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HomeMy WebLinkAbout75B - PH - AMEND CHAPTER 41 ZONING RE: ADAREQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: FEBRUARY 7, 2011 TITLE: PUBLIC HEARING - FILED BY THE CITY OF SANTA ANA TO AMEND PROVISIONS OF CHAPTER 41 ESTABLISHING A REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION PROCESS (ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT NO. 2010-03) /CITY MANAGER RECOMMENDED ACTION CLERK OF COUNCIL USE ONLY: APPROVED ? As Recommended ? As Amended ? Ordinance on 15t Reading ? Ordinance on 2nd Reading ? Implementing Resolution ? Set Public Hearing For CONTINUED TO FILE NUMBER Adopt an ordinance approving Zoning Ordinance Amendment No. 2010-03 to amend Chapter 41 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code in order to establish a process whereby persons with disabilities may request reasonable accommodations from the City's development standards. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION On January 24, 2011, the Planning Commission recommended that the City Council adopt an ordinance approving Zoning Ordinance Amendment No. 2010-03 by a vote of 7:0 to amend Chapter 41 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code in order to establish a process whereby persons with disabilities may request reasonable accommodations from the City's development standards. The Planning Commission made no changes to the modifications outlined in the attached staff report (Exhibit A). FISCAL IMPACT There is no fiscal impact associated with this action. <--?L J8y-1 . Trevino Executive Director Planning & Building Agency KH:rb kh/Staff Reports/ZOA 2010-03 Reasonable Accommodation Process.cc Exhibit: A. Planning Commission Staff Report 75B-1 75B-2 REQUEST FOR Planning Commission Action PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING DATE: JANUARY 24, 2011 TITLE: PUBLIC HEARING - FILED BY THE CITY OF SANTA ANA TO AMEND PROVISIONS OF CHAPTER 41 ESTABLISHING A REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION PROCESS (ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT NO. 2010-03) Prepared by Karen Haluza Executive Director RECOMMENDED ACTION PLANNING COMMISSION SECRETARY APPROVED ? As Recommended ? As Amended ? Set Public Hearing For DENIED ? Applicant's Request ? Staff Recommendation CONTINUED TO Planning Manager Recommend that the City Council adopt an ordinance approving Zoning Ordinance Amendment No. 2010-03 to amend Chapter 41 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code in order to establish a process whereby persons with disabilities may request reasonable accommodations from the City's development standards. DISCUSSION Request of the Awlicant The City of Santa Ana is requesting an amendment to Chapter 41 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code (SAMC) in order to establish a process whereby persons with disabilities may request deviations from the City's development standards in order to ensure that they may have equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling. Analysis of the Issues The Federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 and California's Fair Employment and Housing Act prohibit discrimination against individuals with disabilities; as such disability may limit housing opportunities and access -to housing. These fair housing laws require that cities and counties provide individuals with disabilities flexibility in the application of land use and zoning, and building regulations, practices and procedures. Local jurisdictions could even be asked to waive certain requirements when it is necessary to eliminate barriers to housing opportunities. The City's development standards, while they are not intended to create barriers to the full access of individuals to their homes, may, in some cases, need to be deviated from in order to ensure equal access to persons with disabilities. Currently, a process exists whereby an individual may request a deviation from the City's development standards through a variance or minor exception. However, that process isn't suitable for all cases where the deviation is needed in order to provide a Exhibit A 1 ZOA No. 2010-03 January 24, 2011 Page 2 reasonable accommodation due to a disability. In addition, the process itself requires a complete Site Plan Review submittal and public hearing that would not be necessary for most cases where a reasonable accommodation is requested. Rather than require such individuals to apply for a variance from these standards, staff recommends that the City establish a reasonable accommodation process, which would be approved at the administrative level, in order to remove any barriers to access that might otherwise result from the enforcement of the City's development standards. To this end, the Planning and Building Agency and the City Attorney's Office have researched model ordinances prepared by Mental Health Advocacy Services, as well as variations of this ordinance adopted by the cities of Long Beach, Orange, Santa Rosa, Sacramento, San Jose, Pleasant Hill and Glendale. The ordinance establishes a simple ministerial process which can be used by individuals needing deviations from the City's standards to allow a physical change to some component of their residence, or property, in order to accommodate a speck need resulting from their disability. For example, a resident who uses a wheelchair may have a wheelchair-accessible van that cannot fit in a standard garage. In order to accommodate the vehicle, a deviation may be requested to allow a new garage that, due to its larger size, may need to encroach into a setback area. With this ordinance in place, the resident in this example may apply for a reasonable accommodation to allow the construction of the garage within the setback area as opposed to having to go through the more in-depth discretionary review and approval process of the variance. Staff recommends that an ordinance to establish a reasonable accommodation procedure for people with disabilities be adopted in order to ensure that such individuals may have equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling. Staff further recommends that, based on the number of projected applications and the relatively small amount of staff work required, no fee be established for such requests. CEQA Compliance In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act, the recommended action is exempt from further review pursuant to Section 15061 (b) (3) of the CEQA Guidelines. This exemption is allowed when the activity, in this case the recommendation of adoption of the ordinance, follows the general rule that CEQA only applies to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. The establishment of a reasonable accommodation process will not have a significant effect on the environment. A Notice of Exemption (Environmental Review No. 2010-135) will be filed for this project. - V I LA7,e-k- Karen Haluza, AICP Planning Manager KH:jm kh/Stab Reports/ZOA 2010-03 Reasonable Accommodation Process.pc (ROH - 02/07/11) ORDINANCE NO. NS-XXX AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA AMENDING CHAPTER 41 OF THE SANTA ANA MUNICIPAL CODE ADDING A PROCEDURE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES TO REQUEST REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS TO ENSURE EQUAL ACCESS TO HOUSING THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA ANA DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. The City Council of the City of Santa Ana hereby finds, determines and declares as follows: A. Individuals with disabilities should be provided equal opportunity to the use and enjoyment of a dwelling. To that end, the City's rules and policies should provide for reasonable accommodations so as not to unfairly hinder such access and enjoyment. B. The state Fair Employment and Housing Act and the federal Fair Housing Act make it unlawful to refuse to make reasonable accommodations in the rules, policies, practices, or services, when such accommodations may be necessary to afford persons with disabilities equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling. This has been interpreted by the courts to apply to local government agencies. C. A procedure to grant reasonable accommodations to the City's rules, policies and practices shall be established. D. It is the policy of the City, pursuant to the Federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, to provide individuals with disabilities reasonable accommodation in rules, policies, practices and procedures to ensure equal access to housing and facilitate the development of housing for individuals with disabilities. This ordinance establishes a procedure for making requests for reasonable accommodation in land use, zoning, and building regulations, policies, practices, and procedures of the City to comply fully with the intent and purpose of the Acts. E. The Request for Council Action for this ordinance dated February 7, 2011, shall by this reference be incorporated herein, and together with this ordinance, any amendments or supplements and the oral 75B-5 testimony before the City Council at this meeting, shall additionally constitute the necessary findings for this ordinance. F. All provisions of the Santa Ana Municipal Code which are repeated herein are repeated solely in order to comply with the provisions of Section 418 of the Charter of the City of Santa Ana. Any such restatement of existing provisions of the Code is not intended, nor shall it be interpreted, as constituting a new action or decision of the City Council, but rather such provisions are repeated for tracking purposes only in conformance with the Charter. Section 2. Section 41-49 is added to Chapter 41 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code to read in full as follows: Sec. 41-49. Disabled Person. For purposes of the reasonable accommodation process detailed in Sections 41-652, et seq., any person who has a medical condition, physical disability, or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; anyone who is regarded as having such impairment; or, anyone who has a record of such impairment. People who are currently using illegal substances are not covered unless they have a separate disability. Section 3. Section 41-141 is added to Chapter 41 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code to read in full as follows: Sec. 41-141. Reasonable Accommodation. A modification or exception to the standards, regulations, policies, and procedures contained in this title for the siting, development, and use of housing or housing-related facilities, that would eliminate regulatory barriers and provide an individual with a disability equal opportunity for the use and enjoyment of housing of their choice, and that does not impose undue financial or administrative burdens on the City or require a fundamental or substantial alteration of the City's planning and zoning programs. Section 4. Section 41-652 is added to Chapter 41 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code to read in full as follows: Sec. 41-652. Reasonable Accommodation -Application Process. (a) Notice to the public of availability of accommodation process. The Agency shall prominently display in both City Hall and the Planning and Building Agency a notice advising those with disabilities or their representatives that they may request a reasonable accommodation in accordance with the procedures established in this Division. Ordinance No. NS-XXX 75B-6 Page 2 of 7 (b) Applicability. To make specific housing available to an individual with a disability, any person may request reasonable accommodation under this division to modify a land use or zoning standard, regulation, policy, and procedure of the City as may be necessary to afford the individual with a disability equal opportunity to the use and enjoyment of their dwelling. A request for reasonable accommodation shall be made by filing an application under this section. (c) Application. An application for reasonable accommodation shall be submitted on a form prescribed by the Executive Director of the Planning and Building Agency, or in the form of a letter addressed to the Executive Director. (d) Privacy. Any information related to a disability status and identified by an applicant as confidential shall be retained in a manner so as to respect the privacy rights of the applicant and shall not be made available for public inspection. (e) Assistance. If an individual needs assistance in making the request for reasonable accommodation, the city will provide assistance to ensure that the process is accessible. (f) Timing. A request for reasonable accommodation may be filed at any time that the accommodation may be necessary to ensure equal access to housing. A reasonable accommodation does not affect an individual's obligations to comply with other applicable regulations not at issue in the requested accommodation. (g) Filing Fees. There shall be no fee imposed in connection with a request for reasonable accommodation under the provisions of this Division. Section 5. Section 41-653 is added to Chapter 41 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code to read in full as follows: Sec. 41-653. Reasonable Accommodation - Review. (a) Executive Director Review. An application for reasonable accommodation shall be reviewed by the Executive Director of the Planning and Building Agency, or his or her designee, as appropriate. (b) Decision. Within sixty (60) days of acceptance of the application as complete, the Executive Director shall issue a written decision to grant, grant with modifications, or deny an application for reasonable accommodation in accordance with Section 41-654 and shall notify the applicant of the decision. The written decision shall explain in detail the basis of the decision, including the Executive Director's findings on the factors stated in Section 41-654. If necessary to reach a determination on the request for reasonable accommodation, the Executive Director may request additional information from the applicant consistent with The Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, specifying in detail the information that is required. If a request for Ordinance No. NS-XXX 75B-7 Page 3 of 7 additional information is made, the sixty (60) day period to issue a decision is stayed until the applicant responds to the request. (c) Referral to Other Reviewing Authority. The Executive Director shall have the authority, upon his or her sole discretion, to refer any reasonable accommodation application to any other reviewing authority, including, but not limited to, the Planning Commission, the Zoning Administrator, or the Historic Resources Commission, to review the reasonable accommodation application and make a determination on the same in accordance with the applicable Sections. Section 6. Section 41-654 is added to Chapter 41 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code to read in full as follows: Sec. 41-654. Reasonable Accommodation - Standards. (a) Findings. The decision to grant, grant with modifications, or deny an application for reasonable accommodation shall be based on a finding of consistency with the Acts and shall take into consideration all of the following factors: 1. Whether the housing or housing related facilities, which are the subject of the request, will be used by an individual with a disability under the Acts. 2. Whether the request for reasonable accommodation is necessary to make specific housing available to an individual with a disability under the Acts. 3. Whether the requested reasonable accommodation would impose an undue financial or administrative burden on the city. 4. Whether the requested reasonable accommodation would require a fundamental alteration in the nature of a city program or law, including but not limited to land use and zoning. 5. Whether the requested reasonable accommodation would be contrary to the public health, safety, or welfare, or be injurious to the property or improvements of adjacent properties. 6. Whether the requested reasonable accommodation adequately considers the physical attributes of the property and structures. 7. Whether alternative reasonable accommodations could provide an equivalent level of benefit. Ordinance No. NS-XXX 75B-8 Page 4 of 7 8. Whether the property is in compliance with the then existing laws and regulations otherwise applicable to the property that is the subject of the request. If any non-compliance is through no fault of the applicant or unrelated to the request for reasonable accommodation, the Executive Director may waive this requirement. However, such a waiver shall not preclude the City from requiring that the existing violations be corrected in accordance with the Santa Ana Municipal Code. (b) Conditions of Approval. In granting a request for reasonable accommodation, the Executive Director of the Planning and Building Agency may impose any conditions of approval deemed reasonable and necessary to ensure that the reasonable accommodation will comply with the findings required by this section. Conditions may be imposed to ensure that any removable structures or physical design features that are constructed or installed in association with the reasonable accommodation be removed once those structures or physical design features are unnecessary to afford the individual with a disability for whom the reasonable accommodation was granted the use and enjoyment of the dwelling. (c) Restrictive Covenant. When applicable, the City shall enter into a restrictive covenant with the owner of the property which provides that prior to any sale, transfer, lease or other conveyance of the property, or at the time the need for the reasonable accommodation is no longer necessary, that the owner of the property shall bring the property into conformance with the City's zoning code to the extent that relief was provided under the zoning code as part of the request for reasonable accommodation. The restrictive covenant shall be recorded against the property being granted the reasonable accommodation. The restrictive covenant shall provide that the reasonable accommodation does not run with the land and shall terminate upon any sale, transfer, lease or other conveyance of the property. Upon submittal of a new application for a successor in interest to the property, the Executive Director may consider a continuation of the reasonable accommodation if it is consistent with and does not extend the original approval. Section 7. Section 41-655 is added to Chapter 41 of the Santa Ana Municipal Code to read in full as follows: Sec. 41-655. Reasonable Accommodation - Miscellaneous Provisions. (a) Time Extension; Voidance; Revocation. Any reasonable accommodation approved in accordance with the terms of this Article may be extended, voided, or revoked for the same reasons and in the same manner as a conditional use permit, as detailed in Article V of this Chapter, or for any violations of this Article, or for any violations of the terms and conditions of the reasonable accommodation, or if any law is violated in connection with the use of the reasonable accommodation. Ordinance No. NS-XXX 75B-9 Page 5 of 7 (b) Resubmittal of Applications. No request for reasonable accommodation that has been denied in whole or in part shall be filed again within six (6) months from the date of such denial except upon proof of changed conditions or by permission of the Executive Director of the Planning and Building Agency. (c) Modifications. A request to modify an approved reasonable accommodation shall be treated as a new application, unless in the opinion of the Executive Director the requested modification results in only a minor change, is within the authority of the Executive Director to approve, and is consistent with the original approval. (d) Appeals. The applicant requesting the accommodation may appeal an adverse determination or any conditions or limitations imposed in the written determination as provided in Chapter 3 of this Code. Section 16. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance. The City Council of the City of Santa Ana hereby declares that it would have adopted this ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions be declared invalid or unconstitutional. ADOPTED this day of , 2011 Miguel A. Pulido Mayor APPROVED AS TO FORM: Joseph Straka, City Attorney By: Ryan O. Hodge Assistant City Attorney Ordinance No. NS-XXX 75B-1 0 Page 6 of 7 AYES: NOES: ABSTAIN: NOT PRESENT Councilmembers Councilmembers Councilmembers Councilmembers CERTIFICATE OF ATTESTATION AND ORIGINALITY I, MARIA D. HUIZAR, Clerk of the Council, do hereby attest to and certify that the attached Ordinance No. NS-XXX to be the original ordinance adopted by the City Council of the City of Santa Ana on , and that said ordinance was published in accordance with the Charter of the City of Santa Ana. Date: Clerk of the Council City of Santa Ana Ordinance No. NS-XXX 758-11 Page 7 of 7 75B-12