The city of San Jacinto has reached a six-figure agreement with the Justice Department to settle a 2012 federal lawsuit that claimed the city discriminated against disabled residents by restricting where group homes could operate.

In signing a consent decree, which resolves the dispute without admission of guilt, the city denies any discrimination in past actions. It has made some changes to city ordinances, agreed to provide fair housing training for employees, city officials and law enforcement officers and will make periodic compliance reports for five years.

The $746,599 in compensatory damages to the home operators and individuals and a $10,000 civil penalty to the government will come out of city general fund reserves, according to City Manager Tim Hults.

“Honestly, when you’re facing an 800-pound gorilla that knows your limitations, you’re kind of stuck,” Hults said. Back in 2008, the city relied on guidance from the Justice and Housing and Urban Development departments to develop new guidelines and still got sued.

He said the council concluded “the best thing was to limit exposure and settle even though we didn’t feel like we were in the wrong.”

Christopher Brancart, attorney for some group home owners who separately sued the city, pointed to one paragraph of the decree as key:

It reads in part, “The Defendant shall not impose restrictions on housing for persons with disabilities not imposed on housing for an equal or greater number of persons without disabilities.”

This includes occupancy limits on group housing for unrelated persons with disabilities that are more restrictive than occupancy limits for families or unrelated persons.

According to the complaint, which alleged violations of the federal Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act, the city’s residential zoning did not allow group homes anywhere in the city unless granted a special permit to be in areas zoned for multifamily housing.

“The city of San Jacinto was very proactive in trying to resolve this matter once we were able to sit down together and focus on the problem,” Brancart said.

Jeffrey Ballinger, the city’s attorney, said it’s hard to say if the decree in San Jacinto’s case might affect other cities and take away some traditional zoning authority of municipalities.

“I would like to see the (agencies) step up and help cities enforcing their housing ordinances,” he said.

The changes to the city ordinances include permitting group homes in all residential zones and allowing persons with disabilities to seek reasonable accommodation for access, such as in parks and for city services.

The consent decree resolves the federal lawsuit and a lawsuit filed by two group home operators and one individual, according to a news release. The homes served people with mental illness, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorders.

The government’s complaint cited a November 2008 sweep in which city officials and armed sheriff’s deputies visited 19 group homes and interrogated the residents of those with mentally disabled inhabitants, but didn’t interrogate the residents of the other homes.

The city was trying to determine whether residents were disabled and were entitled to reasonable accommodation in services. But federal officials viewed the query as discriminatory.

Hults and Ballinger said the city will contact county mental health, social services agencies or county probation officers to investigate issues in the future.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9075 or gwesson@pe.com