HomeMy WebLinkAboutMC-1313U
Adopted: September 8, 2009
Effective: September 8, 2009
ORDINANCE NO. MC-1313
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AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO ADDING
3 SECTION 19.06.027 TO THE SAN BERNARDINO MUNICIPAL CODE (DEVELOPMENT
CODE) AND PROHIBITING THE ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF NEW
4 PAROLEE/PROBATIONER GROUP HOMES AND REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER
GROUP HOMES, AND UNLICENSED, FOR-PROFIT PAROLEE/PROBATIONER AND
5 REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER RESIDENTIAL CARE FACILITIES, DECLARING THE
URGENCY THEREOF, AND TAKING EFFECT IMMEDIATELY.
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The Mayor and Common Conncil ofthe City of San Bernardino do ordain as follows:
WHEREAS on November I, 2005, the Mayor and Common Council adopted a revised and
updated General Plan. The General Plan provides a vision for our City's future which includes,
among other requirements, the use and development of land which ensures the safety of our streets
and neighborhoods, and the compatibility between land uses, and provides for a coordinated law and
code enforcement presence so that our residents will be safe in their homes, places of business,
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schools, and neighborhoods (General Plan, pages 1-21&22); and
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WHEREAS, on August 6, 2007, the Mayor and Common Council unanimously adopted
Ordinance No. MC-1253, "An Urgency Interim Ordinance of the City of San Bernardino
Establishing a Temporary Moratorium on the Establishment and Operation of a New
ParoleelProbationer Group Homes, Registered Sex Offender Group Homes and Unlicensed Group
Homes, Declaring the Urgency Thereof, and Taking Effect Immediately"; and
WHEREAS, the City has received evidence of increasing numbers of group homes that are
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transient in nature and operate more like institutional and commercial boarding house uses than as
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single family homes. Uses such as homes for parolees and probationers, registered sex offenders,
and transients, group homes, and other similar uses are operating as businesses in residentially zoned
areas of the City; and
WHEREAS, citizens ofthe City have expressed significant concerns regarding the adverse
impacts that an over-proliferation ofparoleelprobationer group homes, registered sex offender group
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homes, and state licensed and unlicensed group homes has on the surrounding residential
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neighborhoods, including, but not limited to, impacts on traffic and parking, excessive delivery times
and durations, the commercial use of public property, commercial andlor institutional services
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1 offered in private residences, more frequent trash collection, daily arrival of staff who live off-site,
2 second-hand smoke, possession and use of illegal drugs, loitering, trespassing, trash, debris,
3 unmaintained landscaping, depreciation of property values, and nuisance behavior such as noise,
4 litter, loud and offensive language, and public drunkenness; and
5 WHEREAS, according to the California Attorney General's websile on Megan's Law
6 (www.meganslaw.ca.gov).as ofJuly 15, 2009, there were 457 registered sex offenders living within
7 the City, which number was disproportionate and at a much higher percentage of the total number
8 of registered sex offenders living in San Bernardino County when compared to the percentage of the
9 City's population to the County's total population; and
10 WHEREAS, based on data from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
11 and the San Bernardino Police Department, the number of active parolees living in the City of San
12 Bernardino has risen from 1,714 on June 27, 2007 to 2,088 as of May 28,2009, an increase of 374
13 parolees, a 22% increase. By comparison, the California Department of Finance estimates that the
14 population of the City of San Bernardino has only increased from 204,098 in 2007 to 204,483 in
15 2009, an increase of385 persons, a .2% increase.
16 WHEREAS, recent newspaper reports have projected the early release of between 27,000 to
17 more than 40,000 prison inmates in the State of California within the next two years pursuant to a
18 Federal Court order and/or State budget cuts; and
19 WHEREAS, recently a for-profit business that contracts with the California Department of
20 Corrections and Rehabilitation to provide housing for parolees, has sought City approval to establish
21 a parolee residential care facility under the guise of a homeless shelter; and
22 WHEREAS, for-profit residential care facilities are more likely to house parolees brought
23 into the City of San Bernardino from other areas of the State, as opposed to local nonprofit-
24 organizations which are more likely to house homeless persons already residing in the City; and
25 WHEREAS, after the Mayor and Council's adoption of Ordinance No. Me -1253, the Mayor
26 and Council have subsequently adopted ordinances extending the temporary moratorium on the
27 establishment and operation of new paroleelprobationer group homes, registered sex offender group
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I homes and unlicensed group homes; and
2 WHEREAS, although on August 1, 2008, atthe Mayor's Parolee Reentry Ad Hoc Committee
3 meeting it was announced that the temporary moratorium ordinances on paroleelprobationer and
4 registered sex offender group homes would be discussed at their next meeting, the Mayor's Parolee
5 Reentry Ad Hoc Committee has not held a subsequent meeting since August 1, 2008; and
6 WHEREAS, Ordinance No. MC-1253 and the subsequent ordinances extending the
7 temporary moratorium have all directed the Development Services Department and the Planning
8 Commission to consider and process a permanent ordinance regulating the establishment and
9 operation of paroleelprobationer group homes, registered sex offender group homes, unlicensed
10 group homes, and other similar uses in the City of San Bernardino; and
11 WHEREAS, significant concerns have been raised by the community regarding the over-
12 proliferation of registered sex offenders and parolees living within the City; and
13 WHEREAS, the Mayor and Common Council hereby specifically finds as follows:
14 Section 1. Findings/Statement of Urgency.
15 a. The above recitals are true and correct and incorporated herein by this reference.
16 b. The owners or operators of paroleelprobationer group homes or registered sex
17 offender group homes, or unlicensed for-profit paroleelprobationer or registered sex offender
18 residential care facilities, are likely to commence operations of such uses, thereby adversely impacting
19 the public peace, health, safety, and welfare of the community, unless appropriate ordinances are
20 adopted; and
21 c. Without this proposed Ordinance, paroleelprobationer group homes or registered sex
22 offender group homes, or unlicensed for-profit paroleelprobationer or registered sex offender
23 residential care facilities, may be established in areas that would be inconsistent with the surrounding
24 uses or with the character of a residential neighborhood and would be immediately detrimental to the
25 public peace, health, safety and welfare of the community; and
26 d. The Mayor and Common Council hereby finds that there is a current and immediate
27 threat to the public peace, health, safety, or welfare, and the approval of any building permit or other
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1 applicable entitlement to establish or operate a new paroleelprobationer group home or registered
2 sex offender group home, or unlicensed for-profit paroleelprobationer or registered sex offender
3 residential care facilities, would result in that threat to public peace, health, safety or welfare; and
4 e. Based on the recitals and findings referenced above, the Mayor and Common Council
5 hereby finds that this ordinance is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace,
6 health, or safety.
7 NOW THEREFORE, THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
8 SAN BERNARDINO DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
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Section 2.
San Bernardino Municipal Code Section 19.06.027 (Development Code) is
10 hereby added to read as follows:
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Parolee/Probationer Group Homes, Registered Sex Offender Group
Homes, andlor Unlicensed Group Homes; Prohibited Uses.
A. Notwithstanding any conflicting provision( s) in any other section ofthe San Bernardino
19.06.027
14 Municipal Code, including the Development Code, no new parolee/probationer group home or
15 registered sex offender group home; or unlicensed, for-profit paroleelprobationer residential care
16 facility, or unlicensed, for-profit registered sex offender residential care facility, shall be established
17 or operated; and no Conditional Use Permit, Development Permit, Building Permit, Certificate of
18 Occupancy or Zoning Verification Review (also referred to as "Zoning Consistency Review") shall
19 be issued or granted for the establishment or operation of a new parolee/probationer group home or
20 registered sex offender group home, or an unlicensed, for-profit parolee/probationer or registered sex
21 offender residential care facility, or similar use.
22 B. As used in this Ordinance, the following definitions apply:
23 1. "Parolee/probationer group home" shall mean any single family residential structure
24 or unit, operating as an unlicensed group home, that houses two or more parolees/probationers,
25 unrelated by blood, marriage, or adoption.
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2.
A "parolee/probationer" includes:
a.
Any individual who has been convicted of a Federal crime and sentenced to a
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1 term of supervised probation or sentenced to a term of imprisonment in Federal prison, and granted
2 conditional and revocable release into the community under the supervision of a Federal parole officer.
3 b. Any individual who has been convicted of a State crime and sentenced to a term
4 of supervised probation or sentenced to a term of imprisonment in county jailor in a State prison and
5 who is serving a period of supervised community custody, as defined in Penal Code Section 3000, and
6 is under the jurisdiction of the California Department of Corrections, Parole and Community Services
7 Division.
8 c. An adult or juvenile sentenced to a term in the California Youth Authority and
9 who has received conditional and revocable release into the community under the supervision of a
1 0 Youth Authority Parole Officer.
11 3. "Registered sex offender group home" shall mean any single family residential structure
12 or unit, or operating as an unlicensed group home, that houses two or more registered sex offenders,
13 unrelated by blood, marriage, or adoption.
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4.
A "registered sex offender" shall mean any person required to register pursuant to
15 California Penal Code Section 290.
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5.
"Licensed group home" shall mean any State licensed residential facility that is
17 maintained and operated to provide non-medical residential care, day treatment, or foster agency
18 services for six or fewer adults, children, or adults and children, and which is required by State law
19 to be treated as a single family residence or single family dwelling unit for zoning purposes.
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"Unlicensed group home" shall mean any residential structure or unit, whether owned
21 and/or operated by an individual or a for-profit or non-profit entity, that is not licensed by the State,
22 that is maintained and operated to provide non-medical residential care, day treatment, or foster agency
23 services for six or fewer adults, children, or adults and children, and which is not required by State law
24 to be treated as a single family residence or single family dwelling unit for zoning purposes.
25 7. "Unlicensed, for-profit paroleelprobationer residential care facility" shall mean a group
26 care facility, or similar facility operated as a for-profit business for the 24 hour non-medical care of
27 more than six persons in need of personal services, supervision or assistance essential for sustaining
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I the activities of daily living or for the protection of the individual; that is not licensed by the State of
2 California; and that houses two or more paroleeslprobationers, umelated by blood, marriage or
3 adoption.
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"Unlicensed, for-profit registered sex offender residential care facility" shall mean a
5 group care facility, or similar facility operated as a for-profit business for the 24 hour non-medical care
6 of more than six persons in need of personal services, supervision or assistance essential for sustaining
7 the activities of daily living or for the protection of the individual; that is not licensed by the State of
8 California; and that houses two or more registered sex offenders unrelated by blood, marriage or
9 adoption.
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C. Reasonable Accommodation.
In compliance with the Federal Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.c. SS 3600 et seq.), the Americans
12 with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.c. SS 12101 et seq.), and the Employment and Housing Act (Gov. Code
13 SS 12900 et seq.), it is the City's policy to provide reasonable accommodation in the application ofthis
14 Ordinance to any person with a disability who seeks fair access to housing. "Disability" shall have the
15 same meaning as the terms "disability" and "handicapped" in the Fair Housing Act.
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1.
An application forreasonable accommodation in the application ofthis Ordinance shall
17 be made to the City Planner/Deputy Director of Development Services, and shall include:
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a.
The provision of this Ordinance from which accommodation IS being
requested;
The basis for the claim that the individuals affected are considered disabled
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21 under the Fair Housing Laws, and why the accommodation is necessary to provide equal opportunity
22 for housing and to make the specific housing available to the individuals; and
23 c. Any other information the City Planner/Deputy Director of Development
24 Services reasonably determines is necessary.
25 2. In making a determination regarding the reasonableness of the requested
26 accommodation, the following factors shall be considered:
27 a. Special need created by the disability;
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c.
Potential benefit that can be accomplished by the requested accommodation;
Potential impact on, and compatibility with, other property in the vicinity;
Physical attributes of the property and structures;
Alternative accommodations that may provide an equivalent level of benefit;
Whether the requested accommodation would impose an undue financial or
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6 administrative burden on the City;
7 g. Whether the requested accommodation would require a fundamental alteration
8 in the nature of a City program; and
9 h. Whether granting the request would be consistent with the City's General Plan.
10 3. Any request for reasonable accommodation from the provisions of this Ordinance shall
11 be reviewed and considered by the Planning Commission at a noticed public hearing and may be
12 approved, conditionally approved, or denied by the Planning Commission.
13 Section 3: This Ordinance is based upon the recitals and findings set forth above, and the
14 accompanying Staff Report and its attachments to this Ordinance, and is adopted pursuant to the
15 authority granted to the City of San Bernardino in Article II, Section 7 ofthe California Constitution
16 and Article III and Section 1210fthe Charter of the City of San Bernardino; and shall take effect upon
17 adoption.
18 Section 4: Compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act. The Mayor
19 and Common Council finds that this Ordinance is not subject to the California Environmental Quality
20 Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15061(b)(3) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably
21 foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project
22 as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14,
23 Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or
24 indirectly.
25 Section 5: Severability. If any section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause or phrase
26 in this Ordinance or any part thereof is for any reason held to be unconstitutional, invalid or ineffective
27 by any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity or effectiveness of
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1 the remaining portions of this Ordinance or any part thereof. The Mayor and Common Council hereby
2 declares that it would have adopted each section irrespective of the fact that anyone or more
3 subsections, subdivisions, sentences, clauses, or phrases be declared unconstitutional, invalid, or
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1 AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OFTHE CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO ADDING SECTION
2 19.06.027 TO THE SAN BERNARDINO MUNICIPAL CODE (DEVELOPMENT CODE)
AND PROHIBITING THE ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF NEW
3 PAROLEEIPROBATIONER GROUP HOMES AND REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER
GROUP HOMES, AND UNLICENSED, FOR-PROFIT PAROLEEIPROBATIONER AND
4 REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER RESIDENTIAL CARE FACILITIES, DECLARING THE
5 URGENCY THEREOF, AND TAKING EFFECT IMMEDIATELY.
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I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Ordinance was duly adopted by the Mayor and
7 Council of the City of San Bernardino at a it regular meeting thereof, held on the..Jtth... day
,2009, by the following vote, to wit:
8 of September
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10 COUNCIL MEMBERS:
II ESTRADA
12 BAXTER
13 BRINKER
14 SHORETT
15 KELLEY
16 JOHNSON
17 MC CAMMACK
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AYES
NAYS
ABST AIN ABSENT
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(2 ,~~ /:;). u~
Racn-el Clark, City Clerk
The foregoing Ordinance is hereby approved this !1.!!.- day of
,2009.
September
24 Approved as to form:
25 JAMES F. PENMAN
26 City Attorney
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