City Council Upholds Termination of Golden Cross Health Care’s Nonconforming Rights over Discontinued Use

In June 2020, the State Attorney General’s Office ordered the mass evacuation and relocation of 63 elderly patients from the Golden Cross Health Care Facility in Northwest Pasadena. At least 30 ambulances were ordered to the skilled nursing facility in the 1400 block of North Fair Oaks Avenue to ferry patients to other care facilities through the county. Shortly thereafter, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued a Temporary Suspension of the facility’s license to operate over violations in relation to the coronavirus outbreak care standards that posed significant risk to the health and safety of its residents and employees.

The City Council on Monday upheld the Board of Zoning Appeals’ (BZA) decision to terminate the non-conforming rights granted to nursing facility Golden Cross Health Care, located along North Fair Oaks Avenue, amid the discontinued use of the facility over the past 12 months.

Last August, the BZA had upheld the decision of the city zoning administrator, which determined that the facility’s nonconforming Medical Services – Extended Care land use lost its nonconforming status and and it would not be reestablished after 12 months of disuse.

Non-conforming use rights are given to properties which purpose do not conform to the use regulations for the zoning district in which it is located.

According to the city’s zoning code, a non-conforming use “shall lose its non-conforming status and shall not be reestablished if the same is discontinued for any reason for at least 12 months.”

The zoning administrator’s determination against the nursing facility was made in June, a year after the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) issued a temporary suspension of the facility’s license to operate over violations in relation to the coronavirus outbreak care standards that posed significant risk to the health and safety of its residents and employees.

As a result of the suspension order, the use of the facility was discontinued and the facility’s residents were transferred to different facilities.

According to a staff report prepared for the Council, by the time the residents of the Golden Cross Health Care evacuated the facility in June of 2020, 16 residents had died from COIVID-19 causes, and 71 residents and 32 staff had contracted the disease.

During the BZA’s hearing last August where it upheld the zoning administrator’s decision, Jeff Harlan, who represented the owner of the property urged for the rejection of the staff recommendation, saying the owner does not have any intent to discontinue the use of the facility even with the suspension of the license.

Harlan also said the city did not satisfy the legal requirements to show that the owner voluntarily abandoned the property.

Citing the city’s zoning code, he said the determination of discontinuance must be supported by evidence such as actual removal of equipment and turning off of utilities, among other actions.

In urging the City Council to uphold the BZA’s findings, staff said that the zoning administrator’s determination was correctly made that the nonconforming use was discontinued on June 10, 2020, when the license required to provide patients with medical services was suspended.

“The property and the lack of operations consistent with the land use lead us to the conclusion that the legal nonconforming use was suspended for a minimum of 12 months,” said Mayor Victor Gordo.