ORDINANCE NO. 1812
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING SECTION 1.12.010(A)(6) OF THE SAN CLEMENTE MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO PARK RANGER ENFORCEMENT DUTIES AND FINDING THIS ACTION EXEMPT FROM THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA) PUSUANT TO CEQA GUIDELINES SECTIONS 15307, 15308, AND 15321
WHEREAS, California Penal Code Section 836.5 authorizes designated public officers and employees to make arrests and issue citations for violations of statutes or ordinances they have the duty to enforce; and
WHEREAS, Section 1.12.010(A)(6) of the San Clemente Municipal Code designates Park Rangers as public officers authorized to exercise that authority for laws they have the duty to enforce; and
WHEREAS, Park Rangers routinely encounter violations of the California Fish and Game Code and the fish and game administrative regulations in Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations during patrol of City beaches, the pier, and other coastal areas; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that this amendment will improve operational enforcement of observed violations without expanding the investigative authority reserved to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife; and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to amend Section 1.12.010(A)(6) of the San Clemente Municipal Code to expressly assign those enforcement duties.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of San Clemente, California, hereby ordains as follows:
SECTION 1. Incorporation of Recitals. The recitals above are true and correct and are hereby incorporated as findings as if fully set forth herein.
SECTION 2. CEQA. Based on a review of the record as a whole, the City Council finds that this Ordinance is exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Sections 15307, 15308, and 15321. Section 15307, the Class 7 categorical exemption, applies to actions taken by regulatory agencies to assure the maintenance, restoration, or enhancement of natural resources where the regulatory process involves procedures for the protection of the environment. Section 15308, the Class 8 categorical exemption, similarly applies to regulatory actions undertaken to assure the maintenance, restoration, enhancement, or protection of the environment. Section 15321, the Class 21 categorical exemption, applies to actions by regulatory agencies involving the enforcement of existing laws, rules, standards, and objectives.
The Ordinance assigns City Park Rangers the duty to enforce existing provisions of the California Fish and Game Code and the fish and game administrative regulations contained in Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations. The Ordinance is intended to improve enforcement of existing restrictions concerning the unlawful take, possession, size, quantity, season, and methods of take of fish, lobster, and other wildlife. It therefore constitutes an action by a regulatory agency intended to maintain, enhance, and protect fish, wildlife, and other natural resources and to facilitate enforcement of existing environmental laws and regulations. The Ordinance does not authorize construction, physical development, or any relaxation of standards intended to protect natural resources or the environment.
The Ordinance is also exempt under the “common sense” exemption set forth in State CEQA Guidelines Section 15061, subdivision (b)(3), because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that assigning existing City personnel authority to enforce existing fish and game laws and regulations may have a significant adverse effect on the environment. The Ordinance does not approve or authorize any development or physical alteration of the environment, and any reasonably foreseeable environmental effects associated with improved enforcement would be protective or beneficial.
Finally, none of the exceptions to the use of categorical exemptions identified in State CEQA Guidelines Section 15300.2 apply. The Ordinance involves no construction or physical alteration, creates no new development entitlement, and does not relax any environmental protection standard. Accordingly, no further environmental review is required.
SECTION 3. Subsection (A)(6) of Section 1.12.010 of the Code of the City of San Clemente is hereby amended as follows, with additions shown in underlined text, and deletions shown in strike-through text:
6. Park Rangers and employees designated by the City Manager as having the duty to enforce a statute or ordinance, or, notwithstanding any provisions of this Code to the contrary, any provisions of this Code for any violations occurring on public parks, beaches, and other publicallypublicly-accessible City facilities, or parking violations occurring in parking lots servicing public parks, beaches, and other publicallypublicly-accessible City facilities. The officers and employees designated in this subsection shall also have the duty to enforce the California Fish and Game Code and the fish and game administrative regulations in Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to grant any rights or privileges of search, seizure, or inspection conferred by the Fish and Game Code (including, but not limited to, Sections 1006, 2012, and 7702) to employees of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
SECTION 4. The City Clerk shall certify to the passage of this ordinance and cause the same to be published as required by law, and the same shall take effect as provided by law.
SECTION 5. Publication. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this ordinance by the City Council and cause it, or a summary of it, to be published once within 15 days of adoption in a newspaper of general circulation printed and published within the City of San Clemente, and shall post a certified copy of this ordinance, including the vote for and against the same, in the Office of the City Clerk in accordance with California Government Code, Section 36933.
SECTION 6. Records. The documents and materials associated with this ordinance that constitute the record of proceedings on which the City Council’s findings and determinations are based are located at City Hall, 910 Calle Negocio, San Clemente, CA 92673.
SECTION 7. Severability. If any provision of this ordinance or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity has no effect on the other provisions or applications of the ordinance that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this extent, the provisions of this ordinance are severable. The City Council declares that it would have adopted this ordinance irrespective of the invalidity of any portion thereof.
SECTION 8. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall become effective 30 days after its adoption.
APPROVED AND ADOPTED this _____day of _________________, ________.
ATTEST:
_______________________________ ___________________________
City Clerk of the City of Rick Loeffler, Mayor of the City of
San Clemente, California San Clemente, California
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) ss.
CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE )
I, LAURA CAMPAGNOLO, City Clerk of the City of San Clemente, California, hereby certify that Ordinance No. 1812 having been regularly introduced at the meeting of _______________________, was again introduced, the reading in full thereof unanimously waived, and duly passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council held on the _____day of _____________, _______, and said ordinance was adopted by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the City of San Clemente, California, this _____ day of ______________________, ________.
__________________________
CITY CLERK of the City of
San Clemente, California
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
___________________________
Elizabeth A. Mitchell, City Attorney