Contra Costa County Municipal Code Ch. 82-48 Single Room Occupancy (SRO) Facilities

The purpose of this chapter is to authorize the establishment of single-room occupancy facilities, subject to the development and operational standards of this chapter.

(Ord. No. 2014-11, § V, 11-4-14)

(a) An application for a proposed single-room occupancy facility must contain the following information:

(1) The total number of rooms, the square-footage of each room, and the square footage of indoor and outdoor common areas.

(2) A to-scale floor plan and building elevations for the facility.

(3) A description of all security measures that will be utilized at the facility.

(4) A description of how the single room occupancy facility will satisfy each of the development and operational standards in Section 82-48.006.

(5) If an applicant seeks authorization for a licensed child care center, as that term is defined in California Code of Regulations, Title 22, section 101152(c)(9), that is ancillary to the single room occupancy facility, the application must include a description of how the child care facility will satisfy each of the requirements in Section 82-48.006(c).

(b) An application for a proposed single room occupancy facility will be approved by the zoning administrator under the administrative decision procedure specified in Article 26-2.21 if the proposed facility complies with all development and operational standards of this chapter.

(c) If an application for a proposed single room occupancy facility does not demonstrate that the facility will comply with each of the development standards in Section 82-48.006(b), the applicant may apply for a land use permit in the manner specified in Chapter 26-2.20. None of the development standards in Section 82.48-006(a) may be modified by a land use permit or otherwise.

(Ord. No. 2014-11, § V, 11-4-14)

(a) Mandatory Development Standards. A single room occupancy facility must meet the following development standards.

(1) Cooking and Dining Facilities. A facility must provide either one common full kitchen and at least one common dining, lounge or meeting room that may be used by tenants of the facility, or a full kitchen in each room within the facility. A full kitchen means a kitchen that includes a range and oven, refrigerator, and sink with a garbage disposal.

(2) Bathroom Facilities. A facility must provide either one or more common bathroom facilities in the quantity and at locations as required by the California Plumbing Code (Title 24, Part 5 of the California Code of Regulations), or a bathroom with a flushing toilet and sink in each room. The facility also must provide either common showers at the ratio of at least one shower for every seven rooms at the facility, or a shower or bathtub in each room.

(3) Building Standards. A single room occupancy facility must comply with all building codes and regulations that relate to hotels, including the relevant provisions of the county building code and the fire code.

(4) Accessibility to Persons with Disabilities. A single room occupancy facility shall comply with all design and accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. A single room occupancy facility must provide units that are accessible to persons in wheelchairs in the ratio of at least one unit for every twenty-five rooms. The minimum number of units accessible to persons in wheelchairs that must be provided is two.

(5) Manager's Office. A single room occupancy facility with fifteen or more units must provide a twenty-four-hour staffed front desk. If a land use permit does not require the facility to provide a twenty-four-hour staffed front desk, then the facility must provide at least one common telephone that tenants may use to make local outgoing phone calls at no cost to the tenants. A facility must post in a public location a list of emergency telephone numbers that includes a number at which a facility manager can be reached twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week. The list of emergency telephone numbers must be updated as needed.

(6) Security. A single room occupancy facility must incorporate the following security measures into its design:

(A) All interior hallways, the exterior surrounding the facility, and parking areas must include night lighting. All lighting fixtures shall be advertised as vandal and graffiti resistant by the lighting fixture manufacturer.

(B) All entrances to hallways of common areas where individual units can be accessed must be controlled with a keyed entry system. Keys or entry codes shall be provided only to the tenants.

(C) Each door to each individual unit must include a keyed lock or re-programmable card entrance system, a deadbolt lock, and a peephole.

(D) A single room occupancy facility with a staffed front desk must require tenants and guests to register with the front desk and present valid photo identification as a condition of registration.

(E) Each window in each individual unit must have a secure locking mechanism.

(F) A single room occupancy facility must maintain current tenant registration cards that include each tenant's name, unit number, rental rate, vehicle type, vehicle license number, and a copy of the tenant's government-issued identification.

(b) Development Standards. The following development standards apply to a single room occupancy facility but may be modified upon issuance of a land use permit.

(1) Common Areas. A single room occupancy facility must provide ten square feet of common space per unit in the facility, or one hundred fifty square feet of common space, whichever is greater. No more than fifty percent of the total required common space at any single room occupancy facility may be exterior areas designated as common space.

(2) Parking. Off-street parking at each single room occupancy facility must be provided at the ratio of one space for every four units, plus an additional space designated exclusively for the facility manager. Off-street parking must be located on the same lot as, or on a lot immediately adjacent to, the single room occupancy facility. Each off-street parking area must meet the parking design and layout standards of Chapter 82-16.

(c) Child Care. A state-licensed child care facility that is ancillary to a single room occupancy facility may be authorized under a permit for the single room occupancy facility, as long as the requirements of this subsection are met. These requirements may not be modified through the issuance of a land use permit, or otherwise. These requirements are in addition to all other applicable state and county laws and regulations that apply to the licensing and operation of child care centers. Approval of a single room occupancy facility with an ancillary child care center that meets the requirements of this section does not authorize the operation of that center in the absence of all other required state and county permits and approvals.

(1) Parking. A freestanding child care center or a child care center in a mixed use project must provide one parking space for every four children for which the center is licensed. This parking is in addition to any parking required for the single room occupancy facility.

(2) Design. If a child care center is located on a lot adjacent to a residentially-zoned property, then a six-foot high or higher solid wall of masonry, brick, stucco, or a similar material, must separate the child care center from the residentially-zoned property along the property line between the center and that property. Each outdoor play area at a child care center must be physically separated from all vehicular circulation areas, parking areas, equipment enclosures, storage areas, and refuse and recycling areas, located at or adjacent to the center.

(Ord. No. 2014-11, § V, 11-4-14)

(a) A single room occupancy facility may be located in either a P-1 zoning district or a retail-business (R-B) zoning district.

(b) If any provision of this Chapter 82-48 conflicts with any other requirements that apply within the P-1 zoning district or retail-business (R-B) zoning district, then the requirements of this chapter shall govern.

(Ord. No. 2014-11, § V, 11-4-14)