PLAN COMMISSION Tuesday, February 7, 2012 ... - Village of Palatine

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Plan commission Tuesday, february 7, 2012 page 4 Vyverberg read the definition of group home into the record. He said that Palatine currently permits group homes in all single family districts subject to the following: 1. No more than eight persons, plus staff 2. Licensed by the State of Illinois 3. A minimum of 1,000 feet maintained between homes He said that group homes that do not meet these criteria require special use review and approval, as follows: Group homes that are not licensed or certified by the State of Illinois or are not supervised, or those whether licensed and/or supervised or not, which have nine (9) or more persons plus staff, subject to the following: 10.01. A minimum distance of one thousand three hundred (1,300) feet is maintained between group homes. 10.02. The group home conforms to all provisions outlined in chapter 10 of the Code of Ordinances or state licensing standards, if applicable to the use.(O-92-93 8/9/93) Palatine’s planning staff proposes text amendments to the group home regulations in both the permitted and special uses to address staff and resident parking requirements and application of the relevant building, property maintenance, and fire codes. Staff also recommends expanding the scope of our definition of group homes to more clearly reflect the direction provided by the FFHA. Proposed changes to the text amendment language include regulations for on-site parking as well as bringing the definition of disability more in line with judicial findings. Vyverberg said that the village would not require a special use for those whose population is fewer than eight. Parking requirements would be governed by the lot/driveway size. Halfway houses would be a special use throughout the village, he added. He noted that staff size cannot be quantified. It depends on the population and its needs. Parking, likewise, is based on needs and number of client/staff drivers. He said that existing group homes would be grandfathered in. All persons who wished to speak to the petition were sworn in. Frank Annerino, 1195 N. Palos, said he is concerned about Palatine’s lax ways of allowing group homes and halfway houses. He characterized them as businesses that, therefore, make more profit with more clients. This does not match the intent of a family style environment in a single family neighborhood, he added.
plan commission tuesday, february 7, 2012 page 5 Large group homes mean overcrowding, safety issues, and lack of sufficient supervision, he charged. Residents make interior modifications in homes by cutting family rooms in half or bricking up garages to provide more bedroom space. These changes, which he described as being irreversible, would lower neighborhood property values. He feels restrictions are too lax. Eight residents plus staff in a 1,330 square foot single family home would bring the number of persons to 15. This number would bring an increase in high noise level, traffic, including food delivery traffic, and on-street parking, and a lot of disruption to the neighborhood, he added. He said he would have no problem with a group home whose client population is four. He objects to larger group homes. Annerino said his research shows that according to a group home owner, the average stay in a group home is 8 months. Staff longevity is 1 year. Annerino presented proposed text amendments regarding group homes: 1. Deletion of alcohol addiction as being a cause of impairment 2. Change definition of family size to four or fewer. In addition, he proposed these words be added in the definition of both small and large group homes: “A group home does not include a residence that serves persons as an alternative to incarceration for a criminal offense, or persons whose primary reason is alcohol or substance abuse, or persons whose primary reason for placement is treatment of a communicable disease. 3. Deletion of Section 9.1 (pertaining again to number of clients) 4. Remove Section c10 and replace it with wording governing client size; licensing or certification by the State of Illinois; maintain a minimum distance of 1,000 feet between group homes; written notification of a proposed group home be delivered to all residents within 500 feet of the property prior to special use request. Annerino said having non-licensed group homes would be unacceptable. Vyverberg said the number of clients in Palatine group homes is currently a floating number. He said staff would further review the number of police calls to group homes. Kenny said that if a person were using drugs, he would have no protection under the Fair Housing Act. Annerino’s proposed wording would not pass Fair Housing Act muster, he added. Four clients would not be sufficient for Fair Housing Act court cases, he said, noting that the Fair Housing Act treats non-related persons in a group home as a family. You can’t use the same definition for a standard family as you do for people with disabilities. He warned that the village would run into trouble if alcohol abuse were deleted from the definition. Mrs. Sawyer noted that single family homes in Palatine could have 20 related persons living in them without being regulated for numbers.
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PLAN COMMISSION Tuesday, February 7, 2012 ... - Village of Palatine

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