A. Overnight Stays Permitted: Notwithstanding any other provision in this article, overnight stays in specialty clinics shall be permitted, subject to the restrictions set forth in subsection D of this section.
B. Definitions: For the purposes of this section, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:
OVERNIGHT: The period of each day from ten o'clock (10:00) P.M. until six o'clock (6:00) A.M.
SLEEP DISORDER CENTER: A medical facility accredited by the American Board of Sleep Medicine that provides comprehensive clinical diagnostic evaluations and treatment to patients with symptoms that indicate the presence of a sleep disorder.
SPECIALTY CLINIC: An outpatient health facility, or clinic, licensed by the State of California or operated by a physician or dentist licensed by the State of California, that is not part of a hospital and that provides elective, ambulatory surgical care for patients who remain less than twenty four (24) hours. Specialty clinic shall include, but not be limited to, the following types of facilities:
1. Surgical clinics as defined by California Health and Safety Code section 1204 or its successor;
2. Sleep disorder centers, but only to the extent surgery is performed to correct sleep disorder conditions.
C. Exclusions: The provisions of this section shall not apply to any of the following uses:
1. Alternative birth centers as defined by California Health and Safety Code section 1204 or its successor;
2. Chronic dialysis clinics as defined by California Health and Safety Code or its successor;
3. Hospitals in which patients are permitted to remain overnight;
4. Rehabilitation clinics or centers, including, but not limited to, rehabilitation clinics as defined by California Health and Safety Code section 1204 or its successor, substance abuse rehabilitation centers, and physical therapy clinics;
5. Sanitariums in which patients are permitted to remain overnight;
6. Sleep disorder centers, except to the extent surgery is performed on site to correct sleep disorders;
7. Urgent care centers, walk-in health clinics, or emergency centers which provide twenty four (24) hour patient care.
D. Restrictions: The following restrictions shall apply to any specialty clinic that allows overnight stays pursuant to this section:
1. No overnight stays shall be permitted in any specialty clinic unless the owner or operator of such clinic or center first obtains an overnight stay permit in accordance with the provisions of article 36.5 of this chapter.
2. No more than a total of four (4) patients at one time may remain overnight in any specialty clinic, regardless of the number of physicians or surgeons affiliated with such clinic. Nothing in this section shall supersede any federal, state, or local law regulating specialty clinics, including, but not limited to, any regulations that regulate the number of recovery beds per operating bed that a specialty clinic must provide.
3. The building housing the specialty clinic shall provide on site parking that complies with all applicable parking requirements of this code, but in no event shall such parking be provided at a rate less than one space per three hundred fifty (350) square feet of area for all existing buildings. Such on site parking shall be available free of charge for any employees using the facility between the hours of ten o'clock (10:00) P.M. and seven o'clock (7:00) A.M.
4. No overnight stays will be permitted at any specialty clinic on Saturday or Sunday.
5. The specialty clinic shall comply with all provisions of article 36.5 of this chapter.
6. The specialty clinic shall comply with all applicable provisions of chapter 4 of this title, including, without limitation, section 10-4-604 of this title. The only permitted sign referring to hours of operation shall be one business identification sign for each fifty feet (50') of ground floor street frontage that a business occupies along a face of a building.
7. The specialty clinic shall comply with all applicable building codes.
8. The specialty clinic shall not discharge patients between the hours of ten o'clock (10:00) P.M. and six o'clock (6:00) A.M. For the purposes of this section, "discharge" shall mean to release the patient from the specialty clinic.
9. Overnight stays in a specialty clinic shall only be permitted for patients who are recovering from surgeries performed at that specialty clinic earlier in the day.
10. The specialty clinic shall not perform any surgeries between the hours of ten o'clock (10:00) P.M. and six o'clock (6:00) A.M. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent a specialty clinic from administering emergency care between the hours of ten o'clock (10:00) P.M. and six o'clock (6:00) A.M. to a patient recovering from an earlier surgery performed at the same specialty clinic.
11. The specialty clinic shall permit no more than one family member or other visitors of patients to stay at the clinic or center during overnight hours.
12. The specialty clinic shall comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, including, without limitation, all licensing requirements established by the appropriate governing body.
13. The specialty clinic shall not receive deliveries nor permit any loading or unloading activities during the overnight hours unless: a) the deliveries, loading, or unloading operation is conducted entirely within an enclosed structure, or b) the deliveries, loading, or unloading operation is conducted exclusively from a public right of way that is not adjacent to a residential zone or RMCP zone.
14. All doors in the specialty clinic which face a residential zone shall remain closed at all times during the overnight hours except from the immediate purpose of ingress or egress.
15. Employees of the specialty clinic shall not congregate behind the building housing the specialty clinic or in any open area or public right of way separating the building from a residential zone or RMCP zone during overnight hours.
16. Specialty clinics, or the physicians or dentists who operate such specialty clinics, must be licensed by the state of California. (Ord. 02-O-2390, eff. 2-8-2002; amd. Ord. 04-O-2439, eff. 2-6-2004)