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Home My WebLink About03-31-2015 C10 UpdegroveCOUNCIL MEETING: 1 ITEM NO.: CID M A 1 3 Lomeli, Monique Subject: FW: 3 -31 -15 Council Agenda - Item C10 - Odor Ordinance Attachments: SLO Odor Ordinance.pdf From: Graham Updegrove [mailto:graham@slohomehelo.com] Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2015 2:18 PM To: Marx, Jan; Ashbaugh, John; Christianson, Carlyn; Rivoire, Dan; Carpenter, Dan Cc: Mejia, Anthony Subject: 3 -31 -15 Council Agenda - Item C10 - Odor Ordinance Mayor Marx and SLO City Council, As a citizen of San Luis Obispo, I ask that you DO NOT adopt proposed amendments adding an Odor Nuisance to the Municipal Code at this evenings Council Meeting and instead direct staff to revise the amendment. I could point out the amendment, as drafted is over - reaching, subjective, unreasonable and unlikely to be enforced, but instead will make recommendations and ask specific questions. 1. This ordinance appears to be a result of complaints against medical marijuana odors. I recommend limiting amendments to Municipal Code to deal with this issue only. If there is a high instance of other odor complaints, the public needs knowledge and transparency — what other odors have caused complaints? The result of medical marijuana odors has unnecessarily expanded to any odor offensive to individuals of normal sensitivity. 2. How will businesses with offensive odors be regulated? Essentially any restaurant could be deemed "unlawful and a public nuisance" if three people don't like the smells coming from the restaurant in any given month. This is not limited to restaurants; San Luis Sourdough, the tallow factory on Prado, automotive shops, and many other businesses could potentially be cited or fined every day. Will temporary construction sites be cited? Gas stations? 3. The amendments are ambiguous and unjust— an odor is deemed offensive if three verified complaints are received yet the city can take enforcement action at any given time. [8.22.020.B] "Nothing in this section shall be deemed to require three complaints before the city may initiate enforcement action ". I understand this to mean that the city can initiate enforcement action at any given time, even without a complaint being received. Who makes the determination of whether the city will wait for 3 complaints? If you are going to create standards, make the standards black and white; they were either violated or they weren't. 4. In many cases, multiple tenants or owners share one property line or parcel. How will this affect various tenants in an apartment building which is on one parcel of land? The same goes for multiple commercial tenants in one building or a mix of residential and commercial tenants in a mixed use property. This segment of the population will be affected differently than R1 zoned residents. 5. 1 am a believer that government, whether federal or local, is in place to provide for the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness for its citizens. By adopting this amendment, you are deciding to potentially limit my enjoyment of life, my liberties and my happiness as well as those of many other residents of San Luis. To my knowledge, you are basing your decision to amend Municipal Code based on a handful of complaints against two residences with medical marijuana odors. The complaint process for which you are advocating will create more animosity amongst neighbors and does NOT promote a sense of community. The reasonable approach is to direct staff to revise the amendment again to focus on the primary culprit which you feel needs to be regulated — medical marijuana. Leave everything else as is. Thank you. Regards, Graham Updegrove Council Agenda Report ��-- Meeting pate: MaT. 31, 2015 Item Numbor; CIO i� FROM: Derek Johnson, Community Development Director Prepared By: Greg Hermann, Special Projects Manager SUBJECT: ADOPTION OF AN ORDINANCE TO ADD AN ODOR NUISANCE PROVISION TO THE MUNICIPAL CODE RECOMMENDATION Adopt Ordinance No. 1614 (2015 Series) adding Chapter 8.22 of the San Luis Obispo Municipal Code regarding offensive odors (Attachment 1). DISCUSSION On March 17, 2015, the Council voted 3:2 (Council Members Carpenter and Rivoire voting no) to introduce Ordinance No. 1614 adding Chapter 8.22 of the San Luis Obispo Municipal Code to regulate persistent odors that are offensive to individuals of normal sensitivity, and that emanate across any parcel or property line in a manner that adversely impacts or unreasonably interferes with the use and enjoyment of property. The ordinance reflects the amendments made prior to introduction and is now ready for adoption. The amendment will become effective 30 days after final passage of the Ordinance. ALTERNATIVES 1. The Council could reject adoption of the Municipal Code amendments. This is not recommended because the Council previously took action to approve policy language for odor nuisances, and previously voted to introduce the Ordinance. 2. The Council could continue final adoption of the proposed amendments and provide direction to staff for research and revisions, which would require re- introduction of the ordinance. ATTACHMENTS 1. Ordinance No. 1614 (2015 Series) 1°:'C' 1, uiicilAg i'l';S;;ti,7n)aaY21E.a!iI ?1 {15••- 1h8a—nndKending- odrrrNdui (Jahtreitt -Tlcmt )li} t1R -S4c pdRradie� ,ChiOr(htttietu�e.lfpcac 14INE Attachment 1 ORDINANCE NO. (2015 Series) ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO ADDING CHAPTER 8.22 TO THE SAN LUIS OBISPO MUNICIPAL CODE REGARDING OFFENSIVE ODORS WHEREAS, through its police powers, the City of San Luis Obispo ( "City") is authorized to enact laws to protect the health, safety and welfare of the community; WHEREAS, over the years, the City has received various complaints regarding the presence of offensive odors emanating from private property; WHEREAS, the most recent complaints received by the City relate to offensive odors due to the outdoor cultivation of medical marijuana; WHEREAS, the City Council finds that such odors have the potential to unreasonably interfere with the use and enjoyment of property within the City and otherwise affect the health, safety and welfare of the community; and WHEREAS, by this ordinance, the City Council desires to protect the health, safety and welfare of the community by prohibiting any person or entity within the city from allowing any odors which are offensive to people of normal sensitivity to emanate across property lines. NOW, THERFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Council of the City of San Luis Obispo as follows: SECTION 1: The City Council hereby adopts the foregoing recitals as its findings in support of the following regulations and further finds that the following regulations are necessary and appropriate to protect the health, safety and welfare of the residents and businesses of San Luis Obispo. SECTION 2: Chapter 8.22, entitled Offensive Odors, is hereby added to Title 8 of the San Luis Obispo Municipal Code as follows: Chapter 8.22 OFFENSIVE ODORS 8.22.010 Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to define and establish standards for the regulation of persistent odors within the city. The intent of these standards is to ensure that odors emanating from sources or locations within the city do not adversely impact or unreasonably interfere with the use and enjoyment of property. 8.22.020 Prohibited activities declared a public nuisance. A. It is hereby declared to be unlawful and a public nuisance to cause or permit any persistent odors, which are offensive to individuals of normal sensitivity and which adversely impact or unreasonably interfere with the use and enjoyment of property, to emanate across any parcel or property line. B. An odor shall be presumed offensive to individuals of normal sensitivity if the city receives three or more verified complaints of a persistent odor emanating across a property line from C10-2 Attachment 1 individuals representing separate residences or places of business within the city within a one month time span concerning an odor emanating from a single source. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to require three complaints before the city may initiate enforcement action. C. Nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to prohibit the normal operations of any governmental agency or municipal facility operating pursuant to otherwise applicable law or regulatory permit. 8.22.030 Continuing violations. Each day a violation is allowed to continue in violation of this chapter shall constitute a new and separate offense. 8.22.040 Severability. If any part or subsection of this chapter is for any reason held to be invalid, unlawful, or unconstitutional, such invalidity, unlawfulness, or unconstitutionality shall not affect the validity, lawfulness, or constitutionality of any other part of this chapter. SECTION 3. Environmental Determination. This ordinance is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15060(c)(2) — the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment and Section 15060(c)(3) the activity is not a project as deemed in Section 15378 of the CEQA Guidelines, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly. SECTION 4. Effective Dates. A summary of this ordinance, together with the names of Council members voting for and against, shall be published at least five (5) days prior to its final passage, in The Tribune, a newspaper published and circulated in this City. This ordinance shall go into effect at the expiration of thirty (30) days after its final passage. INTRODUCED on the 17th day of March 2015, AND FINALLY ADOPTED by the Council of the City of San Luis Obispo on the day of March 2015, on the following vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: Mayor Jan Marx ATTEST: Anthony Mej is City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: J. Christine Dietrick City Attorney C10-3