Agenda - Planning Commission - 09/07/1999

Home

Page 4 -- July 25, 1999 Z.B. application was, what, if anything, remained to be done to complete the pro- cess, when it might be done, or who the ultimate decision maker was. Groome asked the court to issue an order requiring the parish to approve the accommodation before Groome's closing date. DECISION: Order granted. Groome could operate a group home for up to five Alzheimer's patients. The Act wasn't unconstitutional. Every federal appeals court that had con- sidered the matter had found the Act was constitutional and applied to zoning ordinances. Requiring Groome to wait until its application was denied before it could sue would frustrate the Act's purpose. The inspections department had been prepared to approve lhe request within a month of receiving it, until a parish councilman intervcned. The zoning ordinance provided for reasonable accom- modations, but had no procedures for considering such applications. Even the attorney in charge of the review process couldn't say what else had to be done or who the ultimate decision maker was. The requested accommodation was reasonable and necessary to allow per- sons with disabilities to have equal'opportunity to'live in a residential setting. The zoning ordinance had a disparate impact on Alzheimer's patients who wanted to live in a residential neighborhood. The artificial limit of four unre- lated persons living in a single home made it economically unfeasible for Groome to operate the proposed home. There was no evidence the home would negatively impact the neighborhood, and if the home were occupied by a fam- ily, there would be no limit on the number of people who lived there. Citation: Groome Resources Ltd. L.L.C. v. Parish of Jefferson, U.S. District Court for the Easter District of £ouisiana, No. 99-]49] Section: "J" (~999). see also: ReMed Reco[~ery Care Centers v. Township of Wiltistown, 36 F..Suplv. 2d 676 (~ 995). see also: Oxford ttouse-C v. City of St. Loui,x~ 77 F. 3d 249 (1996). Zoning Violation -- Owner cited for running business from his home says court went too far OHIO (5/14/99) -- Simeone lived in a house in a Vienna Township residential district. Ite also ran a landscaping business from the house. The zoning inspec- tor sued Simeone, seeking a couff' order permanently prohibiting him from violating the township zoning ordinance. The court concluded Simeone violated the zoning ordinance by operating a commercial landscaping business from his house. It prohibited him from storing or using on his property any business equipment, "including but not limited to dump trucks, skid steers, conveyor belts, dirt screening machines, trailers, gas tanks, lawn mowers (except for residential purposes only) ... and any and ali other equipment" used for his business. The court also ordered Simeone to cease any use of the property for commercial purposes. Simeone appealed, claiming the court went too far. He said the order was