The purpose of this chapter is to establish an alternate means of granting relief from the requirements of this Ordinance when so doing would be consistent with the purposes of the Ordinance and it is not possible or practical to approve a Variance. This procedure is intended to facilitate compliance with the Federal Fair Housing Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act by providing reasonable accommodation to persons with disabilities seeking fair access to housing through modification of the application of the City’s zoning regulations. This chapter authorizes the Chief Planner to grant relief from this Ordinance’s dimensional requirements when necessary to provide access to housing and to also approve limited waivers of dimensional standards for applicants who are not entitled to reasonable accommodation under these statutes. It also allows the Planning Commission to grant exceptions and waivers when necessary to accommodate religious uses protected by the Federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA). The relief available under this chapter is distinguished from granting of a Variance provided in Chapter 20.500 (“Variances”) in that it is limited to minor waivers of dimensional requirements except when an applicant is entitled to an accommodation pursuant to federal and/or State law.
(Ord. 1646 § 2, 2022; Ord. 1656, 6/12/2024)
A.
Notice and Application. A notice shall be displayed at the
office of the Planning Division advising applicants that they may
request a reasonable accommodation in the rules, policies, practices
and procedures regulating the siting, funding, development or use
of housing by completing an application requesting an accommodation
and filing it with the Planning Division.
1.
When an accommodation may be necessary to ensure equal access to
housing, a request for reasonable accommodation in rules, policies,
practices and/or procedures may be filed with any application for
zoning or subdivision approval or at any time during the zoning or
subdivision approval process.
B.
Review of Requests for Reasonable Accommodation to Ensure Access
to Housing. An application for reasonable accommodation to
ensure access to housing will be referred to the Chief Planner for
review and consideration. The Chief Planner shall issue a written
decision within 45 days of the date of the application and may grant
the reasonable accommodation request, grant with modifications, or
deny the request. All written decisions shall give notice of the right
to appeal and to request reasonable accommodation in the appeals process.
C.
Review of Other Requests for Waivers and Modifications. Applicants
who are not requesting reasonable accommodation to ensure access to
housing as provided for by Federal and/or State law may submit an
application requesting a waiver or exception to any of the following
standards:
1.
Lot area, width, or depth up to 10 percent of the required dimension;
2.
Height variation requirements based on existing patterns of development
within 500 feet of the subject property;
3.
Minimum yards, up to 10 percent of the required yard;
4.
Maximum height of fences and freestanding walls up to one foot over
height allowed;
5.
Maximum height of buildings and structures, up to 10 percent or eight
feet, whichever is less;
6.
Maximum lot coverage, up to 10 percent;
7.
Minimum landscaping, up to 10 percent of required landscaping for
site or parking lot;
8.
Required ground-floor building transparency, up to 10 percent of
minimum;
9.
Upper story step-back; up to 10 percent provided design features
have been incorporated to create visual variety and to avoid a large-scale,
bulky, or monolithic appearance;
10.
Building length and separation, up to 10 percent, provided the building
separation complies with the Building Code and design features have
been incorporated to create visual variety and to avoid a large-scale,
bulky, or monolithic appearance;
12.
For a corner lot, the widest dimension of the lot with street frontage
may be considered the front of a lot; or
(Ord. 1646 § 2, 2022; Ord. 1656, 6/12/2024)
A decision to grant a waiver or modification shall be based
on the following findings:
A.
The
waiver or modification is necessary due to the physical characteristics
of the property and the proposed use or structure or other circumstances,
including topography, noise exposure, irregular property boundaries,
or other unusual circumstance.
B.
There
are no alternatives to the requested waiver or modification that could
provide an equivalent level of benefit to the applicant with less
potential detriment to surrounding owners and occupants or to the
general public.
C.
The
granting of the requested waiver or modification would not be detrimental
to the health or safety of the public or the occupants of the property
or result in a change in land use or density that would be inconsistent
with the requirements of this title.
D.
If
the waiver or modification requested is to provide reasonable accommodation
pursuant to State or federal law, in addition to any other findings
that this chapter requires, the decision-maker must also make the
following findings:
1.
That the housing or other property which is the subject of the request
for reasonable accommodation will be used by an individual or organization
entitled to protection;
2.
If the request for accommodation is to provide fair access to housing,
that the request for accommodation is necessary to make specific housing
available to an individual protected under State or federal law;
3.
That the conditions imposed, if any, are necessary to further a compelling
public interest and represent the least restrictive means of furthering
that interest; and
4.
That denial of the requested waiver or modification would impose
a substantial burden on religious exercise or would conflict with
any State or federal statute requiring reasonable accommodation to
provide access to housing.
(Ord. 1646 § 2, 2022)
A.
In
approving a waiver or modification, the decision-maker may impose
any conditions deemed necessary to:
1.
Ensure that the proposal conforms in all significant respects with
the General Plan and with any other applicable plans or policies adopted
by the City Council;
2.
Achieve the general purposes of this Ordinance or the specific purposes
of the zoning district in which the project is located;
3.
Achieve the findings for a waiver or exception granted; or
4.
Mitigate any potentially significant impacts identified as a result
of review conducted in compliance with the California Environmental
Quality Act.
B.
Waivers
and modifications approved based on State or federal requirements
for reasonable accommodation may be conditioned to provide for rescission
or automatic expiration based on a change of occupancy or other relevant
change in circumstance.
(Ord. 1646 § 2, 2022)
A.
Appeals. The applicant or any other aggrieved party may appeal a decision on a waiver or exception pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 20.570 (“Appeals and Calls for Review”).
1.
An appellant may request a reasonable accommodation in the procedure
by which an appeal will be conducted.
2.
If an appellant needs assistance in filing an appeal, the Planning
Division shall provide the assistance that is necessary to ensure
that the appeal process is accessible to the applicant.
(Ord. 1646 § 2, 2022; Ord. 1656, 6/12/2024)
