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<br /> <br />hC\Jsingtclles,forinstancetnelntemational <br />Code Council IntemationalProperty <br />Maintenance Code. These types of codes <br />establish maximum occupancy restrictions <br />that are designed to prevent overcrowding of <br />dweUings based on communityheaith and <br />safety considerations. It is precisely this type <br />of code that the u.s. Supreme Court has <br />found would be exempt from the Fair Housing <br />Amendments Act. Local governments without <br />housing codes-many communities are with- <br />out them-should adopt one iftIley plan to <br />expand thedefinitiOI1 of family. <br /> <br />AN ArnON PLAN FOR PLANNERS <br />roTt)'years ago, yourautho~s first pianning <br />professor, Ted Bacon, oftheUniversityof <br />Massachusetts at Amherst, characterized <br />planningthusly:f'indingwhatyouhad. <br />Deciding what you wil:nted. f'iguring out how <br />to get it. <br />This is largely still the case, so consider <br />thefoHowingwhen grappling with issue of <br />howto define a family: <br />Become familiar with your community's defi- <br />nition of family and research how it has been <br />interpreted understate law. <br />. KnowwhattheFederalFairHousing <br />Amendments Act and your state law equiva- <br />lentsrequire. <br />o Consider an educational workshop to <br />improve recognition of the issues: Identify the <br />opportunities and limitations inherent in gov- <br />erningwholiveswhere. <br />o Encouragediscussionoftheproblemsinher- <br />ent in the inertia of rest of zoning regulation. <br /> <br />Bereallsticaboutyourcommunity. <br />. Se ready for plain talk about sensitive <br />socialissues,indudinggayandlesbianfami- <br />lies, unmarried couples with children, and <br />group homes. <br />o Knowthedemographicstoday,andwl1at <br />thefuturel1olds. <br />. Be wary of the legal and ethical liability of <br />excluding households. <br />. Have a method foradvocatingfordisenfra~. <br />chised or unrepresented constitue~cies. <br />Understand group homes. <br />o identifyeverygrouphometypeand.know <br />the probability of one or more of them coming <br />to town. <br />. Know which group homes have rights under <br />the FairHousingAmendmentsActorstate <br />equivalents. <br />o Considerstrategie~forexpresslyinduding <br />tI1em by regulation. For example, are distancing <br />requirements appropriate-and legal-under <br />federa\andstatelaw? <br />o Regulat<<. without stigmati:Z:\\1g. Some fed- <br />eral courts will not permit a conditional use <br />procedure because it causes protected <br />classestogohatinhandforpermissionto <br />live in a single-family neighborhood. <br />Accommodate special-needs populations <br />o Zone them in, not out. For example, college <br />students should be allowed to live close to <br />campus to reduce impacts from cars, parldng, <br />and noise. <br />o Zoning tools such asthe overlay zone per- <br />mittargeted,smaU.areasiting. <br />o Consider the functional family approach. <br />This is especialiy useful for households that <br /> <br />are difficult to categorize, including extended <br />gay and lesbian households or a habitating <br />group of nuns. <br /> <br />11'1 SUMMARY <br />Planners mayquestlonthe propriety of delving <br />into the personal lives of people who simply. <br />want to livetogether,butthe discomfort is a <br />small price to pay for accomplishingthO? goal of <br />accommodatingalltypesofcontemporaryfam- <br />ilies.Functionalfamilydefinitionsopenthe <br />doortogreaterdiversity,preservefamilyval. <br />ues,andpreventunconventionalfamiliesfrom <br />intentionally violating the zoning ordinance. <br />Zoning enforcement officers should not be left <br />in the position of being legally required to force <br />any family oul of their home because of an <br />antiquated definition. <br />Good planning and carefu\\yarticulated <br />regulation w1ll enable communities to pre. <br />serve single-family values as they have <br />evolved,integratingspecial-needspopula- <br />tions, and achieving the diversity that is bene- <br />ficjaltoall. <br /> <br /> <br />VOL 24, NO.:Z <br />ZoningProctice is a mOllthlypublication of the <br />AmericallPlallningAsSociation.Subscriptions <br />are available for 575 (U.S.) and $100 (foreign). <br />W.PaulFarme r,.Al Cl',Ex:ecutive Director; William <br />R. Klein, AlC?, Director oi Research. <br /> <br />Zoning Practice 05SN1548-013s'l is produced <br />atAPA.)imSchwab,AlcP, Editor; Michael <br />Davidson, GUi!stEc:liior;)uiieVonBergen, <br />Assistant Editor; Lisa Barton, Design and <br />Production. <br /> <br />Copyright@2oo7byAmericanPlanning <br />Association, 122 s. M;chigan Ave., Suite 1600, <br />Chicago,IL60603.TheAmericanPlanning <br />Association also hes offices at 1776 <br />MassachusettsAve., N.W., Washington, D.C. <br />20036:www.plannillg.org. <br /> <br />All rign15 reserved. No part of this publkat;on <br />maybe reproduced orut;l!zed In any form or by <br />any means, electronk or mechai'lical, inclL.lding <br />photocopying, recording, or by any information <br />storage and retrieval $ystem, without perm;s. <br />sion in writing from the American Planning <br />Association. <br /> <br />Printed on recycled paper, including 50-70% <br />recycled liberand 10% postconsumerwaste. <br /> <br />ZONING PRACTICE 2.0 <br />AMERlc.o.NPlANNINGASsOCIATlON8'9'"7 <br />