Lake Forest Municipal Code Ch. 5.44 Residential Care Facilities

A. Exemptions. When required by State or Federal law, a residential care facility (hereafter "RCF") serving six or fewer persons is:

1. Exempt from this chapter; and

2. Considered a residential use of property and a single family for purposes of Title 9 of this Code.

B. License Required. Unless exempt under subsection (A) above, an RCF license issued by the City is required to operate.

C. Operational and Development Standards. An application for an RCF license is subject to administrative review and will be approved if it satisfies each of the following:

1. Separation. No RCF may be established or operated in any location that is less than 300 feet from another RCF.

2. Maximum Occupancy. No more than two residents reside in each bedroom, not including the room or apartment designated for an on-site house manager.

3. The operator provides an on-site house manager that resides full-time (year-round) in a room or apartment on the property.

4. Management Plan. The City has approved a property management plan for the facility that addresses each of the following: on-site management, maximum occupancy, quiet hours and permitted guest visitation hours, loitering, littering, and disturbing the peace, nuisance reduction, trash collection, smoking, resident pick-up and drop-off procedures, and discharge. City approval is required for any modifications to the plan.

5. Emergency and Security Plan. The City has approved an emergency and security plan that addresses each of the following: security and management contact information, authority and responsibility of security staff, a map of the property, and overview of the property's security features, security feature testing schedule, overnight parking policies and vehicle violation abatement procedures, emergency medical response protocols, emergency law enforcement response protocols, and daytime and nighttime security monitoring procedures. City approval is required for any modifications to the plan.

D. Streamlined Administrative Application Review. The Director of Community Development or the Director's designee will review and process RCF license applications ministerially, without discretionary review or a hearing. The Director will notify an applicant whether the application is complete within 30 days. The Director will render a decision on the application within 60 days of when the application was determined to be complete.

E. Modifications or Revocation.

1. An RCF license may be revoked when the application contained incorrect, false or misleading information, or the operator violates the management plan or the emergency and security plan, or if three or more nuisance citations are issued at the property within a 30 day period.

2. Before revoking an RCF license, a good faith effort to meet and confer with the operator will be made to resolve any of the issues identified in subsection (E)(1) above.

3. The operator will be notified of any revocation by first-class mail with return receipt requested. The operator may appeal the revocation to a hearing officer in accordance with Chapter 1.12 of this Code.

F. Conflict. If this chapter conflicts with any other provision of this Code, this chapter prevails.

(Ord. 364 § 3, 2023)