Gain an understanding of the zoning provisions for community residences and recovery communities that comply with the Fair Housing Act and statewide zoning laws.
Community residential facilities offer individuals with disabilities and other needs a nurturing, residential environment. Oftentimes, these uses are faced with resistance from either local governments or neighbors, who tend to acknowledge the benefits of these facilities, while simultaneously expounding a not in my backyard position. For that reason, protections have been put in place under Federal Law, and, in many cases, at the State level as well. While this means that municipal oversight may be limited, it does not mean that these facilities must go unregulated. This live webinar will provide an overview of community residential facilities, and how they are and can be regulated at the Federal, State, and local governmental levels, while protecting the rights and needs of the individuals who live in them.
Agenda
Introduction
- Defining Community Residential Facilities
- Group Homes
- Sober Homes
- Recovery Communities
- General Siting Considerations
- Location
- Purchase Price
- Contract Contingencies
- Avoiding Oversaturation
Federal and State Law Protections
- Federal Fair Housing Act
- Equal Protection
- State Anti-Discrimination Laws
Nationwide Survey of State Regulatory Schemes
- States With Preemptive Regulatory Schemes
- States Without Regulatory Schemes
- The Middle Ground
What Can and Can’t a Municipality Do to Regulate?
- Oversaturation Considerations
- Zoning and Land Use Considerations
- Familial Status
- Residency Durational Requirements
- Enhanced Health and Safety Requirements/Mitigation of Impacts
Speakers
Jody T Cross,
Zarin & Steinmetz- Partner at Zarin & Steinmetz; Licensed in NY and CT
- Significant experience navigating the New York Padavan Law, helping both non-profit and for-profit sponsors of community residences through the siting approval process at the municipal level, as well as successfully protecting the rights of these homes to be established in various residential neighborhoods before Administrative Hearing Officers and the Courts
- Represents developers and municipalities on land use, zoning, real estate, and environ-mental impact review matters
- Regularly appears before municipal agencies securing subdivision, site plan, zoning amendments, and other land development approvals
- Litigates real property cases in State and Federal Courts, and has successfully handled land use and zoning matters that intersect with civil rights, including community residen-tial facilities, exclusionary zoning, RLUIPA, and the First and Fourteenth Amendments
- Pace University School of Law, J.D. with a Certificate in Environmental Law (Editor-in-Chief, Pace Environmental Law Review; Senior Research Fellow & Director, Pace Land Use Law Center); Muhlenberg College, B.A. in Psychology with a concentration in Environmental Studies
Who Should Attend
This live webinar is designed for attorneys, planners, developers, project managers, government administrators, council and board members, land use officials, public works and utilities directors, municipal government officials, presidents, vice presidents, and real estate professionals.
