John Gamble Fie A. Gamble Life Care Residences, Inc., Doing Business as Oak Hill Residential Care v. City of Escondido

John Gamble, Fie Gamble, and Life Care Residences, Inc. (“Gamble”) sought to construct a complex for physically disabled elderly adults in a single-family residence area in Escondido, California. The City of Escondido (“City”) denied the building permit application because the proposed building was too large for the lot and did not conform in size and bulk with the neighborhood structures. The district court granted the City summary judgment on the Fair Housing Act, equal protection, and due' process claims. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

Fie and John Gamble own several parcels of land in Escondido, California. In 1987, the City granted the Gambles a conditional use permit for one of their parcels of land allowing construction of up to six facilities to care for the physically disabled, with each facility having a capacity maximum of twelve persons. Only two buildings, each of approximately 5,000 square feet in size, have been erected.

Gamble proposed to construct a 10,360 square foot, eight bedroom, twelve bathroom structure for the physically disabled elderly on a different parcel- of land. The upper portion of the building was designed to house fifteen elderly disabled…