LOCAL LAWS ’90 : Among...

Los Angeles

AIDS kit--In efforts to contain the spread of AIDS, this policy sets aside $25,000 to help in the distribution of 60,000 AIDS prevention kits by five drug abuse agencies. Each kit contains a bottle of bleach for sterilizing needles, one or more condoms and an informational flyer about AIDS. Approved in October.

Ammunition sales--A one-week ban on ammunition attempts to curtail the random firing of guns into the air on New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July. Approved in May.

Animal sacrifice--Los Angeles became the first city in the nation to ban animal sacrifices under any circumstances, including during religious rituals, by imposing penalties of up to six months in jail and fines of up to $1,000. Approved in October.

Business tax--A 10% hike in the business tax rate was added on to the tax previously charged on gross receipts of all those who operate businesses in the city. Wholesale businesses, which were charged $1.075 per $1,000 of gross receipts, will have to pay $1.1825. Lawyers and others in professional occupations who now pay the highest rate--$5.375 per $1,000 of gross receipts--will have to pay $5.9125. Approved in August.

Cabbies--A major change for the taxicab industry sets up the city’s first system linking cabbie dress and behavior to potential fines. The measure sets out rules for proper dress--like no plaid pants--and outlaws such things as rudeness, meter tampering, refusing to pick up passengers or refusing to take them where they want to go. Violators of the dress code can be cited and penalty points can be charged against their companies. Once a company reaches a threshold level of penalty points, each additional dress code violation will cost $1,500. For violating other provisions of the code, drivers face fines of up to $500 and their company or association can be fined up to $100,000. Approved in March.

Drug testing--Mandatory once-a-year drug testing was approved for about 7,400 sworn officers with the rank of lieutenant or below. Also, a computer will be used to randomly select 30% of the force for an additional testing. High-ranking management, such as captains and above, have already agreed to mandatory drug testing and new recruits and probationary officers also have been subject to drug testing for some time. Approved in November.

Parking tax--The city’s first parking tax of 10% affects virtually all who pay to park their cars in the city, including people who pay to park in lots and garages owned by their employers. Approved in June.

Pit bulls--The Los Angeles Department of Animal Regulation outlawed the adoption of stray pit bulls and related breeds. Any pit bull remaining at the city’s six animal shelters after a seven-day waiting period will be destroyed. Approved in March.

Sanitation fees--A doubling of fees for sanitation trucks is expected to bring in $9.8 million and is added to Department of Water and Power bills. The fee, previously $1.50 a month per household, jumped to $3. Apartment renters who do not have private garbage services now pay $2 a month instead of $1. Approved in August.

Security deposits--Landlords that fall under the city’s rent control law are required to pay 5% annual interest on security deposits to renters who stay in their apartments for at least a year. Also, landlords are banned from increasing rent if a minor child of a tenant moves into the unit, but an increase up to 10% is permitted if another adult moves in. Approved in October.

Spray paint--In the battle to control graffiti, merchants who sell aerosol spray paint and wide felt-tip markers are required to keep them in locked cabinets or in storage compartments available only to sales personnel. The measure attempts to reduce graffiti by making the tools of the trade harder to get. Similar measures have been approved by the county and Monterey Park. Approved in November.

Storm drain tax--Property owners were taxed an average of $2 on their 1990-91 county property tax bills to fund a storm-water cleanup program aimed at reducing the amount of polluted water flowing from the city’s 1,100 miles of storm drains into the ocean. This measure is expected to raise about $4.2 million the first year, which will be used to hire staff to devise the cleanup program and develop a public education campaign and pilot programs. Approved in August.

Water wasters--Thirty newly assigned officers will issue citations against anyone caught violating rules designed to conserve water. First-time violators caught hosing off sidewalks and driveways or watering lawns between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. will be issued written warnings. Fines, or surcharges, are $50 for second-time violators and $100 for a third violation. Fourth-time violators can have water service to their homes or businesses cut to a gallon-per-minute trickle or water service can be cut off for 48 hours. These penalties, approved in May, were added to the water law which was enacted two years ago.

Zoo animals--The Los Angeles Zoo is prohibited from selling surplus animals to dealers who supply private hunting ranches. The measure also requires better tracking of animals after they are sold by the zoo. Approved in April.

Los Angeles County

Parking--In an effort to reduce the number of employees driving to work alone, free parking ended for county employees on Oct. 1. Employees are now charged $70 to $220 a month to park and the county offers a $70 monthly allowance.

Wood roofs--New wood roofs are banned in unincorporated hillside neighborhoods. This applies only to new construction or replacement of 25% of a roof. Shake roofs can meet the requirements if they are treated with a fire retardant and supported by two layers of plywood and one layer of fireproof plasterboard. Approved in October.

Baldwin Park

Recycling--The City Council passed a mandatory curbside recycling law, which goes into effect Feb. 1.

Bellflower

Smoking--One of the county’s strictest anti-smoking laws bans smoking in all restaurants in the city and in virtually every enclosed building. Employers are required to designate smoking areas in employee work areas and ban smoking in auditoriums, classrooms and elevators. Bars, tobacco stores, malls, private offices, homes and places of religious worship have been exempted. The ordinance is expected to take effect in February.

Cerritos

Fireworks--This city has banned the sale and use of Fourth of July fireworks. Voters in November overwhelmingly decided that they did not want their city to allow fireworks. The referendum, put on the ballot by the City Council, was non-binding, but council members pledged they would abide by the results.

Claremont

Leaf blowers--The use of gasoline-powered leaf blowers will be banned on March 1. The ordinance, approved in November, exempts electric and battery-powered leaf blowers, which are said to be more quiet than their gasoline-powered cousins. City Manager Glenn Southard said the ban is based on complaints of noise and pollution.

Covina

Wood roofs--Major fires in Santa Barbara and Glendale influenced the council’s July 2 decision to ban wood shake roofs on new construction, effective last Aug. 15.

Cudahy

Bingo--The game of bingo was outlawed after years of debate over how, when and where the game should be played. The council first legalized the game in 1983 to allow charitable organizations and churches to raise money. But council members decided to ban the game after wrestling with several controversial proposals for building large bingo parlors in the city.

Culver City

Fire safety--Fire sprinkler systems must be installed in all buildings and homes built after February, 1990. Existing buildings taller than 75 feet must also be retrofitted with sprinklers.

Smoking--The activity is prohibited in Culver City restaurants with fewer than 25 seats. Previously, smoking was restricted to a third of a restaurant’s seating, but eateries with fewer than 25 seats were exempt. Also, in effect until April 11 is an interim emergency ordinance requiring new or significantly remodeled restaurants to have dual air circulation or ventilation systems or a floor-to-ceiling barrier between smoking and nonsmoking sections.

Glendale

Fire safety--In the aftermath of the Glendale fire--a fast-moving blaze that damaged or destroyed 66 hillside houses on June 27--the City Council, at the urging of fire officials, adopted a tough new brush clearance ordinance. Firefighters will inspect hillside houses and lots and order the removal of all vegetation that could fuel a brush fire or ignite structures in the area.

La Habra Heights

Security gates--This small hillside community’s City Council, saying it was taking a stand against elitism, voted to ban installation of security gates that would block access to neighborhoods in the city. The law bans gates across private or public roads.

Monrovia

Film locations--In a bid to lure Hollywood production companies to Monrovia’s quiet streets, filming fees have been cut by about two-thirds. The first day of shooting costs $150 instead of $468, and charges for each additional day are down from $234.50 to $75.

Norwalk

Gangs--Two gang-related ordinances were enacted. One imposes fines of up to $2,500 on parents of children under 18 who get into trouble with the law, including breaking curfew. It allows the city to file civil suits against parents or guardians of children who engage in gang activities, including graffiti writing, vandalism, fights, drug use and drug dealing. The second ordinance requires landlords to evict tenants who use their homes for drug dealing. Landlords who fail to act can be fined up to $5,000.

Pasadena

Drug-free zones--Drug-free zones were declared and signs posted within 1,000 feet of the city’s 21 parks and 42 public and private schools to allow for the imposition of double penalties for drug dealers convicted of selling their wares within the zones.

Smoking--Lighting up is prohibited in city-owned buildings, restrooms, lunch rooms, lobbies, elevator and vehicles.

RVs--Recreational vehicles, boats, camper shells, tent trailers and motor homes are banned from front-yard parking, except for those too large to fit in back yards.

Rosemead

Oaks--The Rosemead City Council on Oct. 9 passed a law designed to save oak trees from being chopped down by developers or harmed by construction. It took effect Nov. 9, and requires property owners to obtain city permission before they trim oak trees with branches larger than 9 inches in circumference. It also prohibits construction or installation of utility lines less than five feet from an oak tree’s drip line--the area directly below the outer branches of the tree. If an oak tree must be removed, the law requires that it be replaced elsewhere with two trees.

San Dimas

Archery--People are allowed to shoot bows and arrows only on their own property or at certified archery ranges. Violators will be fined up to $500 or serve up to six months in jail.

San Gabriel

Big houses--A new “anti-mansionization” ordinance is designed to prohibit oversized homes. “Who would have thought the day would come when a Colonial house was outlawed?” said City Manager Robert Clute.

Santa Monica

Gun control--People who buy rifles will have to wait 15 days to take delivery of their weapons, starting Jan. 1. State law prohibits municipalities from imposing waiting periods on gun purchasers for the purpose of making background checks on them, but this law defines the 15-day wait as a cooling-off period in which no background checks will be performed.

Sierra Madre

Terms of office--Under an advisory measure approved by city voters in April, members of the City Council may voluntarily limit themselves to two consecutive terms of office. In a separate action, the council mandated that members of council-appointed committees, commissions and boards may not serve more than two consecutive terms.