2020-03-31 LQ City Attorney's Office - Open Ltr re Golf Course, Recreation, Court Closures
March 31, 2020
VIA CITY OF LA QUINTA WEBSITE
VIA EMAIL FROM THE CITY MANAGER
Re: Open Letter from the La Quinta City Attorney’s Office
Closure of Golf Courses and Ancillary Use Areas
Closure of Outdoor Recreational Courts and Related Equipment
To Whom It May Concern:
At the request of the City Manager for the City of La Quinta (City), this is an open letter
submitted to all interested persons in the City impacted by or potentially impacted by
recent orders and guidance from the federal, state, county and City levels of government
that relate to the response to the global health pandemic caused by novel coronavirus
disease 2019 (COVID-19). Specifically, this letter addresses the legal grounds and
analysis applied for the above-referenced actions taken by the City to close, temporarily,
all golf courses and their ancillary use areas, and all outdoor recreational courts (such as
pickleball courts) and their related equipment. This letter is intended to be a reference for
residents, homeowner associations, resort operators, business owners, visitors, and all
other interested persons as described above.
As stated in the California Emergency Services Act (the State Emergency Act),1 the state
has long recognized its responsibility “to mitigate the effects of natural, manmade, or
war-caused emergencies that result in conditions of disaster or in extreme peril to life,
property, and the resources of the state, and generally to protect the health and safety
and preserve the lives and property of the people of the state.”2 To this end, this state law
expressly declares it to be necessary to “confer upon the Governor and upon the chief
executives and governing bodies of political subdivisions of this state the emergency
powers provided [in the State Emergency Act].”3
State law also requires every county board of supervisors to appoint a public health officer
who must be a graduate of a medical college of good standing and repute.4 The health
officer has the power and ability to “take any preventive measure that may be necessary
to protect and preserve the public health from any public health hazard” during any “state
1 Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 8550) of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
2 Gov. Code, § 8550.
3 Id, § 8550, subd. (a).
4 Health & Saf. Code, §§ 101000, 101005.
of emergency” or “local emergency,” both of which are defined under state law to mean
“conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property caused by conditions
such as . . [an] epidemic.”5
Pursuant to their respective authority under state law, the Governor of California issued
an executive order (Exec. Order No. N-33-20) mandating that all individuals living in the
state to “stay at home or at their place of residence” except for limited workers necessary
for specified critical infrastructure sectors, and the Riverside County Health Officer has
issued multiple orders affecting the community, including an order prohibiting gatherings
in excess of 10 persons and mandating minimum social distancing requirements, dated
March 16, 2020. Also under its state-granted authority, the Riverside County Health
Officer has issued “COVID-19: Frequently Asked Questions Regarding State and Local
Orders” (County FAQs), which are preventative measures promulgated by the county
health office in response to frequently asked questions concerning the application of the
“stay at home” and “no gathering” state and local orders to various specific situations.
With respect to golf courses and outdoor recreational courts, like pickleball and tennis
courts, the County FAQs as recently as March 31, 2020, provide the following:
Can I leave home to exercise?
If you will be outdoors and not in close contact with other people, yes. Fitness
centers, exercise gyms, recreational centers, tennis clubs, golf courses, and
public/private shared pools are not allowed to operate.
. . .
Can I participate in recreational sports like basketball games or tennis
matches?
Recreational sports, like basketball or tennis, being played on a court attached
to a single-family home which is not shared by persons outside the residence
may be used by the inhabitants of the home only. Public Events and gatherings,
like recreational sports occurring in a public park or on a shared court as part of
a hotel/apartment/housing community, are not permitted under the Governor’s
Order.
5 Health & Saf. Code, § 101040, subd. (a); Gov. Code, § 8558, subds. (b) & (c).
Can golf courses remain open?
No. Both public and private golf courses must be closed under the Governor’s
Order. However, golf course maintenance and landscaping are considered
“essential” public works and can continue so that golf courses will be able to
resume operations once the state and local orders are lifted.
The County’s FAQs (titled “Essential Services FAQs”) are updated periodically and
published to the general public on the Riverside County Internet Website at:
https://www.rivcoph.org/coronavirus.
It is the state and county orders and promulgated preventative measures from the county
health office from which the City looks to effectuate the clear intent of the Governor’s
order to “stay at home”—which order has the force and effect of law just like any other
state law.6
In accordance with the State Emergency Act and Chapter 2.20 of the La Quinta Municipal
Code (LQMC or City’s Code),7 the City Council, by adopting Emergency Resolution No. EM
2020-001 on March 17, 2020 (Reso. EM 2020-001), proclaimed a “Local Emergency”
related to the threat of the existence and spread of COVID-19 in and throughout the City.
Also as authorized by the City’s Code and Reso. EM 2020-001, the City Council authorized
the City Manager to “promulgate and issue executive orders necessary to immediately
provide for the protection of life and property in response to the Local Emergency,
including but not limited to any executive orders based upon guidelines issued by any
federal, state, or county agency[.]”8
Pursuant to that authority, the City Manager issued two executive orders that followed the
Governor’s and Riverside County Health Officer’s orders, and the County FAQs’
preventative measures issued by a county agency, relating to the temporary closure of
golf courses and outdoor recreational courts. Pursuant to the expressed terms in those
executive orders,9 any subsequent order from the City Manager re-opening these facilities,
in whole or in part, would likewise be based on state and county orders and preventative
6 Gov. Code, § 8567, subd. (a).
7 Gov. Code, § 8630, subd. (a); LQMC, § 2.20.080, subd. (A).
8 Reso. EM 2020-001, § 8, subd. (A); see also, LQMC, 2.20.100, subds. (A) & (B); Reso. EM 2020-
001, §§ 3 & 5.
9 City Manager’s Executive Order No. 4, Dated Mar. 22, 2020 (Golf Course Closure) and Executive
Order No. 5, Dated March 24, 2020 (Certain Parks and Outdoor Recreation Courts), are published
and made available to the public on the City’s Internet Web site dedicated to COVID-19 information
at: https://www.laquintaca.gov/residents/public-safety-services/covid-19-resources-information.
measures. The City Manager’s executive orders would only remain effective for as long as
the Local Emergency remains in place.
In closing, the City Attorney’s Office would like to offer more than just the legal grounds
and analytical framework outlined above as a justification for actions taken to close, again
temporarily, golf courses and outdoor recreation courts. While City Council resolutions and
the City Manager’s executive orders may be enforceable for violations as misdemeanors
subject to fine or imprisonment, or both,10 the reason behind all of the official actions
taken by the City Council and City Manager, with the advice of our office, in combating
COVID-19 is to further the ultimate goal of promoting and protecting the public health.
The state and county orders and preventative measures are designed to “flatten the
curve” so that our community’s health service providers are not overwhelmed by a
potentially dramatic and rapid increase in COVID-19 patients, and the City wants to do its
part within the bounds of the legal powers granted to the City by state and local laws.
Respectfully Submitted,
William H. Ihrke
City Attorney, City of La Quinta
Partner, Rutan & Tucker, LLP
cc: Mayor and Members of the City Council
City Manager
City Clerk
Directors of All City Departments
10 Gov. Code, § 8665; LQMC, § 2.20.140