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AB-2619 Residential care facilities for the elderly: capacity.(2021-2022)

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Date Published: 02/18/2022 09:00 PM
AB2619:v99#DOCUMENT


CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2619

Introduced by Assembly Member Patterson

February 18, 2022

An act to amend Section 1569.85 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to community care facilities.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2619, as introduced, Patterson. Residential care facilities for the elderly: capacity.
The California Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly Act (act) requires the State Department of Social Services to license, inspect, and regulate residential care facilities for the elderly and imposes criminal penalties on a person who violates the act or who willfully or repeatedly violates any rule or regulation adopted under the act. Under existing law, whether or not unrelated persons are living together, a residential care facility for the elderly that serves 6 or fewer persons is considered a residential use of property for the purposes of the act.
This bill, notwithstanding any other law, would make the provisions that are applicable to a residential care facility for the elderly serving 6 or fewer persons that are residential use of property status with respect to a residential care facility for the elderly that serves more than 6 persons and that is located in a residential zone, if the family dwelling, as specified, has sufficient square footage and a sufficient number of rooms to serve more than 6 persons, consistent with the standards established in a specified provision of the Uniform Housing Code of the International Conference of Building Officials, or other state-approved standards governing the allowable number of beds in a room used as a bedroom. By expanding the types of facilities subject to the act, the bill would expand the definition of a crime, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 1569.85 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

1569.85.
 (a) Whether or not unrelated persons are living together, a residential care facility for the elderly that serves six or fewer persons shall be considered a residential use of property for the purposes of this article. In addition, the residents and operators of the facility shall be considered a family for the purposes of any law or zoning ordinance that relates to the residential use of property pursuant to this article.
(b) For the purpose of all local ordinances, a residential care facility for the elderly that serves six or fewer persons shall not be included within the definition of a boarding house, rooming house, institution or home for the care of the aged, guest home, rest home, community residence, or other similar term that implies that the residential care facility for the elderly is a business run for profit or differs in any other way from a family dwelling.
(c) This section shall not be construed to forbid a city, county, or other local public entity from placing restrictions on building heights, setback, lot dimensions, or placement of signs of a residential care facility for the elderly that serves six or fewer persons as long as the restrictions are identical to those applied to other family dwellings of the same type in the same zone.
(d) This section shall not be construed to forbid the application to a residential care facility for the elderly of any local ordinance that deals with health and safety, building standards, environmental impact standards, or any other matter within the jurisdiction of a local public entity if the ordinance does not distinguish residential care facilities for the elderly that serve six or fewer persons from other family dwellings of the same type in the same zone and if the ordinance does not distinguish residents of the residential care facilities for the elderly from persons who reside in other family dwellings of the same type in the same zone.
(e) No conditional use permit, zoning variance, or other zoning clearance shall be required of a residential care facility for the elderly that serves six or fewer persons that is not required of a family dwelling of the same type in the same zone.
(f) Use of a family dwelling for purposes of a residential care facility for the elderly serving six or fewer persons shall not constitute a change of occupancy for purposes of Part 1.5 (commencing with Section 17910) of Division 13 or local building codes. However, nothing in this section is intended to supersede Section 13143 or 13143.6, to the extent these sections are applicable to residential care facilities for the elderly providing care for six or fewer residents.
(g) For the purposes of this section, “family dwelling,” includes, but is not limited to, single-family dwellings, units in multifamily dwellings, including units in duplexes and units in apartment dwellings, mobilehomes, including mobilehomes located in mobilehome parks, units in cooperatives, units in condominiums, units in townhouses, and units in planned unit developments.
(h) Notwithstanding any other law, this section shall also apply to a residential care facility for the elderly that serves more than six persons and that is located in a residential zone, if the family dwelling, including any permitted auxiliary dwelling unit, has sufficient square footage and a sufficient number of rooms to serve more than six persons, consistent with the standards established in subdivision (b) of Section 503 of the Uniform Housing Code of the International Conference of Building Officials, as adopted pursuant to Section 17922, or other state-approved standards governing the allowable number of beds in a room used as a bedroom.

SEC. 2.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.