San Anselmo Municipal Code Ch. 12 Emergency Shelter

(a) Title. This chapter shall be known as the "San Anselmo Emergency Shelter Ordinance."

(b) Purpose. This chapter is adopted to ensure the Town of San Anselmo facilitates homeless shelters by providing zoning categories in which emergency shelters can be located without discretionary approval by the Town.

(Ord. No. 1098, § 1, 1-13-2015; Ord. No. 1179, § 4(Exh. A), 8-22-2023)

"Emergency shelter" means housing as defined in California Health and Safety Code §50801(e). In accordance with California Government Code §65583, this term includes other interim interventions, including, but not limited to, a navigation center, bridge housing, and respite or recuperative care. This section shall be understood to be amended by operation of law in the event and to the extent this statute is amended.

(Ord. No. 1098, § 1, 1-13-2015; Ord. No. 1179, § 4(Exh. A), 8-22-2023)

(a) Applicability. Emergency shelters are a permitted use in the Limited Commercial, General Commercial, and Public Facility zones when the site is located within one-quarter (¼) mile of a transit stop. An emergency shelter shall comply with the standards of this section.

(b) Performance standards. An emergency shelter shall meet the following development and performance standards:

(1) On-site management and on-site security shall be provided during hours when the emergency shelter is in operation.

(2) Adequate external lighting shall be provided for security purposes. The lighting shall be stationary, directed away from adjacent properties and public rights-of-way, and of intensity compatible with the surrounding area.

(c) Off-street parking requirements shall be based upon demonstrated need, provided that the standards do not require more parking for emergency shelters than for other residential or commercial uses within the same zone.

(d) The agency or organization operating the emergency shelter shall comply with the following requirements:

(1) Temporary shelter shall be available to residents for no more than six (6) months. No individual or household may be denied emergency shelter because of an inability to pay.

(e) No emergency shelter shall be located within three hundred (300) feet of another emergency shelter site.

(f) The maximum number of beds or clients permitted to be served (eating, showering and/or spending the night) nightly shall not exceed seventeen (17) persons.

(Ord. No. 1098, § 1, 1-13-2015; Ord. No. 1179, § 4(Exh. A), 8-22-2023)