Buena Park August 8, 2023 The Honorable Maria D. Hernandez Presiding Judge of the Superior Court*

Group homes too close to one another contribute to the problems associated with overconcentration. The City of Buena Park agrees with this finding. Although the City of Buena Response: Park has not directly experienced this issue, there is strong evidence from other Orange County cities that many of the reported negative impacts associated with group homes stem either from poor management and operations, which the City of Buena Park has experienced, or an over-concentration of group homes within a given geographic area; and sometimes both.

Common nuisances are more likely and disruptive when sober living homes are concentrated in a small geographic area of a neighborhood. The City of Buena Park agrees with this finding. Although the City of Buena Response: Park has not directly experienced this issue, the City has encountered nuisance conditions generated by individual group homes that are poorly managed and operated, with neighbors complaining of noise, loitering, and criminal activity, and residents of group homes complaining of substandard living conditions and unlawful evictions.

Some cities have successfully addressed and informed community members about the challenges faced in regulating group homes. The City of Buena Park partially agrees with this finding. Buena Park has held Response: public neighborhood and community meetings on this issue in efforts to educate members of the public and respond to residents' concerns. While educational efforts have increased understanding of challenges facing local governments, impacted residents remain concerned about the negative secondary impacts 6650 Beach Boulevard | P.O. Box 5009 | Buena Park, CA | 90622-5009 | [714] 562-3500 | BuenaPark.com Welcome to the Neighborhood: Are Cities Responsibly Managing the Integration of Group Homes? caused by poorly managed group homes in their neighborhoods. The City of Buena Park has also found that misinformation, misunderstanding, and lack of communication between group home operators and surrounding properties/neighborhoods can result in even well-managed group homes facing challenges within the community.

Community satisfaction was minimal when cities took the traditional public comment approach towards addressing community complaints. The City of Buena Park partially agrees with this finding. Buena Park has Response: successfully utilized the public meeting process to gather comments and concerns from residents regarding group homes. However, Buena Park has found this traditional approach should be supplemented by other outreach, engagement, and communication activities to ensure the greatest amount of participation by residents.

Cities are not utilizing police, fire, and code enforcement complaints as a means of locating and tracking Group Homes. The City of Buena Park disagrees with this finding. Buena Park's Code Response: Enforcement and Police Departments have responded to complaints and calls for service generated by group homes, and as a result has identified group homes operating in the city.

Cities are inhibited from enacting and enforcing ordinances due to fears over the potential cost of litigation. The City of Buena Park partially agrees with this finding. The interplay Response: between federal and state civil rights legislation, combined with California's housing legislation and the State Department of Housing and Community Development's (HCD) interpretation of California housing legislation, makes local regulation in this area challenging; and the statutory scheme incentivizes plaintiff litigation. The very real risk and cost of litigation is unquestionably a factor when cities are deciding whether and how to regulate group homes.

Several cities have created an ordinance that requires a ministerial permit or registration to operate a group home, however many of these cities do not enforce their ordinances. The City of Buena Park partially agrees with this finding. Buena Park recently Response: adopted a local ordinance requiring certain group homes to obtain a ministerial permit. The ordinance was carefully crafted to comply with guidance provided by HCD and incorporates best practices and experiences from other cities in Orange County. The ordinance is being fully implemented/enforced.

City and County officials are deterred from regulating group homes by California Housing and Community Development's housing element approval process. The City of Buena Park agrees with this finding. Response:

Cities have historically strategized and acted independently in addressing group home challenges and solutions. Welcome to the Neighborhood: Are Cities Responsibly Managing the Integration of Group Homes? The City of Buena Park partially agrees with this finding. While individual cities Response: have adopted local ordinances to regulate group homes in a way that reflects the unique nature, practices and goals of their community, Buena Park has collaborated with and drew on the experience of other Orange County cities when developing and adopting its ordinance. Well-operated group homes can integrate smoothly into neighborhoods.

The City of Buena Park agrees with this finding. Response:

There is a lack of regulatory oversight for the health and safety of residents of unlicensed group homes. The City of Buena Park agrees with this finding. State legislation currently limits Response: the extent to which local governments may regulate group homes that are not licensed by the state, which in turn results in little oversight of unlicensed homes; particularly compared with group homes that are licensed by the state. This disparity in regulatory oversight between licensed versus unlicensed facilities is substantial, and incentivizes profit-seeking operators to pursue unlicensed facilities to avoid the cost and oversight associated with licensed group homes. The state should make legislative amendments to either regulate licensed and unlicensed group homes on equal terms, prohibit unlicensed facilities that do satisfy certain minimum standards, or expressly allow local governments to regulate them. Many of the negative impacts generated by group homes could be addressed by closing this regulatory gap. Orange County cities and the County of Orange should address citizen