Fullerton : Care-Home Zone Change Receives Initial Approval

A revised ordinance that would allow convalescent homes in residential areas has received initial approval from the City Council.

Because of what the city’s staff described as a growing need for convalescent and board-and-care homes, council members on Tuesday approved a zoning amendment that would allow such facilities to operate in all zones except those for mobile home parks.

Under the revised ordinance, operators would be required to obtain conditional-use permits, and plans for new facilities would be subject to public hearings.

There are 12 board-and-care facilities in Fullerton and about 200 throughout the county. Council members are to give final consideration to the change at their Aug. 6 meeting.

Meanwhile, the city’s Planning Commission has postponed a decision on a 280-bed home for the elderly that neighbors of the site say would be too close to their homes and businesses.

Commission members were concerned that the two-story facility, planned for 1925 Sunnycrest Drive, would increase density in an area where there are homes, a shopping center and stables, city assistant planner Ted Commerdinger said Wednesday. The commission is scheduled to vote on the proposed home in its Aug. 14 meeting.