Chapter 19.01 — GENERAL PROVISIONS

Title 19 of the Campbell Municipal Code shall be known and cited as the "Housing Code."

(Ord. No. 2319, § 1(Exh. A), 9-3-2024)

The City of Campbell desires to preserve, protect, and provide housing, including affordable housing, and housing related services to its residents. The purpose of this title is to set forth guidelines, regulations, and policies related to the provision of housing, including affordable housing, and housing services in the City of Campbell.

(Ord. No. 2319, § 1(Exh. A), 9-3-2024)

If any provision or clause of the Housing Code or the application thereof is held to be invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the other provisions or applications of the Housing Code which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end, the provisions of the Housing Code are declared to be severable.

(Ord. No. 2319, § 1(Exh. A), 9-3-2024)

The Housing Code shall be administered by the Community Development Director or its designee.

(Ord. No. 2319, § 1(Exh. A), 9-3-2024)

This section provides rules for resolving questions about the meaning or applicability of the Housing Code. The provisions of this section are intended to ensure consistent interpretation and application of the requirements of the Housing Code with other sections of the Campbell Municipal Code and General Plan, and to the extent necessary, to provide authority to temporarily suspend the enforcement of, or harmonize the application of, the Housing Code with federal and state law, or relevant court decisions.

A.

Authority. The Community Development Director shall have the responsibility and authority to interpret the meaning and applicability of all provisions and requirements of the Housing Code.

B.

Rules of Interpretation.

Minimum requirements. The provisions of the Campbell Housing Code shall be strictly interpreted and applied as minimum requirements (unless stated as maximums) for the promotion of public health, safety, convenience, and general welfare.

Terminology. When used in this Housing Code, the words "shall," "will," "is to," and "are to" are always mandatory. "Should" is not mandatory but is strongly recommended; and "may" is permissive. The present tense includes the past and future tenses; and the future tense includes the present. The singular number includes the plural number, and the plural the singular, unless the natural construction of the word indicates otherwise. The words "include," "includes," and "including" mean "including but not limited to..." and the word "used" includes the words "arranged for, designed for, occupied, or intended to be occupied for."

C.

Request for Interpretation. The request for an interpretation or determination shall be made to the Community Development Department, shall include all information required by the Community Development Department, and the fee established by the City's fee resolution.

D.

Existing Agreements. It is not intended that the requirements of this Housing Code shall interfere with, repeal, abrogate, or annul any easement, covenant, or other agreement that existed when this Housing Code became effective.

(Ord. No. 2319, § 1(Exh. A), 9-3-2024)

A.

Appeal of a decision or interpretation. Any interested party may file an appeal to the City Council regarding a discretionary decision or interpretation made by the Community Development Director, or its designee, in

compliance with this Housing Code. Ministerial actions made pursuant to this Housing Code are final and not subject to appeal.

B.

Timing and form of appeal.

Appeals shall be submitted in writing and filed with the Community Development Department or City Clerk within ten days after the date the Community Development Director or the Planning Commission renders the decision, respectively.

The number of days shall be construed as calendar days. Time limits will extend to the following City Hall working day where the last of the specified number of days falls on a weekend, holiday, or other day when City Hall is officially closed.

Appeals shall be accompanied by the filing fee set by the city's schedule of fees and charges, no part of which is refundable.

C.

Effect of filing. The filing of an appeal in compliance with this chapter shall have the effect of suspending the effective date of the decision being appealed, and no further actions or proceedings shall occur in reliance on the decision being appealed except as allowed by the outcome of the appeal.

D.

Required statement and evidence.

Applications for appeals shall include a statement specifying the basis for the appeal and the specific aspect of the decision being appealed.

Appeals shall be based upon an error in fact, dispute of findings, or inadequacy of conditions to mitigate potential project impacts.

Appeals shall be accompanied by supporting evidence substantiating the basis for the appeal.

E.

Notice to applicant. If the appellant is not the applicant, a copy of the appeal shall be sent to the applicant by the City, by first class United States mail or comparable delivery service, postage prepaid, to the address listed on the application within seven days of its filing.

F.

Report and scheduling of hearing.

When an appeal has been filed, the Community Development Director shall prepare a report on the matter, and schedule the matter for consideration by the City Council, with notice provided in compliance with subsection E of this section.

All appeals shall be considered in public hearings.

The city may consolidate hearings on all timely filed appeal applications for the same project.

G.

Withdrawal of appeal. Once filed, an appeal may only be withdrawn by a written request submitted to the City Clerk with the signatures of all persons who originally filed the appeal.

H.

Decision shall be final after ten days. Any determination or decision not appealed within the ten- day period shall be final.

I.

Action. At the hearing, the City Council may consider any issue involving or related to the matter that is the subject of the appeal, in addition to the specific grounds for the appeal, and shall conclude the proceedings with one of the following actions.

Affirmation or reversal. The City Council may, by resolution, affirm, affirm in part, or reverse the action that is the subject of the appeal.

Deny the appeal. The City Council may deny the appeal.

J.

Deadlock Vote. If an appeal from an action of the Community Development Director results in a deadlock vote by the City Council, the action of the Community Development Director shall become final.

K.

Effective Date of Decision. An action of the Community Development Director appealed to the City Council shall not become effective until an action by the Council as set forth in Section 19.01.060.I (Action) has been taken or a deadlock vote as set forth in Section 19.01.060.J. (Deadlock Vote) has occurred.

L.

Exhaustion of Appeals. No action challenging a decision made pursuant to this title may be commenced unless all the appeals afforded under this title have been exhausted, except that no one shall be required to exhaust the appeal rights afforded under this title prior to commencing an action to challenge any decision that violates free speech rights protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution or Article 1, Section 2 of the California Constitution.

M.

Council Initiated Review: Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the City Council may review any decision or interpretation of the Community Development Director, or its designee, as follows:

The City Council may initiate the review by vote of a majority of its members at any time prior to the expiration of the appeals period set forth in subsection B of this section;

The review shall be treated the same as an appeal, except that no application need be filed with the City Clerk.

(Ord. No. 2319, § 1(Exh. A), 9-3-2024)