HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance #4341 ORDINANCE NO. 4341
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH
AMENDING SECTION 230.28 OF THE HUNTINGTON BEACH ZONING AND
SUBDIVISION ORDINANCE
(ZONING TEXT AMENDMENT NO. 25-003)
WHEREAS, pursuant to the California State Planning and Zoning Law, the Huntington
Beach Planning Commission and Huntington Beach City Council have held separate, duly noticed
public hearings to consider Zoning Text Amendment No. 25-003, which amends Section 230.28
of the Huntington Beach Zoning and Subdivision Ordinance; and
After due consideration of the findings and recommendations of the Planning Commission
and all other evidence presented, the City Council finds that the aforesaid amendment is proper
and consistent with the General Plan;
NOW,THEREFORE,the City Council of the City of Huntington Beach does hereby ordain
as follows:
SECTION 1. That Section 230.28 of the Huntington Beach Zoning and Subdivision
Ordinance is hereby amended to read as follows:
230.28 Group Homes
A. Purpose.
This section is intended to preserve the residential character of single-family residential
neighborhoods and to further the purposes of the FEHA, the FHAA and the Lanterman Act by,
among other things: (1) ensuring that group homes are actually entitled to the special
accommodation and/or additional accommodation provided under the Huntington Beach
Municipal Code and not simply skirting the city's boarding house regulations; (2) limiting the
secondary impacts of group homes by reducing noise and traffic, preserving safety and providing
adequate on street parking; (3)providing an accommodation for the disabled that is reasonable
and actually bears some resemblance to the opportunities afforded non-disabled individuals to
use and enjoy a dwelling unit in a single-family neighborhood; and (4) to provide comfortable
living environments that will enhance the opportunity for the disabled and for recovering addicts
to be successful in their programs.
ORDINANCE NO. 4341
B. Special Use Permit Required.
1. A group home that may otherwise be considered an unpermitted use may
locate in the RL, RM, RMH, RH, RMP, a Specific Plan Residential, or a Specific Plan Mixed
Use zone with a Special Use Permit provided:
a. An application for a group home is submitted to the director by the
owner/operator of the group home. The application shall provide the following:
i The name, address, phone number and driver's license number of the
owner/operator;
ii. If the applicant and/or operator is a partnership, corporation, firm or
association, then the applicant/operator shall provide the additional names and
addresses as follows and such persons shall also sign the application:
(1) Every general partner of the partnership,
(2) Every owner with a controlling interest in the corporation,
(3) The person designated by the officers of a corporation as set
forth in a resolution of the corporation that is to be designated as the
permit holder;
iii. The license and permit history of the applicant(s), including whether
such applicant(s), in previously operating a similar use in this or another city,
county or state under license and/or permit, has had such license and/or permit
revoked or suspended, and the reason therefor;
iv. The name, address, phone number and driver's license number of the
house manager;
v. A copy of the group home rules and regulations;
vi. Written intake procedures;
vii. The relapse policy;
viii. An affirmation by the owner/operator that only residents (other than
the house manager) who are disabled as defined by state and federal law shall
reside at the group home;
ix. Blank copies of all forms that all residents and potential residents are
required to complete; and
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x. A fee for the cost of processing of the application as set by resolution
of the city council.
No person shall open a group home or begin employment with a group home until this
information has been provided and such persons shall be responsible for updating any of this
information to keep it current.
b. The group home has six (6) or fewer occupants, not counting a house
manager, but in no event shall have more than seven (7) occupants. If the dwelling unit
has a secondary accessory unit, occupants of both units will be combined to determine
whether or not the limit of six (6) occupants has been exceeded.
c. The group home shall not be located in an accessory secondary unit unless the
primary dwelling unit is used for the same purpose.
d. The group home has a house manager who resides at the group home or any
multiple of persons acting as a house manager who are present at the group home on a
twenty-four (24) hour basis and who are responsible for the day-to-day operation of the
group home.
e. All garage and driveway spaces associated with the dwelling unit shall, at all
times, be available for the parking of vehicles. Residents and the house manager may
each only store or park a single vehicle at the dwelling unit or on any street within five
hundred (500) feet of the dwelling unit. The vehicle must be operable and currently
used as a primary form of transportation for a resident of the group home.
f. Occupants must not require and operators must not provide "care and
supervision" as those terms are defined by Health and Safety Code section 1503.5 and
section 80001(c)(3) of Title 22, California Code of Regulations.
g. Integral group home facilities are not permitted. Applicants shall declare,
under penalty of perjury, that the group home does not operate as an integral
use/facility.
h. If the group home operator is not the property owner, written approval from
the property owner to operate a group home at the property.
i. The property must be fully in compliance with all building codes, municipal
code and zoning.
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j. At least forty-eight (48) hours prior to an occupant's eviction from or
involuntary termination of residency in a group home, the operator thereof shall:
i. Notify the person designated as the occupant's emergency contact or
contact of record that the occupant will no longer be a resident at the home;
ii. Contact the Orange County Health Care Agency OC Links Referral
Line and/or another entity designated by the City to determine the services
available to the occupant, including, but not limited to, alcohol and drug inpatient
and outpatient treatment;
iii. Notify the City's Homeless Task Force or its successor panel that an
occupant is no longer a resident at the home, and determine the services available
therefrom;
iv. Provide the information obtained from paragraphs ii and iii of this
subsection B.1.j. and any other treatment provider or service to the occupant prior
to his or her release on a form provided by the City and obtain the occupant's
signed acknowledgement thereon;
v. Provided, however, that if the occupant's behavior results in
immediate termination of residency pursuant to rules approved by the City as part
of the special use permit for that facility,the operator shall comply with
paragraphs i. through iv. of this subsection B.l.j. as soon as possible.
k. Prior to an occupant's eviction from or involuntary termination of residency in
a group home, the operator thereof shall also:
i. Make available to the occupant transportation to the address listed on
the occupant's driver license, state-issued identification card, or the permanent
address identified in the occupant's application or referral to the group home;
ii. Provided, however, that should the occupant decline transportation
to his or her permanent address or otherwise has no permanent address, then the
operator shall make available to the occupant transportation to another group
home or residential care facility that has agreed to accept the occupant. If the
operator cannot find accommodation, the occupant must continue to house on
premises until such accommodation can be found for the occupant.
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1. The group home operator shall maintain records for a period of one year
following eviction from or involuntary termination of residency of an occupant that
document compliance with subsections B.1.j. and B.1.k. of this section; provided,
however, that nothing herein shall require an operator of a group home to violate any
provision of state or federal law regarding confidentiality of health care information.
The group home operator may not satisfy the obligations set forth in subsection B.1.k.
of this section by providing remuneration to the occupant for the cost of transportation.
m. All drivers of vehicles picking up or dropping off persons at a group home
shall comply with all applicable provisions of this Code and the Vehicle Code,
including, but not limited to, those provisions regulating licensure and parking,
standing and stopping.
n. In addition to the regulations outlined above, the following shall also apply to
sober living homes:
i. The sober living home is not located within one thousand (1000) feet,
as measured from the closest property lines, of any other sober living home or a
state licensed alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facility.
ii. All occupants, other than the house manager, must be actively
participating in legitimate recovery programs, including, but not limited to,
Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous and the sober living home must
maintain current records of meeting attendance. Under the sober living home's
rules and regulations, refusal to actively participate in such a program shall be
cause for eviction.
iii. The sober living home's rules and regulations must prohibit the use
of any alcohol or any non-prescription drugs at the sober living home or by any
recovering addict either on or off site. The sober living home must also have a
written policy regarding the possession, use and storage of prescription
medications. The facility cannot dispense medications but must make them
available to the residents. The possession or use of prescription medications is
prohibited except for the person to whom they are prescribed, and in the
amounts/dosages prescribed. These rules and regulations shall be posted on site in
a common area inside the dwelling unit. Any violation of this rule must be cause
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for eviction under the sober living home's rules for residency and the violator
cannot be re-admitted for at least ninety (90) days. Any second violation of this
rule shall result in permanent eviction. Alternatively, the sober living home must
have provisions in place to remove the violator from contact with the other
residents until the violation is resolved.
iv. The number of occupants subject to the sex offender registration
requirements of Penal Code section 290 does not exceed the limit set forth
in Penal Code section 3003.5 and does not violate the distance provisions set forth
in Penal Code section 3003.
v. The sober living home shall have a written visitation policy that shall
preclude any visitors who are under the influence of any drug or alcohol.
vi. The sober living home shall have a good neighbor policy that shall
direct occupants to be considerate of neighbors, including refraining from
engaging in excessively loud, profane or obnoxious behavior that would unduly
interfere with a neighbor's use and enjoyment of their dwelling unit. The good
neighbor policy shall establish a written protocol for the house manager/operator
to follow when a neighbor complaint is received.
vii. The sober living home 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; educational counseling; individual or group
counseling sessions; and treatment or recovery planning.
o. An applicant may seek relief from the strict application of this section by
submitting a reasonable accommodation application setting forth specific reasons as to
why accommodation over and above this section is necessary under state and federal
laws, pursuant to section HBMC 17.77.
2. The special use permit shall be issued by the director as a ministerial matter if the
applicant is in compliance or has agreed to comply with subsections B.l.a. through B.1.n. of
this section. The issuance of the special use permit shall be denied upon a determination,
and if already issued shall be denied or revoked upon a hearing, by the director that any of
the following circumstances exist:
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a. Any owner/operator or staff person has provided materially false or misleading
information on the application or omitted any pertinent information;
b. Any owner/operator or staff person has an employment history in which he or she
was terminated during the past two (2) years because of physical assault, sexual
harassment, embezzlement or theft; falsifying a drug test; and selling or furnishing
illegal drugs or alcohol.
c. Any owner/operator or staff person has been convicted of or pleaded nolo
contendere, within the last seven(7)to ten (10) years, to any of the following offenses:
i. Any sex offense for which the person is required to register as a sex offender
under California Penal Code section 290 (last ten (10) years);
ii. Arson offenses—Violations of Penal Code Sections 451-455 (last seven
(7) years); or
iii. Violent felonies, as defined in Penal Code section 667.5, which involve
doing bodily harm to another person (last ten (10) years).
iv. The unlawful sale or furnishing of any controlled substances (last seven (7)
years).
d. Any owner/operator or staff person is on parole or formal probation supervision on
the date of the submittal of the application or at any time thereafter.
e. The owner/operator accepts residents, other than a house manager, who are not
disabled as defined by the FHAA and FEHA.
f. A special use permit for a sober living home shall also be denied upon a
determination, and if already issued, any transfer shall be denied or revoked, upon a
hearing, by the director that any of the following additional circumstances exist:
i. Any owner/operator or staff person of a sober living home is a recovering
drug or alcohol abuser and upon the date of application or employment has had
less than one (1) full year of sobriety.
ii. The owner/operator of a sober living home fails to immediately take
measures to remove any resident who uses alcohol or illegally uses prescription or
non-prescription drugs, or who is not actively participating in a legitimate
recovery program from contact with all other sober residents.
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ORDINANCE NO. 4341
iii. The sober living home, as measured by the closest property lines, is located
within one thousand (1000) feet of any other sober living home or state licensed
alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facility. If a state-licensed
alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facility moves within one
thousand (1000) feet of an existing sober living home this shall not cause the
revocation of the sober living home's permit or be grounds for denying a transfer
of such permit.
g. For any other significant and/or repeated violations of this section and/or any other
applicable laws and/or regulations, including, but not limited to, failure to comply with
the provisions of subsections B.1.j. through m.
h. Revocation shall not apply to any group home, which otherwise would cause it to
be in violation of this section, that has obtained a reasonable accommodation pursuant
to HBMC 17.77.
C. Effect or Denial or Revocation of Special Use Permit or Conditional Use Permit
1. Whenever an application for a Special Use Permit or Conditional Use
Permit for a Sober Living Facility, Group Home, or similar facility is denied, no other
similar application by such applicant or permittee will be considered for a period of
five years from the date of the denial of an application. Whenever a permit has been
revoked, canceled, or otherwise invalidated, no other similar application by such
permittee shall be considered for a period of five years from either the date the notice
of the permit revocation was mailed or the date of the final decision of the city to
revoke the permit, whichever is later. The prohibitions of this subsection shall also
apply to the following:
a. Any individual whose Special Use Permit or Conditional Use
Permit was revoked or whose application was denied who later becomes a
director or officer of a corporation, profit or nonprofit, or a member of a
partnership or a person owning or possessing any portion of the shares of a
corporation seeking to obtain a Special Use Permit.
b. A corporation, profit or nonprofit, whose Special Use Permit or
Conditional Use Permit was revoked, or application was denied, to any of its
directors or officers or to any person who owned any portion of its shares, who
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ORDINANCE NO. 4341
attempts by way of a new corporation or using their individual names or
becoming a member of a partnership or a director or officer or a person owning
or possessing any portion of the shares in another corporation seeking to obtain
a new Special Use Permit or Conditional Use Permit.
c. A landowner who illegally leased, rented, sold, or otherwise
allowed an individual or corporation to operate a non-permitted Group Home or
Sober Living Home.
2. In addition to any other law,no person or entity shall be eligible for and/or
receive an operator's Special Use Permit or Conditional Use Permit if that person or
entity, or any director or officer of that entity or a person who owned any portion of
that entity's shares, or any financial interest holder of that entity, engaged or engages
in unpermitted and/or illegal activity involving medical care, addiction care, addiction
recovery, and Group or Sober Home operation, in the five years preceding an
application under this chapter or during the application process. A determination of
ineligibility may be made by the City Manager and shall be based on the
preponderance of the evidence. This prohibition shall not apply to a natural person
who would otherwise be ineligible based on a criminal conviction that has been
dismissed, withdrawn, expunged or set aside.
D. Compliance
1. Existing Group Homes must apply for a special use permit within ninety
(90) days of the effective date of this chapter.
2. Group Homes that are in existence upon the effective date of this chapter
shall have one (1) year from the effective date of this chapter to comply with its
provisions, provided that any existing Group Home, which is serving more than six (6)
residents, must first comply with the six-resident maximum.
3. Existing Group Homes obligated by a written lease exceeding one (1)year
from the effective date of the ordinance, or whose activity involves investment of money
in leasehold or improvements such that a longer period is necessary to prevent undue
financial hardship, are eligible for up to one (1) additional years grace period pursuant to
Planning Division approval.
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E. Transfer of Special Use Permit. Special Use Permit may not be transferred to any
1 other person or entity. No Special Use Permit issued pursuant to this chapter shall be transferred
or assigned or authorize any person other than the person or entity named in the permit to operate
the group home named therein.
F. A Conditional Use Permit shall be required for and may be granted to allow the
operation of a Group Home, or a Residential Care Facility with seven (7) or more occupants in
the RM, RMH, RH, RMP, Specific Plan Residential and Specific Plan Mixed Use Zones subject
to the following conditions:
1. As measured from the property line to property line, the Group Home or
Sober Living Home shall be at least one thousand (1000) feet from any other property
that contains a Group Home, Sober Living Home, or State-Licensed Residential Care
Facility.
2. An application for an Operator's Permit that complies with Chapter 5.110
of the Huntington Beach Municipal Code (HBMC) shall be required for and may be
granted to permit the operation of a Group Home or Sober Living Home.
SECTION 2. All other provisions of Chapter 230 not modified herein shall remain in full
force and effect.
SECTION 3.This ordinance shall become effective immediately 30 days after its adoption.
the CityCouncil of the Cityof Huntington Beach at a
PASSED AND ADOPTEDby g
regular meeting thereof held on the 7th day of October , 202 ,
May r
AT ES : APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Kair 0 A.. ( .....•..-. z:
Ci Clerk City ttorney
REVIEWED AND APPROVED: INITIATED AND A PROVED:
11� 7
ity Manager Co m ity Development Director
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Ord. No. 4341
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) ss:
CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH )
I, LISA LANE BARNES,the duly elected, qualified City Clerk of the
City of Huntington Beach, and ex-officio Clerk of the City Council of said City, do
hereby certify that the whole number of members of the City Council of the City of
Huntington Beach is seven; that the foregoing ordinance was read to said City Council at
a Regular meeting thereof held on September 16, 2025, and was again read to said City
Council at a Regular meeting thereof held on October 7, 2025, and was passed and
adopted by the affirmative vote of at least a majority of all the members of said City
Council.
AYES: Twining, McKeon, Burns, Van Der Mark, Gruel
NOES: None
ABSENT: Kennedy, Williams
ABSTAIN: None
I,Lisa Lane Barnes,CITY CLERK of the City of Huntington
Beach and ex-officio Clerk of the City Council,do hereby
certify that a synopsis of this ordinance has been published in
the Huntington Beach Wave on October 16,2025. 0444416 AKAISK
In accordance with the City Charter of said City.
isa e Barnes,City Clerk City Clerk and ex-officio Clerk
Senior Deputy City Clerk of the City Council of the City
of Huntington Beach, California