SANTA ANA : State Joins Assault on Occupancy Limits

Declaring that the city’s strict residential occupancy limits discriminate against minorities and low-income residents, the state Department of Housing and Community Development on Tuesday joined a legal fight against the restrictions.

State officials filed written arguments in a lawsuit before the 4th District Court of Appeal, which is considering the case brought by Santa Ana resident Ascencion Briseno.

The legal battle is being watched closely by other crowded cities throughout California because it could decide whether local officials have the right to set housing density limits that are stricter than the state’s Uniform Housing Code.

In a “friend of the court” brief sent to the appellate court, the state argues that the city occupancy limits may violate federal and state housing laws, that cities are prohibited from setting their own occupancy limits and enforcement of the ordinance may increase homelessness or even split up families.

Assistant City Atty. Robert J. Wheeler said the city wants to review the state’s brief before responding but added: “I think that the fact that the state has entered at this point is almost a tacit admission on their part that this appeal has merit.”

Briseno’s attorney, Richard L. Spix, said the state’s entry into the case should add considerable weight to his argument that state law supersedes the city ordinance.

“Hopefully we can blow away some of this smoke and haze” created by the city’s legal arguments raised during the initial trial, Spix added.

Santa Ana’s ordinance, which has not been enforced pending court review, would limit to five the number of people who would be able to live in an average one-bedroom apartment.

Using 1990 Census figures, state Housing Assistant Director Paul Kranhold said there are three times as many “crowded” households as there are vacant units in the city, so “significant displacement” of families would occur if the law were enforced.

“This is a regional problem, and it’s a state problem,” he said. “With the city of Santa Ana or any other local jurisdiction arbitrarily creating stricter standards than we have across the state or in neighboring communities, it’s going to shift a significant burden to neighboring cities who already have housing shortages.”

In an administrative ruling issued earlier this year, the state housing department rejected Santa Ana’s efforts to have its ordinance adopted as the state code and decided that cities did not have the authority to set their own standards.

City Council members and homeowners’ associations in Santa Ana, however, have pressed for tighter restrictions, claiming that severe overcrowding can ruin neighborhoods by putting too much stress on the infrastructure and emergency services, and can lead to increased crime, traffic congestion and noise.

Local officials have struggled for years to devise a plan that reduces the number of people living under one roof and also passes legal muster.

A previous occupancy ordinance was overturned in the fall of 1990, when the appellate court required the city to count rooms other than bedrooms as sleeping quarters, effectively allowing up to 10 people to live in a one-bedroom apartment.

The existing ordinance now before the appellate court has minimum square footage requirements to determine the number of people permitted.