Judge Throws Out Dana Point Occupancy Limit : Housing: Ordinance to control residential crowding is ruled illegal, based on state Supreme Court’s invalidation of a similar, Santa Ana law Friday.

Just four days after the state’s highest court outlawed a Santa Ana ordinance imposing household occupancy limits lower than the state’s, an Orange County Superior Court judge declared Tuesday that a similar Dana Point law was illegal.

The ruling by Orange County Superior Judge C. Robert Jameson was a further setback to city lawmakers attempting to limit the number of people who can inhabit a house or apartment, as a way to combat overcrowding.

Jameson said that he felt “compelled” to strike down the Dana Point law because of a state Supreme Court decision Friday making it clear that cities could set occupancy standards different from the state’s only in rare cases when climatic, topographical and geographical factors made it necessary.

Neither the Dana Point, nor the Santa Ana anti-overcrowding ordinance addressed those factors.

Dana Point Mayor Mike Eggers said that he thought it would be “impossible” to change the occupancy level given the court’s ruling.

“Our city is not on a volcano, it’s not on a snowbank,” he said. “I think it’s far-fetched to believe that we would fall under” those factors.

Eggers called the recent court decisions “ludicrous” and said he thought “it’s really sad that the state courts are ruling this way.”

He charged that the courts are “lowering the lifestyle that communities are trying to protect. . . . That’s why cities become incorporated, to protect their lifestyles.”

Santa Ana Mayor Daniel H. Young and Councilman Robert L. Richardson, the council’s two most outspoken members on their city’s overcrowding issue, could not be reached for comment.

Santa Ana City Atty. Edward J. Cooper said the city will no longer try to fight for anti-overcrowding ordinances in court, but will instead concentrate efforts on having state legislators change housing standards statewide.

Cooper said that for the past several months Santa Ana officials have been working with the California League of Cities on the issue of changing household occupancy limits through the state Legislature.

Eggers said Dana Point will also lobby the state Legislature for new guidelines. “I guess that’s the only way to go now.”

City officials throughout the state have argued that overcrowded housing is a problem that leads to increased crime, deteriorating neighborhoods and strains on city services. In fact, in the recent state Supreme Court decision, as many as 60 cities supported Santa Ana’s position.

Currently, state guidelines permit 10 people to live in an average-size, one-bedroom apartment. Santa Ana cut that limit to five, while Dana Point restricted the number to two people per bedroom plus one other person per dwelling unit.

Timothy L. Coyle, director of the state Department of Housing and Community Development, said city officials should be concentrating on “progressive” ways of providing more affordable housing rather than on legislation that “creates displacement.”

“They should work on getting rid of the barriers that stand in the way of affordable housing,” he said.

Attorney Richard Spix, who challenged both the Dana Point and Santa Ana laws in court, agreed with Coyle, saying that lowering the occupancy limits would hurt low-income families and minorities in particular.

Spix said he was pleased that Jameson followed the court precedent established by the Santa Ana litigation. “It looks like all dominoes are falling down for the cities right now.”

After the judge’s decision Tuesday, Spix said he was hopeful that both cities will give up drafting illegal occupancy laws.