Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD 1381 (2011)ORDINANCE NO. 1381 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUSTIN ADDING SECTION 9278 OF PART 7 OF CHAPTER 2 OF ARTICLE 9 OF THE TUSTIN CITY CODE, PROVIDING A PROCEDURE FOR REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES (CODE AMENDMENT 2011-03) The City Council of the City of Tustin, California does ordain as follows: SECTION I. The City Council finds and determines as follows: A. That the federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 and California's Fair Employment and Housing Act impose an affirmative duty on local governments to make reasonable accommodation in their land use and zoning regulations and practices when such accommodation may be necessary to afford individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to housing; B. That the State Housing Element Statute requires Tustin's Housing Element to identify and develop a plan for removing governmental constraints to housing for individuals with disabilities including local land use and zoning constraints or providing reasonable accommodation; C. That the Attorney General of the State of California has asserted that cities and counties have an affirmative duty under the fair housing law to provide reasonable accommodation procedures concerning individuals with disabilities to further the development of housing for individuals with disabilities; D. That a fair housing reasonable accommodation procedure for individuals with disabilities and developers of housing for individuals with disabilities to seek relief in the application of land use, zoning and building regulations, policies, practices and procedures will further the City's compliance with federal and state fair housing laws and provide greater opportunities for the development of critically needed housing for individuals with disabilities; E. That Code Amendment 2011-03 implements the following General Plan Housing Element goals and policies: Ordinance No. 1381 Page 1 of 7 a. Goal 1: Provide an adequate supply of housing to meet the need for a variety of housing types and the diverse socio-economic needs of all community residents. b. Policy 1.14: Encourage the availability of affordable housing for special needs households, including large, low-income families. Special needs households include the elderly, large families, female headed households, households with a disabled person, and the homeless. C. Policy 1.17: Encourage the design and occupancy of housing for senior citizens and the disabled. Promote the construction or rehabilitation and adoption of dwelling units accessible to seniors and/or the disabled. F. That on May 24, 2011, a public hearing was duly noticed, called and held by the Tustin Planning Commission on Code Amendment 2011-03 (Ordinance No. 1381). The Planning Commission adopted Resolution No. 4148 recommending that the Tustin City Council adopt the Ordinance No. 1381. G. That on June 21, 2011, a public hearing was duly noticed, called, and held before the City Council concerning this Code Amendment. H. That the proposed Code Amendment is exempt from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the California Code of Regulations Title 14, Chapter 3 (Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act). SECTION II. Section 9278 of Part 7 of Chapter 2 of Article 9 of the Tustin City Code is hereby added as follows: 9278 REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION a. Purpose. It is the policy of the City of Tustin to comply with the federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act to provide individuals with disabilities reasonable accommodation in regulations and procedures to ensure equal access to housing and to facilitate the development of housing for individuals with disabilities. The purpose of this Chapter is to establish a process for individuals with disabilities to make requests for reasonable accommodation when reasonable accommodation is warranted based upon sufficient evidence. Ordinance No. 1381 Page 2 of 7 b. Applicability; Definition of Individual with a Disability. Reasonable accommodation in the land use and zoning context means providing individuals with disabilities or developers of housing for people with disabilities, flexibility in the application of land use, zoning, and building regulations, policies, practices and procedures, or waiver of other requirements, when reasonable and necessary to eliminate barriers to housing opportunities. An individual with a disability is defined as any of the following: 1. a person who has a physical or mental impairment that limits one or more major life activities; or 2. a person who is regarded as having such impairment; or 3. a person(s) with a record of such impairment; or 4. a person with a "disability" as otherwise defined in the federal Americans with Disabilities Act or the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. C. Who May Request a Reasonable Accommodation. A request for reasonable accommodation may be made by any individual with a disability, a parent or legal guardian of a minor with a disability, his or her other legally authorized representative, or a developer or provider of housing for individuals with disabilities, when the application of a land use, zoning or building regulation, policy, practice or procedure, or other requirement acts as a barrier to fair housing opportunities. d. Requests for Reasonable Accommodation Application Process. To make housing available to an individual with a disability, any eligible person as defined in Section 9278c. may request a reasonable accommodation in land use, zoning and building regulations, policies, practices and procedure by filing a completed development application form with the Community Development Department. Along with a completed development application form, the applicant shall provide the following: (a) Description of the requested accommodation and the reference of the specific code(s), regulation(s), policy, practice,or procedure or requirement for which accommodation is being requested; and Ordinance No. 1381 Page 3 of 7 (b) The basis for the claim that the applicant is considered an individual with a disability under Section 9278b, the federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, or the California Fair Employment and Housing Act; and (c) Reason that the requested accommodation may be necessary for the individual(s) with the disability to use and enjoy the dwelling; and (d) Confirmation that the property is the primary residence of the applicant (individual with a disability) for which the reasonable accommodation is being requested; and (e) Plans and detailed information of any physical improvements to the property being proposed including photos and supporting information necessary to evaluate the requested accommodation; and (f) Additional information as deemed necessary by the Community Development Department to properly evaluate the proposed request and render a decision. 2. Fees. At the time of application submittal, the applicant shall submit a filing fee in the amount required for a Minor Amendment application pursuant to the City's current fee schedule as adopted by the City Council. 3. Noticing. Requests for reasonable accommodation shall be considered without a public hearing. 4. Conformance with Existing Codes. The property for which the reasonable accommodation is being requested shall be in compliance with the codes and regulations existing at the time of application submittal. The approval body may waive this requirement if the non-compliance is unrelated to the requested reasonable accommodation. The granting of any waiver shall not preclude the City from requiring correction of the existing violations to conform to all applicable codes and regulations. e. Reviewing Authority Requests for reasonable accommodation shall be considered by the Community Development Director. 2. The Community Development Department shall accept and review each application for reasonable accommodation and within thirty (30) calendar days of receipt thereof determine whether the application is complete. If the application is determined to be complete, the Community Development Ordinance No. 1381 Page 4 of 7 Director shall issue a written decision on a request within fifteen (15) days of the completeness determination date and may either grant, grant with conditions, or deny a request for reasonable accommodation in accordance with the required findings set forth in Section 9278f. If the application is determined to be incomplete, the Community Development Department shall promptly issue a written notice of the additional information necessary to complete the application. 3. In the event that the applicant also seeks approval of any additional entitlement(s) along with the request for reasonable accommodation, the approval body for the entire application, including the request for reasonable accommodation, shall be the same body that is required to approve the additional entitlement. f. Required Findings and Other Requirements 1. The decision to grant, grant with conditions, or deny a request for reasonable accommodation shall be consistent with fair housing laws and based on the following findings: (a) The housing, which is the subject of the request for reasonable accommodation, will be occupied as the primary residence by an individual with a disability; (b) The requested accommodation is necessary to make housing available to an individual with disabilities protected under the fair housing laws; (c) The requested accommodation would not impose an undue financial or administrative burden on the City; and, (d) The requested accommodation would not require a fundamental alteration in the nature of the City's land use and zoning codes and policies. 2. Other Requirements An approved reasonable accommodation is a personal accommodation for the disabled individual requesting such accommodation and does not run with the land. At such time that the reasonable accommodation is no longer necessary or the individual with a disability no longer resides at the property, the property shall be restored to its previous condition. However, the Community Development Director may determine that it would be impractical or financially unfeasible to return the property to its previous condition. Ordinance No. 1381 Page 5 of 7 Upon any transfer of ownership of the property, the permittee or current owner shall notify all interested parties of the existence of the reasonable accommodation and the requirement of restoration of the property to its prior condition. Any request to maintain an existing reasonable accommodation for use by a different individual with a disability shall require approval of a new application for reasonable accommodation. A reasonable accommodation approved at the request of a developer or provider of housing for individuals with disabilities does not need to be renewed upon transfer of ownership provided the property will continue to be used and occupied by persons with the disability or disabilities giving rise to the need for the reasonable accommodation. The reasonable accommodation may be inspected annually or more often if necessary by the Community Development Department. A deed restriction shall be recorded against the property to ensure compliance with conditions of approval, potential removal of the accommodation, and use restrictions. g. Appeals A decision of the Community Development Director shall be final unless appealed in accordance with Section 9294. h. Time Limits Any reasonable accommodation granted in accordance with the terms of this chapter shall be null and void if not used within one (1) year from the date of approval. SECTION III. 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 Tustin 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. PASSED AND ADOPTED, at a regular meeting of the City Council for the City of Tustin on the 5th day of July, 2011. Ordinance No. 1381 Page 6 of 7 ff 00 r 40 1444 00 - a I AM -0- Al -155y4pal I STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF ORANGE ) SS CITY OF TUSTIN ) I, Pamela Stoker, City Clerk and ex -officio Clerk of the City Council of the City of Tustin, California, do hereby certify that the whole number of the members of the City Council of the City of Tustin is five; that the above and foregoing Ordinance No. 1381 was duly passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the Tustin City Council, held on the 5th day of July 2011, by the following vote: COUNCILMEMBER AYES: Amante, Nielsen, Gavello, Gomez, Murray (5) COUNCILMEMBER NOES: None (0) COUNCILMEMBER ABSTAINED: None (0) COUNCILMEMBER ABSENT: None (0) APPROVED AS TO FORM: DOUGLAS ROLLAND, City Attorney Ordinance No. 1381 Page 7of7