San Juan Capistrano Municipal Code Ch. 8 Reasonable Accommodation

It is the policy of the City to make, as provided in this section, reasonable accommodation in the application of its programs, including its zoning and land-use laws, for disabled persons, to the extent required under Federal and State disability laws. The purpose of this section is to establish a process for disabled persons to submit and for the City to review a request for reasonable accommodation.

(Ord. No. 1134, 4/21/2026)

For the purposes of this chapter, unless otherwise apparent from the context, certain words or phrases used in this section are defined as follows:

"Person with a disability"

means: a person who has a physical or mental impairment that makes achievement of a major life activity difficult, as defined by state and federal disability laws; anyone who is regarded as having such impairment; or anyone with a record of such impairment.

"RA Request"

means a request for a reasonable accommodation submitted by, or on behalf of, a person with a disability.

"Reasonable accommodation"

means providing persons with disabilities flexibility in the application of City programs, including City land-use, zoning and building regulations, policies, practices and procedures, or waiving certain requirements when it is necessary to provide meaningful access to City programs or to eliminate barriers to housing opportunities for persons with disabilities.

"Review authority"

means the City Manager or the City Manager's designee. See Section 1-8.03, below.

(Ord. No. 1134, 4/21/2026)

The City Manager or the City Manager's designee is the review authority for a RA Request. A denial of an RA Request may be appealed by the requestor to a hearing officer. The hearing officer's decision is final.

(Ord. No. 1134, 4/21/2026)

(a) Eligibility.

(1) An RA Request may be made by any person with a disability, his or her representative, or a developer or provider of housing or other services for persons with disabilities, when the application of a City program, including a City land-use or building regulation, policy, practice or procedure, acts as a barrier to meaningful access to City programs or to fair-housing opportunities for persons with disabilities.

(2) Federal and State disability laws afford no protection to persons with or without disabilities whose tenancy presents a direct threat to the persons or property of others. Determining whether someone's tenancy poses such a direct threat must be made on an individualized basis, however, and may not be based on general assumptions or speculation about the nature of a disability.

(b) Eligible request. The subject matter of an RA Request may include a modification or exception to the practices, rules, or standards for a City program or for the development, siting, and use of housing or housing-related facilities that would eliminate regulatory barriers and provide a person with a disability with meaningful access to City programs and equal opportunity to housing of the person's choice.

(Ord. No. 1134, 4/21/2026)

(a) Requirements. An RA Request may be initiated with the review authority orally or in writing. The City will not require a requestor to use a particular form or medium to initiate an RA Request. The law requires the reasonable accommodation process to be iterative and interactive. City staff will assist requestors in completing their RA Request as needed to ensure that the process is accessible to persons with disabilities.

(b) Administration. The City may create any forms, documents, online portals, telephone hotlines, or other methods to facilitate the submittal of RA Requests.

(Ord. No. 1134, 4/21/2026)

(a) Application review. The review authority will approve, approve with conditions, or deny an RA Request in accordance with the required findings in Section 1-8.07, below.

(b) Decision.

(1) Request for further information. The review authority may request further information from the applicant consistent with State and Federal disability laws and this chapter, specifying in detail the further information required.

(2) Decision and timing. The review authority will issue a written decision within 30 days of its receipt of a complete RA Request (including any additional information required under subsection (b)(1), above). The written decision must: explain in detail the basis of the decision under the required findings in Section 1-8.07, give notice of the applicant's right to appeal the decision, and be sent to the applicant by first-class mail with return receipt requested.

(c) Compliance with other regulations. An approved accommodation does not affect any person's obligations to comply with all other applicable regulations not at issue in the requested accommodation.

(d) Confidentiality. Any information identified by an applicant as confidential will be retained in a manner so as to respect the privacy rights of the applicant and will not be made available for public inspection, unless disclosure is otherwise required by State or Federal law.

(Ord. No. 1134, 4/21/2026)

Prior to approval of an RA Request, the following findings must be made consistent with Federal and State disability laws:

(a) When housing is the subject of an RA Request, the housing will be used by a person with disabilities protected under fair housing laws.

(b) As applicable, the requested accommodation is necessary to make housing available to a person with disabilities protected under the fair housing laws.

(c) The requested accommodation would not impose an undue financial or administrative burden on the City.

(d) The requested accommodation would not require a fundamental alteration in the nature of the City's policies, practices or procedures, including consideration of alternatives which may provide an equal level of benefit.

(e) The requested accommodation will not result in a direct and significant threat to the health or safety of other persons or substantial physical damage to the property of others.

(Ord. No. 1134, 4/21/2026)

(a) The action of the review authority is final unless appealed by the applicant within 15 days of the date that the review authority's decision is mailed to the applicant. The notice of appeal must be in writing. The review authority will schedule the appeal to be heard by a hearing officer within 45 days from the date that the City Clerk's office receives the notice of appeal. The appellant is responsible for paying any appeal hearing fee, which may be established by City Council resolution and shall not exceed the reasonable cost to the City for retaining the hearing officer to conduct the hearing. The decision of the hearing officer is final and shall be mailed by first-class mail to the applicant with return receipt requested.

(b) Assistance with appeal. Upon request, the City will provide assistance to a person needing assistance in filing an appeal to ensure that the appeals process is accessible to persons with disabilities.

(Ord. No. 1134, 4/21/2026)

The applicant may apply for a modification to his or her accommodation. Any proposed modification will be treated by the City as a new RA Request and will be subject to the procedures set forth in Sections 1-8.01 through 1-8.08.

(Ord. No. 1134, 4/21/2026)

(a) Review authority and findings. The review authority may make changes or revoke the approval of a reasonable accommodation applications when conditions of approval are violated, it is necessary to resolve a nuisance, or when the RA Request contained incorrect, false, or misleading information.

(b) Procedures. The review authority will notify the applicant of the change or revocation of the approval by first-class mail with return receipt requested no later than the next business day after the review authority's decision. The applicant may appeal the review authority's decision in accordance with Section 1-8.08.

(Ord. No. 1134, 4/21/2026)