Long Beach Municipal Code Ch. 5.57 Nuisance Motel Regulation

The purpose of this Chapter is to promote the public health, safety and welfare as follows by imposing anti-nuisance standards on motels located within the City of Long Beach and creating an interdepartmental team led by the Planning Bureau in the Department of Development Services to monitor and enforce these standards.

(ORD-20-0002 § 1, 2020)

A. "Calls for service" includes, but is not limited to, any and all calls to emergency services (police, fire, medical) that result in a City representative being dispatched or directed to the motel. This shall include any calls for service within the surrounding neighborhood that, through information or investigation, can be traced to the motel staff and/or registered guest(s) and/or visitor(s). Calls for service include any self-initiated activity and/or investigation based on the observation(s) of an emergency services representative.

B. "Drug-related arrests" include, but are not limited to, those that involve the manufacture, cultivation, importation into the State, transportation, possession, possession for sale, sale, furnishing, administering, giving away, or providing a place to use any controlled drug, narcotic or drug paraphernalia.

C. "Guest" shall mean any person that occupies a guestroom.

D. "Guestroom" shall mean a sleeping room in a motel designed and intended to be used as lodging as documented by the City Building Official or their designee.

E. "Interdepartmental Team" shall mean a team of City staff from multiple Departments, including but not limited to; the Health Department, Department of Development Services Code Enforcement and Planning Bureaus, and if necessary, the Fire Department, Police Department, City Prosecutor's Office and City Attorney's Office.

F. "Manager" means any person who, in connection with the activities of a motel, manages the business's operations, including but not limited to the collection of rental charges, issuing of keys, direction of maintenance personnel, assigning of rooms to guests, and handling guest affairs and overseeing security. The term shall also include the resident manager and assistant manager.

G. "Motel" means a commercial land use for the rental of six (6) or more guestrooms or suites to primarily transient occupants for a period of not more than thirty (30) consecutive days. Motel is distinguished from hotel by having entry individually and independently from outside the building or buildings. Motel also includes tourist court, motor court, motor lodge or any other designation intended to identify the premises as providing rental or overnight accommodations primarily to motorists.

H. "Operator" means any person who is the proprietor of any motel, whether in the capacity of owner, lessee, receiver, sublessee, franchisee, mortgagee in possession, manager or agent of any of the aforementioned, who offers and accepts payment for rooms, guestrooms, sleeping accommodations, or board and lodging, and retains the right of access to, and control of, the dwelling unit.

I. "Owner" means any person, persons, corporation or other legal entity who is the owner of record with the Los Angeles County Recorder's office. Also, any person or persons acting with the authorization of the owner on behalf of the owner.

J. "Person" means and includes any individual, partnership, corporation, organization, association, federal, State and local governmental entity or political subdivision or agency thereof.

(ORD-20-0002 § 1, 2020)

A. A motel that is deemed a nuisance site shall retain its business license only if it conforms to any and all combination of the following regulations as deemed required by the City Interdepartmental Team. The owner or operator shall:

1. Completely limit pedestrian and vehicle access to the property and rooms by a fence, gate, security guard or other means to control access to the site and allow surveillance of arrivals, departures, and the parking areas from the office.

2. Install closed circuit television (CCTV) in common areas and/or at entry points on premises.

3. Display crime-prevention signage, including notices of 24-hour recording, human trafficking prevention awareness and contact information, and 24-hour contact telephone number of the local property management company.

4. Install deadbolt locks, peepholes, window locks and door chains or swing bars on all guest room doors.

5. Provide a motel manager and/or staff member on site on a 24-hour basis.

6. Provide adequate lighting for visibility and safety.

7. Provide uniform lighting throughout site and avoid light trespass by using full cutoff fixtures.

8. Ensure the motel does not have any interior or exterior areas where stagnant water has accumulated.

9. Ensure all necessary means have been employed to eliminate and control infestation of insects, bed bugs and rodents on the premises.

10. Employ exterior monitoring traps for rodents and establish contracts for pest control services if necessary.

11. Provide a clean and working lavatory, along with soap, toilet tissue, individual towels, and suitable waste receptacles in each guestroom.

12. Maintain plumbing throughout the premises and in each guestroom in good condition, without leaks or drips.

13. Maintain floors, walls, and ceilings of guestrooms, along with all bedding materials in clean and good repair.

14. Ensure all eating and drinking utensils are either single-use or are washed and sanitized after each guest.

15. Ensure ice machines are clean and only accessible to guests and staff and are inaccessible to the general public.

16. Maintain all waste containers, trash bins, and dumpsters on the premises free of the accumulation of refuse, dirt and waste products.

17. If applicable, maintain motel pool in compliance with all sections of the California Code of Regulations, Title 22, with clear water and safety equipment on hand.

18. Ensure that no unregistered adult visitors occupy a guestroom between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. of the following day.

19. Post house rules in the lobby and all guestrooms, and require a guest and visitor signature acknowledging posted rules.

20. Owner/operator cannot rent out a guestroom more than once within any twelve (12) hour period.

21. Comply with Chapter 3.64 ("Transient Occupancy Tax") of this Code and locate all books and records related to Transient Occupancy Tax on the motel site.

22. Collect and visually verify the vehicle license number of any guests and/or visitors and issue a parking permit for each vehicle, with vehicle towing enforced.

(ORD-20-0002 § 1, 2020)

A. Upon receiving a complaint from the public, Police Department, Code Enforcement or any interested person that the operation of a hotel or motel is such that it is or has negatively impacted the health, safety, or welfare of its guests or the residents or business of the neighboring community, the following procedure shall be followed:

1. The City shall assess the nature and validity of the complaint and the validity by conducting an investigation of the premises to assess the motel's compliance with the applicable regulations. The City shall provide the owner and/or operator, as appropriate, with written notice of any complaint received or investigation commenced by the City relative to the motel's failure to abide by the regulations set forth in this Chapter.

2. Upon establishing the validity of the complaint, the City Interdepartmental Team shall conduct additional analysis of the site in question, including analysis of Calls for Service and other activity at the site. If deemed necessary by the Interdepartmental Team, the owner and/or operator shall meet with City staff to discuss how to correct the violation, including compliance with regulations in 5.57.030. The owner and/or operator shall correct the violation, or take reasonable action to begin correction, and shall diligently pursue completion of the correction within Thirty (30) days after receiving written notification of the violation.

3. If, at the end of the correction period, the City determines the violation has not been corrected, an administrative citation may be issued, pursuant to Chapter 9.65, or the Nuisance Abatement process may be initiated, pursuant to Chapter 9.37, depending on the nature of the violation.

4. The administrative citation process described in this Chapter does not preclude the City from recovering any other nuisance abatement costs incurred by the City in performing its code enforcement duties.

5. The City may collect a fee to recover costs associated with the inspection and enforcement of this Chapter in accordance with the City Council adopted fee resolution.

6. In the event the City is unable to gain compliance through administrative citations and penalties, a business permit for a motel may be suspended or revoked according to the procedures outlined in Chapter 5.06, or a deemed approved conditional use status may be revoked as provided in Chapter 21.

B. The following City departments may conduct enforcement efforts in response to a valid complaint: Health Department, Development Services, Fire Department, Police Department, City Prosecutor's Office or City Attorney's Office, or any other relevant department as designated by the City Manager.

(ORD-20-0002 § 1, 2020)