Law Limiting People in Homes Hits Snag : Housing: Appellate court stays enforcement of Santa Ana occupancy ordinance that Superior Court upheld.

Enforcement of Santa Ana’s strict new ordinance limiting the number of people who can live in each household was delayed again Thursday after an appeals court said it would review a legal challenge to the law.

In a three-sentence order, the 4th District Court of Appeal indefinitely stayed last week’s ruling by an Orange County Superior Court upholding the city’s right to set residential occupancy limits. The appellate order also stated that a petition seeking a review of the lower court decision “may have merit.”

No new hearing date was set, but the city was asked to respond by Nov. 12 to the appeal filed on behalf of Ascension Briseno, the Santa Ana resident who lent his name to a successful lawsuit against an earlier residential overcrowding ordinance.

Although the latest ordinance banning residential overcrowding was approved by the City Council last spring, it’s enforcement was delayed twice by Superior Court Judge Floyd H. Schenk--most recently last Friday, one day after he ruled that the ordinance was valid. However, Schenk granted opponents a stay so they could appeal his decision.

The order issued by the appellate court Thursday came hours before Schenk’s last stay was to have expired.

Assistant City Atty. Robert J. Wheeler said the latest delay was expected, since the city requested an extension to file its legal brief before the appellate court.

“This is not a big victory so far . . . “ for opponents of the ordinance, Wheeler said. “They (the appellate justices) have not seen our opposition. They have not seen us develop our argument.”

But Richard L. Spix, an immigrant rights attorney who represents Briseno, found comfort in the appellate court order.

“We have a glimmer of light from the court of appeals that may indicate a short-lived victory for the city of Santa Ana,” he said, referring to last week’s decision upholding the ordinance.

In the petition filed with the appellate court this week, Spix stated that if the ordinance were to take effect, minorities and low- to moderate-income families would be hurt. He estimated that families living in at least 15,000 dwellings in the “blue-collar” areas of Santa Ana would face eviction or be subject to court-ordered penalties.

The overcrowding ordinance would impose strict minimum square-footage requirements for dwellings. City staffers have estimated that five people would be allowed to live in an average one-bedroom apartment, half of what had been allowed by an earlier appellate court ruling regarding a previous city ordinance.

While the latest delay may have suited the city from a legal standpoint, the prolonged court action continues to frustrate some city administrators who have to tackle the residential overcrowding problems every day, Jim Lindgren, building safety manager, said.

“We get a (court) judgment in our favor and then we get slapped with not being able to act on that judgment,” Lindgren said.

“A lot of people are calling daily, asking what the situation is, wanting an update on the court proceedings,” he added. “It sure seems like a glitch in the system.”

Although Spix has asked for an expedited hearing, Wheeler estimated that the appellate review could last anywhere from six months to more than a year. He said the city attorney’s office would vigorously oppose efforts by Spix to get a “long-term” stay order if the appeals process drags on.

“We will be against it,” Wheeler said. “We fought hard and won in Superior Court and we will fight equally hard in the appellate court.”