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Home My WebLink About15 - Proclaiming the Termination of the Local Emergency Declared on March 15, 2020Q �EwPpRT CITY OF O � z NEWPORT BEACH <,FORN'P City Council Staff Report June 22, 2021 Agenda Item No. 15 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: Grace K. Leung, City Manager - 949-644-3001, gleung@newportbeachca.gov PREPARED BY: Tara Finnigan, Deputy City Manager, tfinnigan@newportbeachca.gov PHONE: 949-644-3035 TITLE: Resolution No. 2021-62: Proclaiming the Termination of the Local Emergency Declared on March 15, 2020 ABSTRACT - At its June 8, 2021 meeting, the City Council supported, via a straw poll, staff bringing forward an item for the Council's consideration that would terminate the local emergency declared by City Manager Grace Leung on March 15, 2020, and ratified by the City Council on March 18, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Resolution No. 2021-62, if adopted, would terminate the local emergency effective June 22, 2021. RECOMMENDATION: a) Determine this action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) and 15060(c)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines because this action will not result in a physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly; and b) Adopt Resolution No. 2021-62, A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Newport Beach, California, Proclaiming the Termination of the Local Emergency Declared on March 15, 2020. DISCUSSION: Background On March 4, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a State of Emergency as part of the State of California's (State's) response to the then developing COVID-19 crisis. The action was intended to help preserve available medical resources and prevent the catastrophic failure of the hospital system due to an anticipated surge in COVID-19 cases. Later that month, on March 15, Newport Beach City Manager Grace Leung, acting in her capacity as the City of Newport Beach's (City's) director of emergency services, issued a Proclamation of Local Emergency in response to guidance from the State about controlling the spread of the coronavirus. The action also enabled the City to access federal and state resources and recoup some of the City funds spent responding to the pandemic. 15-1 Resolution No. 2021- 62: Proclaiming the Termination of the Local Emergency Declared on March 15, 2020 June 22, 2021 Page 2 The Newport Beach City Council ratified the Proclamation of Local Emergency by adopting Resolution No. 2020-25 on March 18, 2020. The Council's action also authorized the City's director of emergency services to take certain actions to protect the health and safety of the community and stated that the local emergency would remain in effect until it is terminated by proclamation of the City Council. Proposed Termination of Local Emergency In early April of this year, Governor Newsom announced the State's intention to move beyond its Blueprint for a Safer Economy and fully reopen the California economy on June 15, provided that: there is sufficient vaccine supply for all Californians aged 16 years and older, who desire to be immunized; and the State's hospitalization rate remains stable and low. As of June 15, 2021, those conditions have been met and all sectors, except mega events, which are defined as having 5,000 indoor or 10,000 outdoor attendees, have been permitted to return to normal business operations, with no capacity limits or social distancing required. At the June 8, 2021 City Council meeting, Council Member Will O'Neill inquired about the process and timing for lifting the City's local emergency, particularly in light of the City's planned Fourth of July activities. He then asked the City Manager to place a discussion item for terminating the local emergency on this Council agenda. A straw poll of the Council that evening indicated its unanimous support for having such a discussion. Staff has prepared Resolution No. 2021-62, which, if adopted, would terminate the local emergency declared on March 15, 2020, effective June 22, 2021. This action would also repeal all related emergency ordinances and orders, including those related to outdoor dining, short-term lodging permits, and the emergency duties and powers afforded the City Manager, in her capacity as director of emergency services, set forth in Resolution No. 2020-25, emergency ordinances, and Newport Beach Municipal Code Section 2.20.070. It should be noted that the City Council has already taken action to extend the outdoor dining permits. On June 8, the Council adopted Resolution No. 2021-58, which automatically extended the emergency temporary use permits for outdoor dining until September 6, 2021, and provided permit holders who wish to continue their permitted outdoor uses the option to apply for a limited -term permit. The termination of the local emergency will, however, repeal Emergency Ordinance No. 2020-004, which placed a moratorium on the issuance of new short-term lodging permits and set a minimum number of consecutive nights that a unit could be rented. The proposed action will not affect the Council's recent, non -emergency actions regarding short-term lodging permits, some of which are now pending before the California Coastal Commission. Except as provided above, the community would notice no other changes if the local emergency is terminated because the City's beaches, parks, trails and playgrounds have been fully reopened for months, and all capacity limits at other City facilities, such as the libraries, were lifted on June 15. 15-2 Resolution No. 2021- 62: Proclaiming the Termination of the Local Emergency Declared on March 15, 2020 June 22, 2021 Page 3 FISCAL IMPACT: There is no immediate fiscal impact related to the adoption of Resolution No. 2021-62. However, it remains unclear if the termination of the local emergency will in any way limit the City's access to additional funds from federal or state resources or reimbursements related to the pandemic. 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). ATTACHMENT: Attachment A — Resolution No. 2021-62 15-3 ATTACHMENT A RESOLUTION NO. 2021- 62 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA, PROCLAIMING THE TERMINATION OF THE LOCAL EMERGENCY DECLARED ON MARCH 15, 2020 WHEREAS, as part of the State of California's response to address the global COVID-19 outbreak, on March 4, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a State of Emergency in which he identified concerns that "the number of persons requiring medical care may exceed locally available resources," "local authority is inadequate to cope with the threat posed by COVID-19," and that "conditions of Government Code section 8558(b), relating to the declaration of a State of Emergency, have been met," among other findings ("State of Emergency"); WHEREAS, on March 15, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 crisis, Newport Beach City Manager Grace Leung, who is the Director of Emergency Services ("Director of Emergency Services") for the City of Newport Beach ("City"), issued a Proclamation of Local Emergency that referenced the Governor's declared State of Emergency and stated that "the safety of persons within the territorial limits of the City of Newport Beach is in extreme peril based on the existence or threatened existence of COVID-19, within and/or around the City of Newport Beach" and further proclaimed that "no person shall enter, be within, or remain within, any building or area within the City of Newport Beach after receiving a written or oral order to either not enter or to leave such building or area from a peace officer," violation of which shall be a misdemeanor; WHEREAS, on March 18, 2020, the Newport Beach City Council ratified the Proclamation of Local Emergency by adopting Resolution No. 2020-25, which identified "conditions of extreme peril to the existence or threatened existence of COVID-19, within and/or around the City of Newport Beach," found that "the aforesaid conditions of extreme peril did warrant and necessitate the issuance" of the Proclamation of Local Emergency, authorized the Director of Emergency Services to take certain actions to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public, and stated that the local emergency shall be deemed to continue to exist throughout the City of Newport Beach and the Order and Regulation shall remain in effect until the local emergency is terminated by proclamation of the City Council of the City of Newport Beach; WHEREAS, the original intent of the State of Emergency was to prevent catastrophic failure of the hospital system due to an anticipated surge in COVID-19 cases, described in the declared State of Emergency as a concern that "the number of persons requiring medical care may exceed locally available resources"; WHEREAS, the County of Orange has been in the least restrictive yellow tier for over four weeks, the State of California has one of lowest COVID-19 case rates of any state and hospitalizations related to COVID-19, as of June 9, 2021, are near record lows 15-4 Resolution No. 2021 - Page 2 of 2 with only 50 people out of 3.2 million residents being identified as hospitalized with COVID-19; WHEREAS, over 85% of people aged 65+ in Orange County have had at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine; WHEREAS, the cumulative COVID-19 case rate in Newport Beach is lower than all but seven Orange County cities; WHEREAS, the City plans to host multiple parades on the Fourth of July, which is a prompt for the City Council to assess what precautions, if any, are needed to protect the public from COVID-19 and to analyze whether the conditions of "extreme peril" due to a contagious disease still exist; and WHEREAS, the City Council has exercised due diligence and has determined that the conditions of extreme peril presented by the spread of COVID-19 have been abated to such a degree as to warrant the termination of the local emergency. NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Newport Beach does hereby resolve as follows: Section 1: The City Council hereby proclaims that the local emergency that was declared on March 15, 2020, by the Director of Emergency Services, which was ratified by the City Council on March 18, 2020 via Resolution No. 2020-25, is hereby terminated. Section 2: The recitals provided in this resolution are true and correct and are incorporated into the operative part of this resolution. Section 3: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this resolution 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 resolution. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this resolution, and each section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase hereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid or unconstitutional. Section 4: The City Council finds the adoption of this resolution 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, Division 6, Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly. 15-5 Resolution No. 2021 - Page 3 of 2 Section 5: This resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption by the City Council, and the City Clerk shall certify the vote adopting the resolution. ADOPTED this 22nd day of June, 2021. Brad Avery Mayor ATTEST: Leilani L Brown City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE Aaron C. Harp City Attorney 15-6