Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout24738RESOLUTION NO. 24738 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA, RATIFYING THE CITY MANAGER/DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY SERVICES' DECLARATION OF THE EXISTENCE OF A LOCAL EMERGENCY RELATED TO THE INCREASING SPREAD OF NOVEL CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) PURSUANT TO PALM SPRINGS MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION 2.20.020, AND CITY CHARTER SECTION 300; AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER/DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY SERVICES TO ISSUE ORDERS AND IMPLEMENT SUCH MEASURES AS NECESSARY TO IMMEDIATELY AND EXPEDITIOUSLY ADDRESS THE LOCAL PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY. THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. THE CITY COUNCIL FINDS AND DECLARES AS FOLLOWS: A. Chapter 2.20 "Disaster Council" of the Palm Springs Municipal Code ("PSMC") was established to provide for the preparation and carrying out of plans for the protection of persons and property within the City of Palm Springs in the event of an emergency; the direction of the emergency organization; and the coordination of the emergency functions of the City of Palm Springs with all other public agencies, corporations, organizations, and affected private persons. B. Section 2.20.020 "Emergency defined" of the PSMC defines an "emergency" as the actual or threatened existence of conditions of disaster or of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within this city caused by such conditions as air pollution, fire, flood, storm, epidemic, riot or earthquake, or other conditions, including without limitation conditions resulting from war or imminent threat of war, but other than conditions resulting from a labor controversy, which conditions are or are likely to be beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment and facilities of this city, requiring the combined forces of other political subdivisions to combat. C. Section 2.20.050 "Director and coordinator of emergency services" of the PSMC empowers the City Manager or his designee to request the City Council to proclaim the existence of a "local emergency" if the City Council is in session, or to issue such proclamation if the emergency is proclaimed by the director of emergency services; request the Governor to proclaim a "State of Emergency" when, in the opinion of the director, the locally available resources are inadequate to cope with the emergency; control and direct the effort of the emergency organization of the City of Palm Springs; and to execute all of his ordinary power as City Manager, all of the special powers conferred upon him by the PSMC, or by resolution or emergency plan adopted by the Resolution No. 24738 Page 2 City Council, all powers conferred upon him by any statute, by any agreement approved by the City Council, and by any other lawful authority. D. The novel coronavirus ("COVID-19" or "the virus") is a severe acute respiratory illness that may result in serious illness or death and is easily transmissible from person to person. E. The United States, the State of California, Riverside County, and the City of Rancho Mirage have confirmed cases of individuals who have COVID-19, first detected in Wuhan, Hubei Province, People's Republic of China ("China"). The virus was first reported in China on December 31, 2019. As of 3:00 PM, March 16, 2020, the World Health Organization ("WHO") has reported 168,019 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across 148 countries resulting in 6,610 deaths. F. WHO officials now report that sustained human -to -human transmission of the virus is occurring. Transmission from asymptomatic individuals are occurring. Although the majority of individuals infected with COVID-19 may recover without special treatment, serious illness is documented in approximately 16% of all cases. Older people and people of all ages with severe underlying health conditions, like heart disease, lung disease and diabetes, as examples, are at higher risk of developing serious COVID- 19 illness. G. On January 30, 2020, WHO declared the COVID-19 outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, and on January 31, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared a Public Health Emergency for the United States. H. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ("CDC") has determined that COVID- 19 presents a serious public health threat, requiring coordination among state and local health departments to ensure readiness for potential health threats associated with the virus. On March 4, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom declared a State of Emergency due to the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the State of California, and has waived the 60-day time period in Government Code section 8630, within which a local governing authority must renew a local emergency, for the duration of the statewide emergency, and has ordered that any such local emergency will remain in effect until each local governing authority terminates its respective local emergency. J. On March 10, 2020, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors ratified the County Public Health Officer's declaration of a local health emergency as a result of the County's first locally acquired case of COVID-19. K. On March 11, 2020, WHO declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, stating: "WHO has been assessing this outbreak around the clock and we are deeply concerned both by Resolution No. 24738 Page 3 the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction. We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic. Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly. It is a word that, if misused, can cause unreasonable fear, or unjustified acceptance that the fight is over, leading to unnecessary suffering and death. Describing the situation as a pandemic does not change WHO's assessment of the threat posed by this virus. It doesn't change what WHO is doing, and it doesn't change what countries should do. We have never before seen a pandemic sparked by a coronavirus. This is the first pandemic caused by a coronavirus. And we have never before seen a pandemic that can be controlled, at the same time." L. In accordance with Palm Springs Municipal Code Section 2.20.050(a)(1), on March 14, 2020, the City Manager acting as the Director of Emergency Services, issued a "Declaration of the Existence of a Local Emergency," relating to the spread of COVID-19. M. On March 16, 2020, the County of Riverside announced the death of two residents of the Coachella Valley resulting from COVID-19. N. On March 16, 2020, the Riverside County Health Officer issued an order generally prohibiting all gatherings within the County with an expected presence of ten (10) individuals, taking place between March 16, 2020 and April 30, 2020. O. COVID-19 has and will continue to cause conditions of peril to the health, safety, and welfare of persons and property that are beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of the City of Palm Springs. P. Preparing for, responding to, mitigating, and recovering from the spread of COVID-19 requires the City to divert resources from normal day-to-day operations, requires the City to modify its normal daily operations in ways to prevent the continuous spread of COVID-19, and has and will continue to impose extraordinary requirements on and expenses to the City. Q. The City Council hereby finds that the conditions described in the foregoing recitals related to COVID-19 warrant and necessitate the proclamation and declaration of a "Local Emergency" in the City of Palm Springs. SECTION 2. Pursuant to and in response of the conditions identified in Section 1 of this Resolution, the City Council hereby ratifies and confirms the Declaration of the Existence of a Local Emergency relating to the spread of COVID-19 in the City of Palm Springs, as issued by the City Manager/Director of Emergency Services, attached as Exhibit A to this Resolution. SECTION 3. During the existence of this Local Emergency, all City officials and employees shall cooperate and coordinate efforts with officials and employees of other Resolution No. 24738 Page 4 political subdivisions and officials and employees of the County, state, and federal government in bringing the present condition of the Local Emergency under control. SECTION 4. For the duration of the Local Emergency, until such time as the spread of COVID-19 has been minimized and protective measures are no longer necessary in Palm Springs or the greater Coachella Valley as may be determined by the any state agency having jurisdiction and/or by the Riverside County Public Health Officer, the City Manager/Director of Emergency Services shall take all steps necessary to protect public health, safety and welfare. SECTION 5. The City Council hereby ratifies the Emergency Order issued by the City Manager on March 17, 2020, that was effective 7 A.M., March 18, 2020, for all individuals living in the City of Palm Springs to shelter at their place of residence excluding activities necessary to provide or receive certain essential services or engage in certain essential activities and work for essential business and government services, attached as Exhibit B to this Resolution. The City Council ratifies the implementation of the Emergency Order through 11:59 P.M., on April 2, 2020, unless further extended by action taken by the City Council on April 2, 2020, or unless superseded and automatically extended by emergency orders issued by any state or other governmental agency having jurisdiction. SECTION 6. The City Manager/Director of Emergency Services is authorized to carry out the intent of this Resolution, and the City Council hereby waives such ordinances and regulations limiting the City Manager's authority to incur expenditures exceeding $25,000 as deemed necessary by the City Manager/Director of Emergency Services related to the City's response to the increasing spread of COVID-19 in the community. SECTION 7. The Local Emergency declared herein shall be deemed to continue to exist until its termination is proclaimed by the City Council of the City of Palm Springs. SECTION 8. Pursuant to Section 1.06.040 of the PSMC, relating to administrative citation amounts, the City Council hereby determines that the administrative fines imposed by Chapter 1.06 for the first, second, third and any subsequent violation of this Resolution or any order issued by the City Manager/Director of Emergency Services, shall in the following amounts: $5,000 for first violation, $10,000 for second violation, $25,000 for third and any subsequent violation. For purposes of Chapter 1.06 of the PSMC, any violation of this Resolution or any order of the City Manager/Director of Emergency Services shall be deemed an immediate threat to life and safety and shall not require any pre -service citation or courtesy notice to the responsible party for the violation. Nothing in this Section shall preclude the City from pursuing any other civil or criminal remedies available to it by law, including, without limitation, immediate closure of any location that is in violation of this Resolution or any order issued by the City Manager/Director of Emergency Services. Resolution No. 24738 Page 5 ADOPTED THIS 19th day of March 2020. Anffiony J. Meji , MC City Clerk � s David H. Ready, Ci r CERTIFICATION STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE) ss. CITY OF PALM SPRINGS) I, Anthony J. Mejia, MMC, City Clerk of the City of Palm Springs, hereby certify that Resolution No. 24738 is a full, true and correct copy, and was duly adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Palm Springs on March 19, 2020, by the following vote: AYES: Garner, Holstege, Middleton, Woods, and Mayor Kors NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None hony J. M J M C lerk City of Palm Springs, talifornia DECLARATION OF THE EXISTENCE OF A LOCAL EMERGENCY CITY OF PALM SPRINGS March 14, 2020 WHEREAS, Palm Springs Municipal Code section 2.20.050(a)(1) empowers the City Manager, acting as the Director of Emergency Services, to proclaim the existence or threatened existence of a local emergency when the City is exposed to an actual or threatened existence of conditions of disaster or of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the City and the City Council is not in session; and WHEREAS, the City Manager, as Director of Emergency Services of the City of Palm Springs, does hereby find that: 1. Threatened existence of conditions of extreme peril to the health and safety of persons in Palm Springs are present as a result of the increasing spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) across the state; and 2. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed multiple cases of individuals who have severe respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus, called COVID-19, as well as deaths caused by this illness; and 3. The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic; and 4. On March 4, 2020 California Governor Newsome declared a State of Emergency to make additional resources available, formalize emergency actions already underway across multiple state agencies and departments, and help the state prepare for broader spread of COVID-19; and 5. The increase of reported cases and deaths associated with COVID-19 has also prompted the County of Riverside on March 10, 2020 to proclaim a local and public health emergency; and 6. A proclamation of a local emergency will assist in a coordinated public health response to reduce transmission and illness severity, provide assistance to health care providers, coordinate and mitigate public services that may be disrupted from this emergency, and mitigate any other effects of this emergency on the citizens of the City; and 69896.09WW7996051 7. Under California Government Code section 8630(b) and Palm Springs Municipal Code section 2.20.050(a)(1), a proclamation of local emergency must be rated by the City Council within seven (7) days to remain in effect. NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY DECLARED, that a local emergency now exists throughout the City; and IT IS FURTHER DECLARED AND ORDERED that during the existence of said local emergency, the powers, functions, and duties of the emergency organization of this City shall be those prescribed by state law, ordinances, and resolutions of the City of Palm Springs.; and IT IS FURTHER DECLARED AND ORDERED that, without limiting the nature of the foregoing, the City Manager, as Director of Emergency Services, is empowered: (A) To make and issue rules and regulations on matters reasonably related to the protection of life and property as affected by such emergency; (B) To obtain vital supplies, equipment, and such other properties found lacking and needed for the protection of life and property, and to bind the City for the fair value thereof and, if required immediately, to commandeer the same for public use; (C) To require emergency services of any City officer or employee and, in the event of the proclamation of a state of emergency in Riverside County, to command the aid of as many citizens of this community as he deems necessary in the execution of his duties; such persons shall be entitled to all privileges, benefits and immunities as are provided by state law for registered disaster service workers; (D) To requisition necessary personnel or material to any City department or agency; and (E) To execute all of his ordinary power as City Manager, all of the special powers conferred upon him by Chapter 2.20 of the Palm Springs Municipal Code or by resolution or emergency plan pursuant thereto adopted by the City Council, all powers conferred upon him by any statute, by any agreement approved by the City Council, and by any other lawful authority. March 14, 2020 �� David H. Ready, City Manager/Director of Emergency Services APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM: Jeffrey S. Ballinger, City Attorney fi7:i7•�LTI�i�lip;l•�1 �����