Agenda Report
Fullerton City Council
MEETING DATE: March 18, 2025
TO: CITY COUNCIL / SUCCESSOR AGENCY
SUBMITTED BY: sunayana thomas, director
PREPARED BY: chris schaefer, aicp, planning manager
jonathan kwan, contract planner
SUBJECT: emergency shelters, low barrier navigation centers, supportive housing, large group homes and manufactured housing regulations code amendments
SUMMARY
Request to amend the Fullerton Municipal Code (FMC) to comply with new state housing laws and implement Fullerton Housing Element policies. Proposed amendments would update code language for manufactured homes, supportive housing, emergency shelters and low barrier navigation centers.
PROPOSED MOTION
Introduce Ordinance XXXX for first reading by title only and waive further reading of the ordinance.
ORDINANCE NO. XXXX - an ordinance of THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FULLERTON, california, AMENDing FULLERTON MUNICIPAL CODE TITLE 15 ZONING INCLUDING SECTIONS 15.04.040 DEFINITIONS, 15.17.020 PERMITTED USES, 15.17.030 CONDITIONS OF PERMITTED USES, 15.30.030.3 PERMITTED USES IN THE C-3 ZONING DISTRICT, 15.30.040 Limitations on Permitted Uses, 15.42.050 GENERAL SITE DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS, 15.42.060 REVIEW PROCEDURES, 15.55.020 SPECIAL USE PERMITS WITH PROVISIONS AND 15.55.030 CONDITIONALLY PERMITTED SPECIAL USES
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS
Approve the Proposed Motion
Other options brought by City Council.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the Proposed Motion.
CITY MANAGER REMARKS
The City Manager concurs with the Planning Commission.
PRIORITY POLICY STATEMENT
This item matches the following Priority Policy Statements:
Fiscal and Organizational Stability
Public Safety
Infrastructure and City Assets.
FISCAL IMPACT
This items generates no fiscal impact to the City.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Staff proposes Fullerton Municipal Code amendments to Sections 15.04.040 Definitions, 15.17.020 Permitted Uses, 15.17.030 Conditions of Permitted Uses, 15.30.030.3 Permitted Uses in the C-3 Zoning District, 15.30.040 Limitations on Permitted Uses, 15.42.050 General Site Development Standards, 15.42.060 Review Procedures, 15.55.020 Special Uses Permitted with Provisions and 15.55.030 Conditionally Permitted Special Uses.
These updates are required to comply with various state laws including Assembly Bill (AB) 139 (2019 - Quirk-Silva), AB 2339 (2022 - Bloom), AB 101 (2019) and the City’s recently adopted Housing Element for the 6th Cycle. The proposed amendments meet state law requirements but do not exceed them. Should City Council desire to exceed state law requirements, staff would need to adjust amendments based on City Council direction and present them to Planning Commission for reconsideration.
The Planning Commission reviewed the FMC amendments at its December 11, 2024 meeting, requested additional information regarding existing use permits for large group homes and the MH-R zone and continued the item to February 12, 2025 (Attachment 3). The Commission received the following comments during the public hearing:
Jane Reifer requested FMC amendments preserve historical properties.
Curtis Gamble requested revising FMC amendments related to emergency shelters to match language found in the City of Anaheim municipal code.
Maureen Milton stated the Thursday Orange County Register newspaper contains a Fullerton News Tribune insert and recommended publishing items on Channel 3.
The Planning Commission voted 3 - 1 (Opposed: Wehn) to recommend City Council approve the proposed FMC amendments with a minor change to the Emergency Shelter for the Homeless definition. The Commission modified the original definition: “An emergency shelter may also include a low barrier navigation center” to match State law and read: “An emergency shelter shall include other interim interventions including but not limited to, navigation centers, bridge housing and respite or recuperative care.” Staff reviewed the City of Anaheim Emergency Shelter code section (Attachment 5) to identify differences from the FMC. The codes are very similar, however, the Anaheim code includes sections for standards related to:
Recuperative / Medical Respite
Shelter Crisis
The co-location of transitional and supportive housing.
The amended definition of Emergency Shelter in Fullerton’s code includes that: “An emergency shelter shall include other interim interventions including but not limited to, navigation centers, bridge housing and respite or recuperative care.” Therefore, respite/recuperative care facilities are permitted in the City and the emergency shelter standards would apply to respite/recuperative care facilities. The City of Anaheim ordinance includes additional regulations for client eligibility and a 6-month review of new facilities which includes public notices to surrounding properties for violations. In addition, additional details regarding licensing, staffing and access to oxygen are required. This information is not required by State law.
The shelter crisis section identifies the difference between an emergency shelter for the homeless and shelter in case of an emergency such as a natural disaster. The Fullerton Municipal code definition for Emergency shelter includes the following to note that it is not the same thing: “Temporary shelters established in response to an emergency or disaster (such as flood, fire or cold-weather occurrences), or temporary shelters ancillary to a church use do not fall within this definition.” However, the code does not provide standards or regulations for the temporary shelters in response to emergencies or disasters. The City Council could recommend Staff explore this and propose further amendments to the code in the future.
The co-location of transitional and supportive housing is not clearly permitted or prohibited in the code. It may be something to consider but is not necessary to comply with State law.
Staff recommends approving FMC updates as proposed as it meets state law requirements. Staff would present code revisions to a future meeting if City Council directs staff to revise the code to match the City of Anaheim language.
Attachments:
Attachment 1 - PowerPoint Presentation
Attachment 2 - Draft City Council Ordinance No. XXXX
Attachment 3 - Planning Commission Staff Report dated February 12, 2025 Attachment 4 - Planning Commission Resolution No. PC-2024-33 Attachment 5 - Anaheim Municipal Code Section 18.38.125 cc: City Manager Eric J. Levitt
FMC Title 15 Code Amendments
March 18, 2025 - Page 2