AuthorCity of Torrance, CA Archives
March 2021
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WHEREAS, Government Code Section 8634 empowers the City Council and delegated officials to promulgate orders and regulations necessary to provide for protection of life or property during a local emergency: and; WHEREAS, the City Council has specifically delegated this authority to the City Manager as Director of Emergency Services In Chapter 6 of Division 1 of the Torrance Municipal Code. Further, the City Council confirmed this delegation of authority by Resolution on March 16, 2020; and WHEREAS, this order is issued In accordance with, and Incorporates by reference the March 19, 2020, Executive Order Issued by Governor Newsom, Order N- 33-20 wherein the Governor ordered all Individuals living In the State of California to stay home or at their place of residence except as needed to maintain continuity of operations of the federal critical Infrastructure sectors, as outlined at https://www.cisa.gov/identifying-critical-infrastructure-during-covid19: and WHEREAS, this order Is Issued In accordance with, and Incorporates by reference the March 16, 2020, Public Order by the City Manager under City of Torrance's Emergency Authority closing all movie theaters, live performance venues, bowling alleys, arcades, gyms and fitness centers, bars and nightclubs that do not serve food and prohibiting all restaurants from serving food for consumption on premises; and WHEREAS, this order Is Issued In accordance with, and Incorporates by reference the March 13,2020, Proclamation and Order of the President of the United States declaring a national emergency In response to COVID-19; and WHEREAS, this order Is Issued In accordance with, and Incorporates by reference the March 12, 2020 Proclamation by the City Manager proclaiming a local emergency as a result of the threat of COVID-19, which said Proclamation and order was ratified by the City Council on March 17, 2020; and WHEREAS, this order Is Issued In accordance with, and Incorporates by reference the March 4, 2020, Executive Order Issued by Governor Newsom, Order N- 25-20 wherein the Governor proclaimed a State of Emergency In California as a result of the threat of COVID-19; and WHEREAS, the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend guidelines to maintain hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette, and social distancing to protect public health and slow the transmission of COVID-19; and PUBLIC ORDER NO. 2020-3 WHEREAS, the California Department of Public Health has issued guidance to postpone or cancel all gatherings across the State of California to protect public health and slow the rate of transmission of COVID-19. Gathering is defined as any event that brings together people together in a single room or single space at the same time; and WHEREAS, the California Department of Health states that the timely implementation of aggressive strategies that create social distance and those that reduce close contact of people not regularly together, including limiting gatherings, has proven effective in prior pandemics at delaying rates of transmission and reducing illness and death; and WHEREAS, this order is issued in accordance with, and incorporates by reference the Health Officer of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health's Order of March 16, 2020. The Order states that in the absence of a specific immunization or treatment for COVID-19, social distancing is the only and most readily available tool to prevent this disease. WHEREAS, this order is issued in accordance with, and incorporates by reference the Health Officer of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health's Safer at Home Order for Control of COVID-19 of March 20, 2020 which amended and supplemented the March 16, 2020 order. This order further restricts and limits the gathering of persons and requires the closure of all non-essential businesses. By virtue of the authority vested in me as City Manager of the City of Torrance pursuant to the provisions of California Government Code 8634, the City Charter, Torrance Municipal Code 16.2.6, the laws and the Constitution of the State of California to promulgate, issue, and enforce rules, regulations, orders, and directives, I hereby declare the following orders to be necessary for the protection of life and property, effective at 11:59 p.m. March 20, 2020. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 1. All essential businesses that are part of the federal critical infrastructure sectors as outlined at https://www.cisa.gov/identifying-critical-infrastructure-during-covid19, and have been permitted to remain in operation by the Governor including, but not limited to: banks, gas stations, grocery stores, pharmacies, laundromats and laundry service operations; shall enforce California Department of Public health social distancing practices for their patrons both within their interior operations and for external queues of their patrons awaiting to enter their operations. 2. Zoning parking requirements are hereby suspended during the pendency of this order to allow the use of up to 30 non-disabled parking stalls to allow essential business operators to implement appropriate queuing measures that do not encroach into fire lanes and vehicle drive-aisles. 3. Any land use condition requirements for the overnight storage of grocery carts are hereby suspended during the pendency of this order. The intent of this portion of the order is to assist with the patron retrieval of a grocery cart at the queuing entrance points and the use of grocery carts in between patrons to achieve the required 6-foot social distancing requirement. 4. All essential businesses involved in the handling and/or delivering of food or other products to patrons shall be required to wear protective gloves during the completion of such services. 5. If any subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or word of this Order or any application of it to any person, structure, gathering or circumstance is held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of a court of competent jurisdiction, then such decision will not affect the validity of the remaining portions or applications of this Order. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that violation of this Order shall be punished as provided by Torrance Municipal Code Section 16.2.13 or any applicable state or municipal law. Additionally, any business that violates California Government Code Section 8665 this Order may have their business license suspended or revoked pursuant to Torrance Municipal Code Section 31.9.10. The violation of any provision of this Order is declared to be a nuisance and may be abated by the City in accordance with its authority to abate nuisances. The remedies listed in this Order are not exclusive of any other remedies available to the City under any applicable Federal, State, or local law and it is within the discretion of the City to seek cumulative remedies. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED this Order shall apply Citywide until rescinded by the City Council or City Manager. ![]()
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