Santa Ana Given Green Light to Enforce Overcrowding Law, but Foes Vow Appeal

A Superior Court judge Thursday issued a final ruling upholding the validity of a new city ordinance that sets strict limits on how many people can live in one dwelling.

But as the city attorney’s office received word that Santa Ana can begin enforcing the ordinance approved last spring, officials were also notified that the measure’s foes will return to court today to ask for a stay of Judge Floyd H. Schenk’s order while they appeal to a higher court.

If the ordinance survives the legal challenge, it will be a major victory for city officials and homeowners living near overcrowded houses and apartments who have complained that high density has depressed the quality of life in their neighborhoods.

But ordinance foes said the housing restrictions discriminate against low-to-moderate-income residents who are forced to crowd into small units because they cannot afford high housing costs.

The ordinance allows five people in a typical one-bedroom apartment. But that is half the number of residents that an appellate court had approved last year during legal skirmishes challenging Santa Ana’s previous residential overcrowding ordinance.

Attorney Richard L. Spix--who won that court decision, only to lose in this latest fight--said many residents in blue-collar neighborhoods could be forced out of their homes because of Thursday’s ruling.

“Pack your bags, half of Santa Ana,” said Spix, who is an attorney for the immigrant rights group Hermandad Mexicana Nacional.

On the other side, city officials were elated by the decision, which affects not only Santa Ana but also other cities in the state that previously did not have the legal backing to enact their own ordinances.

In defending its ordinance, Santa Ana argued that the state housing code is unconstitutional and that without a valid state law, cities can enact their own regulations.

“This is a landmark decision,” Assistant City Atty. Robert J. Wheeler said. “This will have ramifications throughout the state.”

City Councilman Robert L. Richardson, who has argued vociferously for strict housing occupancy limits, also praised the ruling.

“Who’s willing to say that 10 people in a one-bedroom apartment is the kind of quality of life legacy that we want to leave for the city of Santa Ana?” Richardson asked.

Orange City Manager Ron Thompson was just one of several city officials who have been frustrated that state codes limited the ability of cities to set occupancy standards. He said his city will probably copy Santa Ana’s regulations.

“The present regulations in building and housing codes are so lax that they really don’t help that much,” Thompson said.