Inside position on who's up first.

So I'm doing I would uh like to call the planning commission meeting to order.

Um welcome to the August 26, 2025, my anniversary Huntington Beach Planning Commission meeting.

While the planning commission welcomes public involvement in free speech, it rejects comments from anyone that is that are uh discriminatory, defamatory, or otherwise not protected speech.

These comments will not inform nor be considered by the planning commission and may cause the chair to interrupt the speaker.

Such comments will not be consented to or otherwise adopted by the planning commission in its discussions and findings for any matter tonight.

Thank you.

And I would like to call on Commissioner Bush to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Everybody's ready to begin.

Please be seated.

Okay.

Happy anniversary.

Thank you.

Um, may we have a roll call, please?

Commissioner Pellman.

Vice Chair Bush here.

Chair Theonists here.

Commissioner Babineau?

Here.

Commissioner McGee?

Here.

Commissioner Palmer.

Commissioner Goldberg.

We have a quorum.

All right.

Okay.

Um now is the time for public comments for items that are not on the agenda this evening.

Do we have any public comments?

We have no one signed up to speak.

Beautiful.

Sorry.

Next on the agenda is a public hearing on zoning text amendment 2503.

Planning commissioners, please state your disclosure regarding this matter, this item.

I'll start on my right.

I spoke to uh Commissioner Bush and Commissioner Goldberg.

I spoke to uh Ricky Ramos.

That's it.

I spoke to um this Commissioner Bush.

Uh spoke to what's your name again?

Don Dominic McGee and texted um Ben Goldberg.

Okay.

Um I spoke to uh Mayor Burns, um Councilman Kennedy, and uh Councilman Twining and staff.

Uh I have none to report.

Nothing to disclose.

I spoke with Commissioner McGee and we texted uh Commissioner Bush.

Okay, staff.

May we please have a report?

Yes, uh Senior Planner Jason Kelly will be giving the presentation.

Thank you, Chair, members of the planning commission.

Uh the item before you tonight is zoning text amendment number 25-003.

This is an amendment to section 230.28 of the zoning and subdivision ordinance.

The section is titled group homes, and the amendment is intended to add language to prohibit a group home operator from applying or reapplying for permits for five years from the date of the denial or revocation of their permit, their SUP permit.

A little background.

Um, in July of 2020, the city council adopted the group home ordinance, which established a permitting process for all type of group home facilities.

And since that adoption, some sober living fits facilities have been operating without proper permits or are in violation of their conditions of approval.

In May of 2025, the city council directed staff to amend the ordinance to regulate operators in violation of that ordinance.

Which is titled Effect of Denial or Revocation of Special Use Permit or Conditional Use Permit.

This language was added to define all types of group home operators that are subject to the ordinance and prohibit those operators from applying or reapplying for SUP or CUPs with a within a five-year period if they are found to be in violation of the ordinance.

The updated language can be found in your attachment number four, which is the legislative draft.

Based on the suggested findings, staff is recommending approval of zoning text amendment 25003, because the amendment is consistent with the general plan policies.

We'll start on my right.

Yeah, I believe anyone can apply for a special use permit if they're operating some type of group home facility, whether it's a sober living facility, a residential care facility, they would be required to apply.

Would what I'm saying is could they use their family as because there's some so many of these places open up and a lot of them are unlawful, right?

So we can't really define what kind of person goes in there.

Maybe they're afflicted uh in some way, but can anybody just use their family as their care, their their uh the people they care for?

I mean, could anybody just apply and say I want I want a sober living environment and their family be there, the people they care for?

I would say yes, anyone could apply.

Well, there you have it, folks.

You know, Commissioner Pellman.

I have a few questions.

Um, number one, I was really happy that I believe it was uh Mayor Burns and Council Member Kennedy brought this to the attention of the planning commission and the city and everybody.

I think it's a good um a good um amendment to do, um, but I do have some questions, and I just want to basically confirm with uh within the thousand feet, you can't have another group home within a thousand feet, right?

It has to be outside the thousand feet.

Is that correct?

That is correct, yes.

Okay.

With that being stated, and um I had said this to uh Mr.

Ramos um on Monday yesterday, um I had asked if included in this if we could include schools, because a lot of the schools are at least in ocean view, and I believe um to some degree in Huntington Beach City, their interior to tracks track homes.

And I know of at least one group home that is across the street from the school.

Uh it used to be a middle school, it's now closed.

But pri that 2020 um amendment wasn't in effect then, so I I guess it would be grandfathered in at this point, or if they got it revoked, maybe they could not have that there, but I I was concerned about these being next to schools.

Secondarily, um with that, um, looking at and I think it's a penal code of some sort or another, where it describes um the degrees of people with who are sexual predators required to register as sex offenders, have had felonies, and there's different years that has to lapse before they would be eligible to go in one of these sober living homes.

So my question is number one, I'm not happy about that if it's next to a school or in a neighborhood that that we're placing these types of individuals there.

That's number one.

Number two, how do you um not you personally, but what is the process of evaluating um people that go into these group homes?

How do you do that?

How do you assure that what's going into them are not people?

I believe we do not evaluate the the customer the the people that are living there.

That's we're we're just uh solely uh requiring the permit, and they have a particular some uh regulations that they have to uh abide by and if they meet those, then the city is approving those.

So about eight years ago, approximately then, I went to a uh community meeting where the mayor at that time, which was Mayor Del Glace, and almost everybody on this street in Farinella were there, because a group home the owner of this one property basically wanted, you know, they moved out of their house and went to lease it, and this company that does sober living homes opened up one there, and the story that was told to me was that they did drugs six weeks afterwards, and I don't know the particulars, I just know what I heard and um they went crazy in the neighborhood.

So what would happen to that individual now that that home?

Well, if they have an approved uh special use permit and they're in violation of their conditions, then it would uh be elevated to code enforcement, and then they would um make sure they possibly could revoke their conditional use permit.

I'm sorry, their special use permit the state being in violation of their conditions.

Does the state ever get involved?

That I do not know now.

I I Commissioner Pellman, I think it depends on the type of facility that they're running.

I think if they're required to obtain a license from the state, that's when the state would be involved in in terms of their licensing, but in terms of what type of individuals we don't have regulations that um enforce those, we would have to look at our own municode to see what violate what um codes they would be in violation of.

So technically, like just doing drugs within a home, that's not necessarily, but if there was like a nuisance that was occurring, such as noise or you know, things on the property that code enforcement would be observing, those are the things that they would um find to be nuisances.

So in this particular instance that I attended this meeting as a trustee, school board trustee, um, they just and they wanted me there because the school was there, okay, right across the street, and um they a police response was necessary.

I don't know how many police showed up, but they were jumping into the neighbors' yards and pounding on the windows and scaring everybody.

So I I just have a problem.

I'm I'm going to vote for this, but I would like the addition of not being next to a school within a thousand feet that that determination.

And um, that's just whenever we go to approve it, I would like to add that.

So anyway, and just one last thing, and it goes to how you select people to be in these homes.

In that meeting, I was told from the the manager of that home that they go to the the courthouse or not the courthouse, the the county jail, and at one o'clock in the morning they pick people and they don't do any background checks.

So I just want to make sure that's real clear that that's what I was told.

Okay, and you guys don't have any other information, right?

About that, you said no, pretty much upholding what I said.

Okay, thank you.

I think that concludes.

Thank you.

Commissioner Bush.

I guess you answered s a couple of questions I had.

If it is found to be in violation under 230 28, those guidelines are the special uh permit, then it code enforcement would take it up.

Is what I heard.

Yes, okay.

And the other question I would have is if if there was no violation in that regard, but there was nuisance activity.

If I understood what what you said, who enforces new nuisance activity for the city?

Is it the city attorney or is it back to code enforcement via the city attorney as well?

It's a combination of the police department and code enforcement, and what in particular is being violated, I guess, like what the what the violation is, what the codes that are gonna be applied to the nuisance activity.

So typically property, like physical improvements, um, things that are happening that they could enforce what they would enforce, but like if it happens at night or something, usually the police department is involved because they're working more of the 24 hours.

Right, because my experience with this is we worked uh when I was in code enforcement in Long Beach, we worked in conjunction with the city attorney, and ultimately we could order the building vacated.

Um, but I know there's different machinations here.

I'm just wondering how far we've gone and have we gone in that direction historically.

I don't know the history on any particular case, but it would involve a combination of everyone that you've mentioned the police department, code enforcement, city attorney's office if it if it elevates to that level.

So there is a structure in place.

This is not anything new to us.

That's correct.

Good, thank you.

Commissioner Bevanel?

Commissioner Pellman.

I mean, I think that's okay.

So um I appreciate Tracy your addition, and if we can make an addition, um, I would support that.

I would vote for this um with others here.

I think there are a lot of things that are still kind of sketchy about group homes in our city, and some neighborhoods are very much up in arms and blame us for letting them come into proliferation, but I don't see this as the vehicle to uh get a handle on that.

But I I believe that our current city council, law enforcement, and um and our city attorney are making a concerted effort to make those places uh more amenable to their neighborhoods.

I can tell you one thing though, when they do shut down a building in most cities, and it happened I believe once here, uh maybe back in the 80s, 90s, um, it was a starlight um foundation building, um, they just release the people into the community.

So, but other than that, I don't have.

Commissioner Goldberg.

Yeah, I just I agree with everything that I've heard from all the different commissioners, and I've obviously I I just want to make sure I'm clear on what we're voting on here and what we can and can't do on this particular item because I'm a little I don't think I don't think we can do what what we'd love to do.

I don't think that's that it's on the agenda to actually change this policy other than to amend the language to make it more um you know this is this is real simple deal because I saw it in Long Beach also where you'd have a home that would violate and then they would just they would repack themselves and reapply and within a month or less they'd be reopened again under a new name and a new corporation or what have you.

And I believe that is what this is actually trying to accomplish is to avoid the people gaming the system as far as not wanting them in your schools, and I mean absolutely you know, we're all fighting this thing, but I don't believe that we're in the position uh at least not tonight, anyway, to amend the uh this particular item to exclude any um new group homes going near schools, unless I'm mistaken.

If I'm if I'm not mistaken, then you know I'm I'm all for it as well.

I just don't know that that's what this is for, but I okay if I we we still haven't opened the public hearing, so I would just you know ask the commission to refrain from um opining on what they're gonna do what their decision is on this item at this point, but to answer your question, I'll have Ricky respond to it.

Yeah, that's correct, Commissioner Goldberg.

So we we only followed the direction that we got from council based on the memo that's attached to the staff report.

So the scope of the text amendment is limited through the direction we got from council.

We also published a uh legal advertisement for it that was limited in scope.

So if there is interest in in perhaps having uh a buffer from schools, which you can do is after you act on the text amendment, you can take a minute action to recommend to the that the council consider directing staff to require a buffer from schools and it would have to be reviewed for um any legal considerations.

So I figured anything else?

Can I ask one more question?

Um is it does do any neighbors for these facilities have any recalls before um one of these licenses is okayed?

I mean, d do they have a notification?

Yeah, they have notified.

There is no notification.

No.

I think it's my turn.

Okay.

You learned that.

Um I I believe that this is a conditional use permit, and again, I'm just asking questions like everyone else's, but um i it it does say that um the rules and regulations of the sober living homes, so th they they will not use drugs, they'll not have drugs and not have alcohol um available in these homes, and if they do, that's a code violation, and they would be subject to having their permit revoked, and then they could not reapply for another five years.

That's the way I read this.

Is that correct?

Yeah, and then also um uh commissioner Palmer, the it does include um when you close the home or if you evict somebody, uh it it does have a provision on how you're supposed to provide transportation to take them to their original place of residence.

So that's covered here in in our code.

Okay, so we we um okay, so any are there any further questions?

Chair, I wanted to clarify real quick.

I apologize, but uh there is notific no notification for the SUP, but if it's a use that requires a conditional use permit, that's a public hearing and that one has notification.

But um yes, but still their their permit requires requires that they have these rules in place, and if they don't following their permit, then that's a violation, right?

If not, then I think we should amend that.

No, that's correct.

What you said is absolutely correct.

Okay.

So is there no language currently about proximity to schools?

There is not in the current code.

It's it's a thousand-foot buffer from each individual group home.

So they're but nothing pertaining to schools.

Okay, yeah.

So that's what we're saying.

Any additional questions?

Commissioner Pellman, I think you had some.

Um, I'm not sure how um, so I have to make a statement first, then I ask a question.

Okay.

So the statement is I am not sure based on what I learned about how you return occupants, I guess that's what they would be called, back to their original place.

Would that be back to the jail if they came from the jail?

Would that be back to New Hampshire or you know the East Coast?

Because we get a lot of people from there.

So um can you now question?

Is that what you is that what currently happens?

What was the question again?

Sorry.

When in the wording it says they get returned to their original place of residence.

So I'm asking you if they came from New Hampshire, New York, they usually come from cold places, and they're offered to go to a sunny place in California to do their sober living, and then they wind up being here permanently.

So I'm asking.

I'm not sure how they get relocated, but I I would assume that they would be ordered if this one particular facility closes, they would be required to uh go to another facility, you know, whether that's in the city or outside the city.

Yeah.

So um okay.

I just, you know, and in all um I I have a problem with the way sober living in the state of California is set up, not in Huntington Beach, because you're following codes and all that stuff.

The state of California um really doesn't have, in my opinion, any uh standards of efficacy of proving that these homes are really doing what they're supposed to do.

So and I wish that would change.

So that's it.

Commissioner Pellman, if I could add there is language under, looks like B1, K, that talks about providing transportation to occupants basically based on what's the address on their driver's license.

That's what I read.

If they come from New Hampshire, New York or someplace like that, then and that's their driver's license, then we're we don't have to pay for that, right?

It's the sober living that has to pay for that, correct?

Yep, correct.

Okay, but keep in mind um it's all existing language, all we're adding is letter C, which is what the council directed us.

I understand.

So we're spending uh a lot of time discussing items that are not changing tonight.

Hmm.

We'll see.

Okay, bye.

Okay.

Any other questions for staff?

Okay.

Yeah, with no further questions.

Uh we will go ahead and open the public hearing.

Do we have any speakers?

We have no one signed up to speak.

Oh, okay.

Well, with uh we'll close the public hearing planning commissioners.

We will now uh deliberate this item.

I'd like to make a motion to approve the uh suggested language.

I'll second, do we have a vote?

That's okay.

I don't think it's much more discussed.

We have all eyes, motion carries.

All right, all right.

I would like to make a function.

Okay.

Yes, please.

Um, request that the city council hall.

I don't think the mic's on.

Commissioner Pellman, could you um turn on your microphone, please?

Thank you.

Sorry.

I would like to make a minute motion to, and I believe that was the wording that Mr.

Ramos suggested, and I'm good with that, um, to request staff to come up with language or investigate language to add um the thousand foot.

How how would I say that uh buffer from a school?

How about a sensitive receptor?

Uh uh parks that includes parks, um libraries.

We we use the we we use sensitive receptors, um in the uh uh tobacco sales.

Yeah, I the churches I'm not sure you could do because a lot of times the churches provide outreach to these people.

Okay, don't you agree?

No, no, I agree.

The term you used me, sensitive receptors.

Yeah, sensitive receptors or but but it is includes churches.

Yeah, so can I just start with schools at this point?

Let's just do that, and let's see how the city council does with that.

Okay, thank you.

Okay, next on the uh agenda.

Is there a vote?

Is there a vote?

Yeah, we have to have second, yeah, second for that, or whoever can say.

Wait, okay, who's seconded it?

Thank you.

Let that happen.

Okay.

Multiple people spoke at the same time, so I just want to make sure.

Welcome back, ma'am.

Thank you.

Happy anniversary.

We have all eyes, motion carries.

Okay, uh, next on the chair.

Chair, real quick, I wanted to just mention that the planning commission's action on the zoning tax amendment is a recommendation and will be submitted to the city council for final action.

Thank you.

Thank you.

All right.

Next on the agenda is a consent calendar to approve some minutes.

Is there a motion to approve the minutes as submitted?

I'll make a motion to approve the minutes.

Second.

We have a vote.

We have all eyes, motion carries.

All right.

Next on the agenda are planning items.

Uh can we have a uh staff report?

We currently don't have any items for the September 9th planning commission meeting, and we anticipate that we will be canceling.

Okay, all right.

Well, uh, before we close the for the evening, planning commissioners, do you have any comments to provide?

We'll start on my right.

Negative.

Positive.

Um I am the le the uh planning commission liaison to the Historic Resource Board, and what an amazing, it's an amazing group, and it I believe that it kind of knits together different parts of the city by all the functions that they do, and I'm totally amazed by them.

One of the um the uh one of the things that was presented at them at the meeting was um they have a historically significant home in Huntington Beach, and they basically they do recordings of these and they basically try to save pieces of it before it's demolished.

And there's actually uh companies that I think are called Green Um Cal Green construction and demolition reuse and recycling program, which I think is amazing because um if you're redoing one of these historic homes, that saving of those materials may be used to add exactly identical materials to your home without redoing the whole thing.

So it's a really and they bring this kind of information to um this meeting and um and I just wanted to share that with you.

So I look forward to um going to their next meeting.

Thank you.

Commissioner Bush.

I have no comment.

Okay, I don't have anything either.

No comment, Palmer.

Thank you, Tracy, for sharing the historic resources board information.

I believe they're at Surf City Nights, they have a booth, or at least occasionally they do, and they have a lot of great information.

So their meetings are interesting.

Thank you.

Commissioner Goldberg.

Yeah, I just wanted to just make a quick note that uh you know it it's um it's such a pleasure to be a part of this great uh city and watch our city uh council and government uh work uh so hard to keep everybody engaged.

And uh I just thought I would point out that I've lived in another city for a very long time of my life, and they they tried to appear that way, but I will tell you that this council, I see them everywhere, they're they're supporting uh different organizations.

There was an Israeli group that was supported recently, the veterans, our fire department, our police department.

I mean, just really it just uh it's very consistent, it's very sincere, and it's uh I'm very proud to be part of it, and I'm proud to work with all of you on this commission and be back in uh helping out as well with everybody.

So thank you.

Okay, welcome back.

All right.

Um, well, that's the last item on our agenda.

We hereby adjourn to adjourn to our next planning commission meeting, which may or may not be on Tuesday, September 9th.

Meeting adjourn.