Laserfiche WebLink
Mr. Dennis Welsch <br />January 6,2006 <br />Page 4 of 6 <br />B. National <br />The United States Supreme Court outlawed overt discrimination against group homes in <br />City of Cleburne v. Cleb��rne Living Ct�., 473 U.S. 432 (1985). In that case, a residential home <br />for the mentally disabled challenged a city ordinance requiring a permit for the group home <br />when the city's rationale was avoiding congestion of the population. The Court held that the <br />city's rationale was not reasonable in part because it could not explain why other group <br />housing did not require a similar permit. <br />Furthermore, the 1988 federal Fair Housing Act amendments (FHAA), 42 U.S.C. � <br />3601, et seq., have been used as a basis to ensure the protection of group i-�o��i�s �z� iocai zoning <br />regulations. Congress initially passed the Fair Housing Act in 1968 to prohibit discrimination <br />on the basis ofrace, color, religion, or national origin. The 1988 amendments extended �1�4' <br />protections to prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities as well. The FHAA <br />makes it unlawful to "discriminate against any person in terms, conditions, or privileges of sale <br />or rental of a dwelling, or in the provision of services or facilities in connection with such <br />dwelling, because of a handicap." 42 U.S.C. � 3b04(f)(2}. There is an exception in the statute, <br />however, for "reasonable" regulations that limit the number of occupants per dwelling. 42 <br />U.S.C. � 3607(b)(1). It appears that the FHAA amendments were enacted to provide further <br />protection for group homes for the handicapped outside of inerely a prohibition against overt <br />discrimination exhibited in City of Cleburne. Courts ask whether a city's zoning requ�ran�ei�ts <br />satisfy the FIIAA or whether the city must alter neutral zoning policies to reasonably <br />accommodate and integrate handicapped persons. City af Edr�oiids v. Washington State Bldg_ <br />Code Council, 18 �'.3d 802, 806 (9th Cir. 1994). <br />Application of the Above Principles to Roseville's Questions <br />A. Parking <br />The first question you have asked is whether employee cars, delivery vans, and buses <br />are permitted to be parked on the street outside a group home serving six or fewer persons in a <br />Roseville "�.-1" single family residential zone. By ordinance, the City of Roseville requires <br />two off-street parking spaces per dwelling unit in the R-1 zone, one of which ���st be enclosed. <br />Roseville Municipal Ordinance � 1018.08. <br />Because group homes in single family residential zones must follow all other applicable <br />restrictions, it appears that the group home at issue must have the same two off-street spaces, <br />one enclosed, per dwelling unit as required for all other single family residences. Although <br />many of the home's residents may not drive, the home still generates the need for parking for <br />cars, making it necessary to con#�oz-�n to the general parking requirements to maintain adequate <br />� <br />