Ordinance No. 100575
URGENCY ORDINANCE NO. 1005
AN INTERIM URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF CYPRESS, CALIFORNIA, PROHIBITING THE GRANTING, BY
THE CITY COUNCIL OR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARMENT, OF
LAND USE DEVELOPMENT ENTITLEMENTS, ZONING VARIANCES,
GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENTS, SPECIFIC PLAN AMENDMENTS, OR
OTHER DISCRETIONARY LAND USE PERMITS WITHIN THE
GEOGRAPHIC BOUNDARIES OF THE LOS ALAMITOS RACE TRACK AND
GOLF COURSE REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT, PENDING COMPLETION OF
STUDIES, GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENTS, SPECIFIC PLAN
AMENDMENTS, PROJECT AREA AMENDMENTS, OR RELATED
PLANNING OR ZONING ORDINANCES (OR AMENDMENTS THERETO)
FOR A CYPRESS TOWN CENTER MASTER PLAN
WHEREAS, on or about November 3, 1987, the voters of the City of Cypress adopted
Measure "D," Ordinance No. 790, imposing certain voter approval requirements on portions of
the property within the Los Alamitos Race Track and Golf Course Redevelopment Project Area;
and
WHEREAS, on or about April 17, 1990, the City Council adopted the Cypress Business
& Professional Center Specific Plan which is coextensive with the project area; and
WHEREAS, on or about June 18, 1990, the Cypress Redevelopment Agency formed and
established the Los Alamitos Race Track and Golf Course Redevelopment Project Area; and
WHEREAS, the geographic boundaries for the project and specific plan areas are as set
forth on Exhibit "A" attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference; and
WHEREAS, the Los Alamitos Race Track and Golf Course Redevelopment Project Area
includes certain presently vacant frontage acreage of 35 to 45 acres, as set forth in Exhibit "A"
attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference, which is envisioned as a site for study
and possible development of a Cypress Town Center Master Plan; and
WHEREAS, this vacant frontage acreage is held in title by multiple private ownership
interests, and includes properties from Walker Street on the east to the Cypress Golf Course on
the west along the major thoroughfare which is Katella Avenue; and
WHEREAS, based on the stated goals and objectives in the City's strategic plan, the
Cypress Business and Professional Center Specific Plan, and based on the Cypress Restaurant
Row Feasibility Study, dated January 18, 2000, there appears to be an opportunity to create a
significant and unified development strategy, specific plan, or zoning ordinance(s) for this vacant
frontage acreage and/or entire project area, so as to serve the best interests of the City of
Cypress, the Cypress Redevelopment Agency, all as mandated by the City's General Plan, the
Los Alamitos Race Track and Golf Course Redevelopment Project Area, and the Cypress
Business & Professional Center Specific Plan; and
WHEREAS, in order to undertake a comprehensive and unified study and analysis of this
vacant frontage acreage, and in an effort to develop a comprehensive, consistent and appropriate
master plan for the properties included in Exhibit "A," on or about August 25, 2000, the Cypress
City Council directed staff to proceed with the comprehensive study to develop a Cypress Town
Center Master Plan; and
WHEREAS, staff have been directed to complete this master plan so as to be consistent
with the existing Los Alamitos Race Track and the existing Cypress Golf Course; and
WHEREAS, this master plan will further need to consider the existing and contemplated
parking needs of the Los Alamitos Race Track, with sensitivity to maintaining the current views
of the race track facility; and
WHEREAS, this master plan will need to be sensitive to the Development Agreement
mandated hotel development now under consideration within the Los Alamitos Race Track and
Golf Course Redevelopment Project Area and will need to incorporate design and site planning
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criteria and strategies which will be compatible with existing authorized land uses within the Los
Alamitos Race Track and Golf Course Redevelopment Project Area; and
WHEREAS, this master plan will also need to be sensitive to the voter approval
requirements of Measure "D, ". and may require submittal of the master plan (or portions thereof)
to the voters of the City of Cypress for their review and approval; and
WHEREAS, various property owners and at least one public agency within the City
including, but not limited to, Bandai America Incorporated, Ushio Specialty Lighting Products,
Cypress Golf Club, Ewing Development and Cypress School District, have expressed concerns
about authorized or contemplated land uses within the Los Alamitos Race Track and Golf Course
Redevelopment Project Area, including support for the development of a uniform,
comprehensive, and strategic plan for the development of such property for commercial,
business, and professional uses, including an expressed desire to assure that such property is
developed to its highest and best use; and
WHEREAS, on or about September 26, 2000, the Redevelopment Agency authorized
staff to forward invitations to property owners to participate in the potential redevelopment of
properties within the Los Alamitos Race Track and Golf Course Redevelopment Project Area;
and
WHEREAS, in order to insure sufficient time for staff to undertake the comprehensive
planning required to develop a Cypress Town Center Master Plan, it will be necessary to
temporarily suspend the granting of discretionary land use entitlements or permits pending
completion of the Cypress Town Center Master Plan; and
WHEREAS, the Cypress City Charter §§ 415 and 419, and Government Code §§ 65858,
36934 and 36937 expressly authorize the City Council to adopt an urgency interim ordinance
prohibiting any uses which may be in conflict with contemplated general plan, specific plan, or
zoning which the legislative body of the City or the Community Development Department is
considering or studying or intends to study within a reasonable period of time.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Cypress, California, does hereby
ordain as follows:
Section 1. From and after the effective date of this urgency ordinance, neither the City
Council nor the Community Development Department shall approve any discretionary land use
development entitlements, zoning variances, general plan amendments, specific plan
amendments, or other discretionary land use permits within the geographic boundaries of the Los
Alamitos Race Track and Golf Course Redevelopment Project, pending completion of studies,
general plan amendments, specific plan amendments, project area amendments, or related
planning or zoning ordinances (or amendments thereto) for establishment of a master planned
town center all within the geographic area whose boundaries are identified on Exhibit "A"
attached hereto, and incorporated herein by this reference as if set forth in full.
Section 2. This interim prohibition shall not apply to internal staff processing of any
application for an entitlement or other map or permit which is governed by the Subdivision Map
Act, and which is within the geographic boundaries of the Los Alamitos Race Track and Golf
Course Redevelopment Project, whose boundaries are identified on Exhibit "A" attached hereto,
and incorporated herein by this reference as if set forth in full, to the extent and in the manner
required by Building Industry Legal Defense Foundation v. Superior Court (1999) 72
Cal.App.4th 1410.
Section 3. This interim prohibition shall also not apply to any application for
discretionary land use development entitlements, zoning variances, general plan amendments,
specific plan amendments, or other discretionary land permits where such application has been
deemed complete by City staff prior to the effective date of this urgency ordinance or where City
staff has, prior to the effective date of this urgency ordinance, scheduled such complete
application for consideration by the applicable legislative body of either the City of Cypress or
the Cypress Redevelopment Agency for public hearing and possible action.
Section 4. This Urgency Ordinance is enacted pursuant to the authority conferred upon
the City Council of the City of Cypress by the Cypress Charter §§ 415 and 419, and by
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Government Code §§ 65858, 36934, and 36937, and shall be in full force and effect immediately
upon its adoption by a four -fifths (4/5) vote of the City Council as if and to the same extent that
such ordinance had been adopted pursuant to each of the individual sections set forth
hereinabove.
Section 5. In adopting this interim urgency ordinance, the City Council finds and
determines that each of the recitals to this ordinance are true and correct, and that the adoption of
this interim urgency ordinance is necessary to protect the public safety, health, and welfare, as
those terms are defined in Government Code § 65858(a), in at least the following respects:
(a) Were the City Council or the Community Development Department to grant
discretionary land use approvals or permits, general plan amendments, zoning variances,
zoning amendments, specific plan amendments, or the like during the pendency of the
studies necessary to develop a Cypress Town Center Master Plan, such approvals could
undermine the orderly development of the property within the Los Alamitos Race Track
and Golf Course Redevelopment Project, resulting in reducing the quality, caliber, and
aesthetics of the development of such property; and
(b) Were the City Council or the Community Development Department to grant
discretionary land use approvals or permits, general plan amendments, zoning variances,
zoning amendments, specific plan amendments, or the like during the pendency of the
studies necessary to develop a Cypress Town Center Master Plan, such approvals could
undermine the orderly development of property within the Los Alamitos Race Track and
Golf Course Redevelopment Project, resulting in the exposure of the City of Cypress
and/or the Cypress Redevelopment Agency to litigation from adjacent or contiguous
property owners and/or resident citizens or businesses challenging the current planning
and zoning requirements within this project area as inconsistent, and/or not conforming to
the requirements of law such that the City and/or Redevelopment Agency are prohibited
from granting permits, entitlements, general plan amendments, zoning variances, specific
plan amendments, and the like; and
(c) Were the City Council or the Community Development Department to grant
discretionary land use approvals or permits, general plan amendments, zoning variances,
zoning amendments, specific plan amendments, or the like during the pendency of the
studies necessary to develop a Cypress Town Center Master Plan, such approvals could
undermine the orderly development of property within the Los Alamitos Race Track and
Golf Course Redevelopment Project, resulting in the inability of the City Council and/or
Redevelopment Agency to grant discretionary approvals because of an overriding
requirement to obtain voter approval of the same; and
(d) Were the City Council or the Community Development Department to grant
discretionary land use approvals or permits, general plan amendments, zoning variances,
zoning amendments, specific plan amendments, or the like during the pendency of the
studies necessary to develop a Cypress Town Center Master Plan, such approvals could
undermine the orderly development of property within the Los Alamitos Race Track and
Golf Course Redevelopment Project, resulting in the inability of the City of Cypress to
assure that property within the project area is developed to its highest and best use as
allowed by law.
(e) Were the City Council or the Community Development Department to
grant discretionary land use approvals or permits, general plan amendments, zoning
variances, zoning amendments, specific plan amendments, or the like during the
pendency of the studies necessary to develop a Cypress Town Center Master Plan, such
approvals could undermine the orderly development of the property within the Los
Alamitos Race Track and Golf Course Redevelopment Project, resulting in the inability
to comply with the Cypress Business and Professional Center Specific Plan to assure
"[t]he creation of a high quality business park development that will significantly
enhance employment and revenue base of the City [of Cypress]," or the inability "[t]o
achieve the best possible land use for the Specific Plan area with emphasis on
employment generation, economic growth, and generation of revenues to the City, while
retaining the golf course and race track uses on- site."
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Section 6. This Urgency Ordinance shall be of no further force or effect forty-five (45)
days from and after the date of its adoption, unless the same is extended pursuant to the authority
conferred upon the City Council by Government Code § 65858(a). Not later than ten (10) days
prior to the expiration of this Urgency Ordinance, the City Council shall issue a written report
describing the measures taken to alleviate the condition which has led to the adoption of this
Urgency Interim Ordinance.
ADOPTED as an URGENCY ORDINANCE at a special meeting of the City Council of
said City held on the 30th day of October, 2000.
MAYOR OF THE CITY OF CYP
ATTEST:
TY CLERK 0 CITY OF CYPRESS
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF ORANGE
) SS
I, JILL INGRAM- GUERTIN, City Clerk of the City of Cypress, DO HEREBY
CERTIFY THAT THE FOREGOING Ordinance was duly adopted at a special meeting of the
said City Council held on the 30th day of October, 2000, by the following roll call vote:
AYES: 4 COUNCIL MEMBERS: Keenan, McCoy, McGill, and Piercy
NOES: 0 COUNCIL MEMBERS: None
ABSENT: 0 COUNCIL MEMBERS: None
ABSTAIN: 1 COUNCILMEMBERS: Sondhi
(Due to a potential conflict under the Political Reform Act, Council Member Sondhi did
not participate in the consideration or action on this Ordinance).
Y CLERK OF T CITY OF CYPRESS
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