The purpose of this ordinance is to establish a formal procedure for an individual with a disability, or developers of housing for individuals with disabilities, to seek reasonable accommodation in rules, policies, practices and procedures to ensure equal access to housing and to facilitate the development of housing for individuals with disabilities as provided by the Federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 and California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act, herein known as the “Acts.”

Reasonable accommodation means providing an individual with a disability, or developers of housing for individuals with disabilities, flexibility in the application of land use and zoning regulations or policies, including the modification or waiver of certain requirements, when necessary to eliminate barriers to housing opportunities.

That the dwelling, which is the subject of the request for reasonable accommodation(s) is used by an individual with a disability protected under the Acts;

That the requested accommodation is necessary to make the dwelling available to an individual with a disability protected under the Acts;

That accommodations are directly and reasonably related to the disability;

That the requested accommodation(s) would not impose an undue financial or administrative burden on the city;

That the requested accommodation(s) would not require a fundamental alteration in the nature of the city’s overall land use and zoning program;

That the requested accommodation(s), considered singly and the project in total, would be in keeping with and not detrimental to the neighborhood character and would not result in a substantial increase in traffic;

If the director of community development grants, or grants with modifications, the request, the request shall be granted to the disabled individual and shall not run with the land unless the director of community development also finds that the modification is physically integrated into the structure and cannot be easily removed or altered to comply with the city’s zoning regulations or policies.

The director of community development shall issue a written decision on a request for reasonable accommodation.

The written decisions shall give notice of the applicant’s right to appeal and to request reasonable accommodation in the appeals process as set forth below.

Notice of the decision shall be provided to the applicant.

Prior to issuance of any permits relative to an approved reasonable accommodation, the director of community development may require the applicant to record a covenant in the county recorder’s office acknowledging and agreeing to comply with the terms and conditions established in the decision. The covenant shall be required only if the director of community development finds that a covenant is necessary to provide notice to future owners that a reasonable accommodation has been granted.