of debt for residents and the business community; and WHEREAS, on May 3, 2011 the City Council adopted Urgency Ordinance No. 1640, establishing a temporary forty -five (45) day moratorium on the approval of applications to construct, modify, or operate second hand establishments, pawn shops, bail bond establishments, check - cashing /payday loan establishments, and gold buying & selling establishments within the City to protect the public health, safety and welfare and to consider and adopt amended regulations regarding such establishments that are consistent with recent developments in the vicinity; and WHEREAS, Urgency Ordinance No. 1640 expired on June 17, 2011 and was extended by the City Council on June 21, 2011, and WHEREAS, the City finds it necessary to regulate the identified sensitive land uses, which includes second hand /thrift stores, pawn shops, bail bond establishments, check cashing /payday loan establishments and gold buying & selling establishments in order to protect the public safety and welfare as well as to minimize adverse impacts of such uses on the community. NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LYNWOOD, CALIFORNIA, DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. The City Council finds that the above recitals are true and correct and are incorporated herein by this reference. Section 2. The City Council of the City of Lynwood approves the amendment of Section 25 -200 -1 of Chapter 25, Article 200 entitled "Definitions" of the Lynwood Zoning Code to include the definitions of "Pawn Shop," "Gold Buying & Selling Establishments," "Bail Bond Establishment," "Check Cashing," "Pay -Day Loan Establishments" to read as follows: "25- 200 -1: General: BAIL BOND ESTABLISHMENT: Any business or establishment that collects a fee or acts as a surety by pledging money or property as a guarantee for obtaining the release of a criminal defendant and for the appearance of that defendant in court. CHECK CASHING ESTABLISHMENT: Any business or establishment that, for compensation, engages, in whole or in part, in the business of cashing checks, warrants, drafts, money orders, or other commercial paper serving the same purpose, as provided in Civil Code Section 1789.31. A check cashing establishment does not include a state or federally chartered bank, savings association, credit union, or industrial loan company, or a retail seller engaged primarily in the business of selling consumer goods to retail buyers that cashes checks or issues money orders for a fee not exceeding two dollars ($2), as a service to its customers that is incidental to its main purpose. GOLD BUYING & SELLING ESTABLISHMENT: Any business or establishment whose primary business is to purchase precious metals (e.g., gold, platinum, silver) and resell said precious metals for a profit. PAWN SHOP: Any business or establishment wherein a person or entity lends money in exchange for personal property pledged to such person or entity, or deposited with such person or entity as security until redeemed or, if unredeemed within a certain period of time, sold. PAYDAY LOAN ESTABLISHMENT: Any business or establishment that offers, originates, or makes a deferral of a customer's personal check until a specific date, pursuant to a written agreement for a fee or other charge, who arranges for the same, who acts as an agent for the same, or who assists in the same. A payday loan establishment does not include a state or federally chartered bank, savings association, credit union, or industrial loan company, or a retail seller engaged primarily in the business of selling consumer goods to retail buyers that cashes checks or issues money orders for a fee not exceeding two dollars ($2), as a service to its customers that is incidental to its main purpose. Section 3. The City Council approves the amendment of the matrix in Chapter 25 Appendix A entitled "Uses By Zoning District" of the Lynwood Zoning Code is hereby amended to include the land use designations of "Second Hand/ Thrift Stores," "Pawn Shops/ Gold Buying & Selling Establishments," "Bail Bond Establishments," "Check Cashing/ Pay -Day Loan Establishments" to read as follows: "Land Use R R R PR P C C C PC C M HM P O SP CCO - - - D - - - - D B- ID F S A A 1 2 3 1 2 2 3 1 A Bail Bond C Establishm ent Check C Cashing/ Pay -Day Establishm ent Pawn C C Shop/ Gold Buying & Selling Establishm ent Second C Hand/ Thrift Stores * A Bail Bond establishment must maintain a 500 foot distance from a school, park and residential area. * Second Hand/ Thrift stores must maintain a 500 foot distance from one second hand/ thrift store to the next. * A Check Cashing/ Payday Loan establishment must maintain a 500 foot distance from a school, park, and residential area. * Existing Check Cashing/ Payday Loan establishments, which are in operation as of the date of the adoption of this ordinance and which have a City issued Business License are permitted to relocate and be excluded from the 500 foot distance requirement from one second hand/ thrift store to the next, considering that there is no net increase in operations. Section 4. If any section, subsection, clause or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason, held to be unconstitutional, or otherwise invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining sections of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby finds that it would have passed this Ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause and phrase thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared unconstitutional or invalid. Section 5. This Ordinance is exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that such adoption may have a significant effect on the environment and because such adoption will not cause any direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change to the environment. (Title 14 California Code of Regulations Sections 15060(c)(2), 15601(b)(3), and 15262.) First read at a regular meeting of the City Council held on the 16th day of August, 2011 and adopted and ordered published at a regular meeting of said Council held on the 6th day of September, 2011. PASSED, APPROVED, and ADOPTED this 6th day of September, 2011. ATTEST: Izo, '00000 00 APPROVED AS TO FORM: Fred Galante, City Attorney L Cd/ Aide Castro, Mayor Mir APPROVED AS TO CONTENT: J9 athan Colin, Director velopment Services 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 6t" day of September, 2011. AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS FLORES, RODRIGUEZ, SANTILLAN, MORTON AND CASTRO NOES: NONE ABSTAIN: NONE ABSENT: NONE Maria 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. 1645 in my office and that said Ordinance was adopted on the date and by the vote therein stated. Dated this 6t" day of September, 2011. r , Maria Quinonez, (fity Clerk