80-51 AMENDING ZONING ORDINANCE SPECIAL USE REGULATIONS RESIDENTIAL CARE FACILITIES

Home Browse Search

Page 11 - City Plan Commission - 4-3-80 Mr. Kaptain asked why the lot is so iarge at Woodford �omes . Mr. Menzies sai� that it meets the requirements of the Zor.ing Ordinance. Mr. �'ilkerson said that the 708 Board does not have the time or the money to come before the Plzn Comir,ission and the City Council for each proposed residential care facility. Mr. Cusick felt that the Commission needed to judge each pro- posed facility on its own merit rather than making one rule for every situatior,. He then asked for the staff recommendation. Staff Recommendation: In review of this petit?on as it relates to our understanding of the changing long term housing facilities the state and federal governments provide financial support for , the group home is the most recent innovation in the long standing work toward deinstitutionalization of all long term care facilities . The facilities include those for the phvsically, mentally and emotionally handicapped. As I see it, the goal is to create a living environment as similar as possible to that of a normal home. Staff is supportive of making ch�nges to the Zoning Ordinance I if it is seen to be too inflexible for accommodatinc changing development trencs so long as we do not believe the changes k�ill ever create an undue hardship on existing .residential properties . As to the 708 Board ' s proposal for group home tvpe facilities , staff does not believe that such care �acilities should be removed from the special use provision of the ordinance or from the residentiai care facilities definition. As yet, the State Department of Public Health, who is responsible for licensing and regulating all types of long term facilities , has not yet set up the procedures to license them, though they may well be out by July or August. Further, we still do not have the full confidence in the state to do its job in properly regulating private care facilities . Since group home t��pe living arrangements are yet to be u�il- ized to a significant degree in Illinois , it is still � question in our minds whether or not some types may place a hardship on the stability and tranquility of a neigi�orhood. It is staff ' s opinion that these �acilities are a ur_ique use that neeas to be properly regulated by local zoning anc the best way until proven otherwise is to maintain such uses within the special use section of the ordinance. Currer.tly, foster home and day care nurseries require special use permits in resider.tial zones for similar reasons.