The purpose of this chapter is to further the purposes of the Fair Employment and Housing Act, the Federal Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disability Act by, among other things, (1) ensuring that group living facilities, which are a form of boarding house which is otherwise a prohibited use in any zoning district, are permitted with a conditional use permit to be located in specified residential-like settings as a reasonable accommodation for the physically and mentally disabled who would otherwise not be able to reside in a boarding house within the city, and (2) to provide comfortable living environments that will enhance the opportunity for the physically and mentally disabled and for recovering addicts to be successful in their programs, and (3) in the case of unlicensed group living facilities, provide some protection to a vulnerable population in the absence of licensing or other regulatory oversight regarding the operators of such unlicensed group homes, and (4) to provide a framework for the inclusion of housing and care facilities for people with disabilities in the city.

(Ord. No. 1385, § 3, 2-14-17)

A.

Any person who owns, manages or operates an unlicensed group living facility and seeks to operate such facility must first obtain a conditional use permit pursuant to the requirements of the chapter.

B.

Any person who owns, manages, or operates a licensed group living facility with greater than six persons and seeks to operate such facility must first obtain a conditional use permit pursuant to the requirements of this chapter.

C.

In addition to the conditional use permit required under paragraphs A and B above, no person shall operate a group living facility without a business license.

(Ord. No. 1385, § 3, 2-14-17)

The application requirements for a special use permit for an unlicensed group living facility or a licensed group living facility for seven beds or more shall be submitted to the director by the operator of the group living facility.

A.

The application shall provide the following:

1.

The name, address, phone number and driver's license number of the operator;

2.

The name, address, phone number and driver's license number of the house manager;

3.

A copy of the group living facility's home rules and regulations;

4.

Written intake procedures;

5.

The relapse policy (for residential alcohol and alcohol rehabilitation facilities);

6.

An affirmation by the operator that only residents (other than the house manager) who are disabled as defined by state and federal law shall reside at the group living facility;

7.

Blank copies of all forms that all residents and potential residents are required to complete; and

8.

If the operator of the group living facility is not the property owner, written approval from the property owner to operate a group living facility at the property;

9.

Emergency operations plan for the proposed group living facility;

10.

A fee for the cost of processing the application as set by city council resolution.

B.

As part of the application process, a background check will be required for both the operator and the house manager. No business license or conditional use permit shall be issued to any operator who or whose staff (house manager) has:

1.

An employment history in which he or she was terminated during the past two years because of physical assault, sexual harassment, embezzlement or theft; falsifying a drug test and selling or furnishing of illegal drugs or alcohol; or

2.

Been convicted of or pleaded nolo contendere within the last seven to ten years to any of the following offenses:

a.

Any sex offense for which the person is required to register as a sex offender under the California Penal Code Section 290;

b.

Arson offenses—violations of Penal Code Sections 451—455; or

c.

Violent felonies, as defined in Penal Code Section 667.5 which involve doing bodily harm to another person.

C.

The fire chief and building official shall ascertain whether the premises to be used comply with applicable laws, ordinances and regulations concerning such premises. Both an initial building and safety inspection and a fire inspection for group occupancies is required as a condition of approval for any conditional use permit, with annual inspections thereafter.

D.

The city shall notify the applicant in writing within thirty days after the filing of the completed application for a conditional use permit that the application has scheduled before the planning commission. In event of denial, the applicant may appeal to the city council but must do so within ten days of the date of the planning commission decision. The city shall hear the appeal within thirty days of the date of receipt of the notice of appeal.

(Ord. No. 1385, § 3, 2-14-17)

A.

The group living facility shall have a house manager who resides at the group living facility or any multiple of persons acting as house manager who are present at the group living facility on a twenty-four-hour basis and who are responsible for day-to-day operations.

B.

The group living facility shall not be located in an accessory dwelling unit unless the primary dwelling unit is used for the same purpose.

C.

All garages and driveway spaces associated with the group living facility shall, at all times, be available for the parking of vehicles. In order to mitigate negative aesthetic and other impacts and to prevent nuisances, the reviewing body may limit the amount of on-site parking, require additional landscaping or other screening of parking areas, limit and/or prohibit the issuance of street overnight parking permits, or impose other reasonable conditions. In no event shall more than one vehicle per resident or house manager be stored or parked on the site or on any street within five hundred feet of the group living facility. Any such vehicle must be operable and currently used as a primary form of transportation for a resident of the group living facility.

D.

If the group living facility is a drug and alcohol recovery and rehabilitation facility (sober living home), due to the extremely transient populations and above-normal numbers of adults residing in an unlicensed group living facility, who may or may not be supervised and where the neighbors may have no knowledge of who does and does not reside in the group living facility, the following additional operational standards apply:

1.

The facility shall have a written visitation policy that shall preclude visitors who are under the influence of any drug or alcohol;

2.

The facility shall not provide any of the following services as they are defined by Section 10501(a)(6) of Title 9, California Code of Regulations: detoxification; education counseling; individual or group counseling sessions; and treatment or recovery planning;

3.

The facility shall have a good neighbor policy that shall direct occupants to be considerate of neighbors. The good neighbor policy shall establish a written protocol for the house manager/operator to follow when a neighbor complaint is received.

(Ord. No. 1385, § 3, 2-14-17)

The following findings must be made for the proposed project by the reviewing body, in addition to the standard findings for a conditional use permit, in order to approve a conditional use permit under this chapter:

A.

It shall not result in adverse effects to, or jeopardize or endanger, the health, welfare, peace, or safety of persons in the surrounding area;

B.

It shall not adversely affect the livability of the surrounding neighborhood as a result of inadequate maintenance, prohibited activities, and/or operating characteristics;

C.

It shall not result in nuisance activities, including but not limited to disturbance of the peace, illegal drug activity, public drunkenness, public consumption of alcohol, harassment of passers-by, gambling, public urination, theft, assault, battery, vandalism, littering, loitering, excessive or illegal parking, noise levels above those allowed pursuant to the city's noise ordinance, lewd conduct, or police detentions and/or arrests;

D.

It shall not result in violation of any applicable provision of any other city, state, or federal regulation, ordinance or statute;

E.

It shall not result in an overconcentration of similar uses or other uses with potentially similar impacts. In making such finding, the reviewing body may consider whether any group home or group living facility (whether or not such facility is licensed by the state of California) is located within three hundred feet, measured from the property lines.

(Ord. No. 1385, § 3, 2-14-17)