Ordinance Number 1031ORDINANCE NO. 1031
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN JUAN
CAPISTRANO, CALIFORNIA, IMPOSING A TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON
THE PERMITTING OR ESTABLISHMENT IN RESIDENTIAL ZONES OF
CONGREGATE LIVING FACILITIES, SUBJECT TO REASONABLE
ACCOMMODATION, TO ALLOW TIME FOR CONSIDERATION OF
APPROPRIATE AMENDMENTS TO THE CITY MUNICIPAL CODE
WHEREAS, over the last few months, the City has received an increasingly large
number of complaints relating to neighborhood nuisances such as excessive noise,
unauthorized construction, invasions of privacy, second-hand tobacco smoke, poor property
maintenance, trash and debris, and nuisance parking;
WHEREAS, City investigation and follow-up on these complaints has revealed that a
large portion of these impacts coincide with a proliferation of congregate living arrangement
(i.e., single family residences being rented to multiple occupants, under separate lease
agreements);
WHEREAS, City investigation has also revealed discrepancies in information submitted
to state regulatory agencies relating to construction and occupancy of some of these facilities;
WHEREAS, City investigations have also raised concern over the welfare and safety of
the residents of these facilities;
WHEREAS, existing zoning regulations do not adequately address the establishment of
congregate living facilities;
WHEREAS, on November 3, 2015, the City adopted an ordinance establishing a 45-day
moratorium on: the approval, issuance, or transfer of any use permit, variance, building permit,
business license, or other applicable entitlement for the establishment or operation of a new
congregate living facility in the City, as well as the expansion or modification of existing
establishments;
WHEREAS, the 45-day moratorium has since expired and the City now desires to adopt
this ordinance establishing a 12-month moratorium;
WHEREAS, this ordinance is necessary to provide the City staff time to study and
assess various approaches to regulating the subject land uses and to present recommendations
to the City Council. Recommendations may include amendments to the City's Municipal Code
addressing establishment of congregate living facilities and complying with State law and
including appropriate review procedures;
WHEREAS, without this moratorium ordinance, such transitory residential uses could
possibly locate in close proximity to each other, so as to create an overconcentration of such
uses and so further threaten the health, safety, and welfare of facility residents of the facilities
and their neighbors;
WHEREAS, as a consequence, there is a current and immediate threat to the public
health, safety and welfare if permits or entitlements for congregate living facilities are issued,
and such permits or entitlements could result in land uses and developments that conflict with
1 4/5/2016
amendments to the Municipal Code that may be adopted as a result of the study that the City
intends to undertake;
WHEREAS, the adoption and immediate enactment of this ordinance is necessary for
the preservation of the public health, safety, and welfare to prevent establishment of new uses
and the expansion or modification of existing uses at locations that might conflict with and be
inconsistent with the intended amendment to the Municipal Code;
WHEREAS, minimizing incompatibility of land uses promotes orderly development,
which is necessary to encourage quality neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, this is a matter of importance to the entire City of San Juan Capistrano and
is not directed at any particular property.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of San Juan Capistrano,
California, hereby ordains as follows:
Section 1. The recitals above are each incorporated here by reference and adopted as
findings of the City Council.
Section 2. For purposes of this ordinance, the following terms and definitions are used:
(a) Congregate living facility means a residence or dwelling wherein two (2)
or more rooms, with or without individual or group cooking facilities, are rented to
individuals under separate rental agreements or leases, either written or oral, whether or
not an owner, agent or rental manager is in residence. Such facilities do not include
hotels, motels or state licensed residential care facilities when such residential care
facilities are serving six (6) or fewer residents. Further, such facilities do not include a
residence or dwelling that is operated as a single housekeeping unit.
(b) Single housekeeping unit means that the occupants of a dwelling unit
have established ties and familiarity with each other, jointly use common areas, interact
with each other, share meals, household activities, and expenses and responsibilities .
Membership in the single housekeeping unit is fairly stable as opposed to transient;
members have some control over who becomes a member of the household, and the
residential activities of the household are conducted on a nonprofit basis. Additional
indicia that a household is not operating as a single housekeeping unit include but are
not limited to: the occupants do not share a lease agreement or ownership of the
property; members of the household have separate, private entrances from other
members; members of the household have locks on their bedroom doors; members of
the household have separate food storage facilities, such as separate refrigerators.
Section 3. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in existing City law, including but not
limited to the Municipal Code and the City General Plan, this ordinance establishes a 12-month
moratorium on: the approval, issuance, or transfer of any use permit, variance, building permit,
business license, or other applicable entitlement for the establishment or operation of a new
congregate living facility in the City, as well as the expansion or modification of existing
establishments.
Section 4. Nevertheless, the City may continue to accept and process applications for uses
prohibited by this moratorium if so required by state law. Any application received and
2 4/5/2016
processed during the moratorium shall be processed at the applicant's sole cost and risk with
the understanding that no permit for a congregate living facility may issue while this moratorium
or any extension of it is in effect. ·
Section 5. In compliance with fair housing laws, it is the City's policy to provide reasonable
accommodation in the application of this ordinance to any disabled person who seeks access to
fair housing. The purpose of this Section is to provide disabled individuals with reasonable
accommodation in the application of this ordinance, as necessary to ensure equal access to
housing and comply with applicable fair housing laws. The words used in this Section 5 shall
have the meanings ascribed to them in the federal Fair Housing Act and Americans with
Disabilities Act.
(a) Requesting Reasonable Accommodation.
(1) To make specific housing available to a disabled individual, a
disabled person or representative may request reasonable accommodation under this
Section, relating to the application of this ordinance.
(2) If an individual or representative needs assistance in making a
request for reasonable accommodation, or in appealing a determination regarding
reasonable accommodation, the planning division will assist as necessary to ensure that
the process is accessible to the applicant or representative. The applicant may be
represented at all stages of the proceeding by a person designated by the applicant as
his or her representative.
(3) A request for reasonable accommodation in the application of this
ordinance must be filed on an application form provided by the planning division. It must
be signed by the owner of the property and must describe exactly what is being
requested and why the requested accommodation is necessary. All documentation that
supports the request must be submitted with the application. The housing unit for which
accommodation is requested must be the primary residence of the person for whom the
request is made.
(b) Decision on Application for Reasonable Accommodation.
(1) The Planning Director shall have the authority to consider and act
on any application for a reasonable accommodation. The Director shall issue a written
determination within 30 days of the date of receipt of a completed application and may:
(i) grant the accommodation request,
(ii) grant the accommodation request subject to specified
nondiscriminatory conditions,
(iii) deny the request, or
(iv) in the alternative, refer the application to the Planning
Commission, who shall render a decision on the application. An application may not be
referred directly to the City Council.
3 4/5/2016
(2) If necessary to reach a determination on any request for
reasonable accommodation, the Planning Director or Planning Commission may request
additional information from the applicant consistent with this ordinance. If such a request
is m_ade, the time period to issue a written determination is stayed until the applicant
reasonably responds to the request.
(3) If, based on all of the evidence presented to the Planning Director
or the Planning Commission, the findings required in this ordinance may reasonably be
made, the Planning Director or the Planning Commission, as applicable, must grant the
request for reasonable accommodation.
(4) A reasonable accommodation that is provided according to this
ordinance does not require the approval of any variance as to the reasonable
accommodation.
(5) The reasonable accommodation is subject to any reasonable
conditions imposed on the approval that are consistent with the purposes of this
ordinance to further fair housing. Such conditions may generally include, but are not
limited to, the following restrictions:
(i) That the reasonable accommodation only applies to a
particular disabled individual or individuals;
(ii) That the reasonable accommodation only applies to the
specific use for which application is made; or
(iii) That any change in use or circumstances that negates the
basis for the granting of the request renders the reasonable accommodation null and
void.
(c) Required Findings. The following findings must be made to approve a
request for reasonable accommodation:
(1) The housing that is the subject of the request for reasonable
accommodation will be occupied as the primary residence by an individual protected
under the fair housing laws.
(2) The request for reasonable accommodation is necessary to make
specific housing available to one or more individuals protected under the fair housing
laws.
(3) The requested reasonable accommodation will not impose an
undue financial or administrative burden on the City.
(4) The requested accommodation will not require a fundamental
alteration of the City's zoning or building laws, policies, or procedures.
(d) Waiver of Time Periods. The applicant may request additional time
beyond that provided for in this Section or may request a continuance regarding the time
for any decision or appeal to be made under this ordinance. Any extension of time
sought by the applicant shall not be considered delay on the part of the City, shall not
4 4/5/2016
constitute failure by the City to provide for prompt decisions on applications, and shall
not be a violation of any required time period set forth in this Section.
(e) Appeal of a Land Use Decision. The decision by the Planning Director to
approve or deny any request for reasonable accommodation may be appealed by an
interested party to the Planning Commission in accordance with the City's Municipal
Code.
Section 6. The City Council hereby directs the Planning Division to study and review
potential amendments to the City's Zoning Code related to congregate living facilities to re-
establish appropriate regulations that are compatible with intent of the City's residential zones.
The study should include, among other things,
(a) better coordination and expedition of information-sharing between the City and
state regulatory agencies in order to determine which homes require state licensing and
whether information provided to state licensing agencies is bona fide;
(b) means of sharing information among local regulatory agencies (the Orange
County Fire Authority, the Orange County Health Department, and the Orange County Sheriff's
Department) relating to code-enforcement complaints, building and occupancy permits, repeat
citations, medical-waste disposal, emergency procedures, and evacuation plans;
(c)
requests;
accurate therapeutic information as it relates to potential accommodation
(d) the approaches and successes of other municipalities in balancing neighborhood
interests with the interests of congregate living facilities;
(e) the potential that continued proliferation and over-concentration of congregate
living facilities on particular blocks or neighborhoods could create the institutionalizing effects
that state and federal laws are designed to prevent;
(f) different approaches to the regulation of secondhand tobacco smoke in
residential zones;
(g) noise, traffic, and parking impacts from congregate living facilities in denser
residential neighborhoods, especially those with smaller setbacks and limited off-street parking;
(h) the rapidly developing body of caselaw relating to congregate living facilities in
residential zones;
(i) specific operational characteristics of some San Juan Capistrano facilities that
are apparently operating as aggregated commercial activities, inconsistent with the intent of
state and federal law favoring traditional single-family occupancies for congregate living facility
rehabilitation;
U) the application of the City's traditional business license and home occupation
ordinances to congregate living facilities.
Section 7. The City Council finds that this ordinance is not subject to the California
Environmental Quality Act under California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Section 15060,
5 4/5/2016
subdivision (c)(2), because the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable
indirect physical change in the environment nor under subdivision (c)(3) because the activity
has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly and so
is not a project.
Section 8. If any provision of this ordinance or its application to any person or circumstance
is held invalid, such invalidity has no effect on other provisions or applications of the ordinance
that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the
provisions of this ordinance are severable. The City Council hereby declares that it would have
adopted this ordinance irrespective of the invalidity of any particular portion thereof.
Section 9. This Ordinance shall take effect and be in force thirty (30) days after its passage.
Section 1 0. The Mayor shall sign this Ordinance, and the City Clerk shall attest to its passage
and adoption and, within 15 days following the date of adoption, publish notice of it in a
newspaper of general circulation in the City of San Juan Capistrano.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this 51h day of Ap ril, 2016. I
'\ I I
t t
ATTEST:;
\
6
am atterson, Esq., Mayor
City of San Juan Capistrano
4/5/2016
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF ORANGE )SS
CITY OF SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO )
I, MARIA MORRIS, appointed City Clerk of the City of San Juan Capistrano, do hereby
certify that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of Ordinance No. 1031 which was
regularly introduced and placed upon its first reading at the Regular Meeting of the City
Council on the 151h day of March 2016, and that thereafter, said Ordinance was duly
adopted and passed at the Regular Meeting of the City Council on the 5th day of April
2016, by the following vote, to wit:
'I
AYES: cod NCIL MEMBERS: Allevato, Perry, Ferguson and Mayor Patterson
NOES ~O~NCIL MEMBERS: None
ABSENT: CO I!J NCIL MEMBERS: Reeve
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) ss AFFIDAVIT OF POSTING
CITY OF SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO )
I, MARIA MORRIS, declare as follows:
That I am the duly appointed and qualified City Clerk of the City of San Juan
Capistrano; That in compliance with State laws, Government Code section 36933(1) of
the State of California, on the 16th day of March 2016, at least 5 days prior to the
adoption of the ordinance, I caused to be posted a certified copy of the proposed
ordinance entitled:
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO,
CALIFORNIA, IMPOSING A TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON THE PERMITTING OR
ESTABLISHMENT IN RESIDENTIAL ZONES OF CONGREGATE LIVING FACILITIES,
SUBJECT TO REASONABLE ACCOMMODA\TION, TO ALLOW TIME FOR
CONSIDERATION OF APPROPRIATE AMENDME S TO THE CITY MUNICIPAL
CODE
This document was posted in the Office of the City Gle · I
MARIA '
7 4/5/2016
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) ss AFFIDAVIT OF POSTING
CITY OF SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO )
I, MARIA MORRIS, declare as follows:
That I am the duly appointed and qualified City Clerk of the City of San Juan
Capistrano; that in compliance with State laws, Government Code section 36933(1) of
the State of California.
On the 141h day of April 2016, I caused to be posted a certified copy of Ordinance No.
1031, adopted by the City Council on April 5, 2016, entitled:
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO,
CALIFORNIA, IMPOSING A TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON THE PERMITTING OR
ESTABLISHMENT IN RESIDENTIAL ZONES OF CONGREGATE LIVING FACILITIES,
SUBJECT TO REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION, TO ALLOW TIME FOR
CONSIDERATION bF APPROPRIATE AMENDMENTS TO THE CITY MUNICIPAL
CODE ·\ l
I ; ;
'
8
f the City Clerk
4/5/2016