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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/03/2009 03C-2 Citizen Service Request Response RE: Clean and Sober Housing Requirements at 1406 Yakima Ave MEMORANDUM TO: Honorable Mayor Edler and Members of the City Council FROM: Jeff Cutter, City Attorney Bill Cook, Director of Community and Economic Development DATE: October 30, 2009 SUBJ: Citizen Complaint Regarding Clean and Sober Housing 1406 W. Yakima Avenue Complaint On October 20, 2009 the Yakima City Council received a citizen complaint about a possible group home in a residence at 1406 West Yakima Avenue. Council directed staff to investigate the complaint for possible code and zoning violations. • The Structure " y , : r• . . The house, constructed in 1908, is . ,. a 2 -story with full basement v ,• Georgian Revival style structure 1 t �'' with over 3,000 square feet of floor • area. The property is zoned R -3 pp�� {{�� ` 14 ➢ Z > - ��� t ' € Multi- Family Residential. In 1982 , i :l building permits were issued by = the City of Yakima to convert this t a` home into a tri -plex. � - ` - Over the last several weeks there have been some tenant modifications to the structure to x r; remove non - weight bearing walls ,„QAaG • and convert the structure back to a single family home. It is the intent of the lessee to rent the house as a single family residence. The property owner purchased the site in August of 2009 with a current lease to Oxford House. The renovation project was apparently underway at the time of the property transaction. The property owner has not yet agreed to the plan to convert this house back to a single family residence and is in discussion with the tenant. Code Enforcement staff inspected the property on October 26, 2009. From the • inspection, the city determined that the work preformed to date did not require a building permit and was not in violation of Uniform Building Code, Uniform Fire Code or Uniform House Code. However, if approved by the property owner, staff will issue a Zoning Certificate that indicates the structure has been modified from a 3- unit building to a single family home. Several additional smoke detectors are required and a building permit is required for the installation of an egress window for one of the basement rooms to use as a bedroom. Use of Structure by the Residents The house at 1406 is rented by Oxford Houses of Washington State, as a single family home for up to 8 women in recovery from drug or alcohol addiction as a residential facility. In summary, based on a US Supreme Court decision, the City of Yakima must treat this group as a family. Attached is a legal brief from the City Attorney that describes the Court Decision. The Oxford House website has information about the court case and their program. http: / /www.oxfordhouse.org /userfiles /file • i MEMORANDUM TO: Honorable Mayor Edler and Members of the City Council FROM: Jeff Cutter, City Attorney DATE: October 29, 2009 SUBJ: Clean and Sober Housing The legal department has been asked to provide a legal analysis for the determination of where Clean and Sober housing may be located within the City of Yakima, what regulations apply to the location and occupancy of those houses, and what restrictions the City is under with regard to regulating these residential uses. The United States Supreme Court provides the answers to these questions in a case that arose right here in Washington, specifically in the City of Edmonds. In City of Edmonds v. Oxford House, Inc.,_ et al., 514 U.S. 725, 115 S.Ct. 1776, 131 L.Ed.2d 801 (1995), THE Court considered a matter where the City of Edmonds was attempting to cite the Oxford • House for zoning violations in the City's single- family residential zone. The citations were based upon the Oxford House's operation of a clean and sober facility that was housing 10 -12 individuals recovering from alcoholism and drug addiction. The citations stated that the occupancy of the Clean and Sober house violated the City's code defining "family ". Oxford House challenged the citations based upon the Federal Fair Housing Act, ultimately ending up with the case before the United States Supreme Court, a place they had been before. The following is a brief summary of the results of the Supreme Court's determination in that case. These determinations have not been reversed, and are therefore still the law as it applies to these considerations today. The Fair Housing Act (FHA) prohibits discrimination in housing against, inter alias', persons with handicaps. The Supreme Court noted that the FHA recognizes those individuals recovering from alcoholism and drug addiction as "handicapped ". Section 807(b)(1) of the Act entirely exempts from the Act's affect "any reasonable local, State, or Federal restrictions regarding the maximum number of occupants permitted to occupy a dwelling." In accord with that, it must be understood that any occupancy limitation that might be applied against a Clean and Sober facility must also be fully and equally applied to any other similar residential use. The Court has further specifically held that family - defining limitations such as are set forth in the Yakima Municipal Code at section 15.02.020 under "family ", are not acceptable exemptions from the protections of the FHA restrictions on regulating occupancy for handicapped individuals. In other words, definitions of family that establish the number of unrelated individuals living together may not be used to limit the number of residents that may inhabit a Clean and Sober residence. What are permitted as an exemption from the Act's scope are total occupancy limits, or numerical ceilings that serve to prevent overcrowding in living quarters. The City of Yakima utilizes the standards set forth in the building code to reach this sort of maximum occupancy determination. What is also explained by the Court in the Oxford House case is that under the FHA, discrimination includes "a refusal to make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies, practices, or services, when such accommodations may be necessary to afford [handicapped] person[s] equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling." In the Edmonds case, the Court held that Edmonds improperly applied a "family" standard to limit occupancy of the Oxford House, and therefore failed to make a reasonable accommodation for the residents of the home. In its analysis, the Court noted a Washington law enacted in 1993 that states "no city may enact or maintain an ordinance, development regulation, zoning regulation or official control, policy, or administrative practice which treats a residential structure - occupied by persons with handicaps differently than a similar residential structure occupied by a family or other unrelated individuals." It is important to acknowledge that the Court clearly recognized the importance of a City preserving the character of neighborhoods used for single - family residences, and that it was imperative to define "family" in order to make such character preservation possible. However, the Court was also very clear to point out that while using a family definition to define a characteristic of a residential area was acceptable, such a definition was not intended to be substituted for a reasonable determination of occupancy. The Court stated that maximum occupancy restrictions must be determined on the basis of the number of occupants per dwelling, typically with regard to available floor space (square footage), not familial make -up. It went on to observe that "[r]easonable limitations by governments would be allowed to continue, as long as they were applied to all occupants, and did not operate to discriminate III on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap or familial status." The bottom line from this decision is that Clean and Sober houses shall be treated just as if they were your residence or mine, and that any additional burden placed on them that is not otherwise placed upon any other residence would not comport with the spirit of the FHA. r 2 OXFORD HOUSES OF ASH1NOTON STATE OUTREACH SERVICES October 29, 2009 To The City of Yakima, This is in regards to the house located at 1406 W Yakima Ave., Yakima, WA. The home is a single family residence, where 8 women live. All of the women are in recovery. The house has been chartered for no more than 8 women; up to 3 children can also live there. There are no house managers, or counselors on site. The women live as a family together. I am the Washington State Outreach worker for Oxford House, Inc. I can be contacted for ANY reason to resolve ANY issues. Thank You, Stacie Anderson • koR •o , « phone (509) 619-3734.-;' 4110 ° - • ` PO Box 7076 E mail r �� Kennewick,WA ,' ` " stacewitlgrace @hotmail Web site �4tr�•� %inzrn, nv�nrr Ian rage 1 w. 1 Cook, Bill From: David McFadden [davemc1061 @gmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2009 7:52 AM To: Cook, Bill Subject: 1406 W. Yakima code compliance issues Hi Bill: • I appreciate your staff keeping me informed about complaints and code compliance issues regarding my tenants at 1406 West Yakima Avenue. As I mentioned previously, we bought the house on August 4th and the lease with the Oxford House was signed by the previous landlord on June 23rd. The previous owner, Diane Vance, made the modifications to the house that required permits. I am contacting my realtor at this point to talk with Diane Vance or her agent about applying for and paying for these permits. This seems fair and it is consistent with how our issue with an unpaid garbage bill was dealt with last month. In terms of getting the current tenants to comply with zoning and building codes I also appreciate the City's support. I have been quite clear with the Oxford House in terms of complying with the City's code issues. Upon receipt of the City's October letter to Oxford House, I called and wrote the Oxford House's regional manager and asked for them to comply with the City codes immediately. I shared this correspondence with Joan Davenport so you should have it on file. Upon your request yesterday I called the regional manager and told her to cooperate with the City in • terms of scheduling and completing an inspection of the house. I will continue to respond to the City's requests for assistance on this matter and will also reinforce lease and legal obligations with my tenants. Monique and I bought this house as an investment and had no idea that permits were not filed by the previous owner to convert the house from a triplex to a single family residence. We also had no idea that the Oxford House's operations would trigger code issues with the City. We want to be good . landlords and have a property that is compatible with the surrounding neighborhood. Please keep us informed about ongoing discussions with the Oxford House and let us know if we need to do anything vis a vis the City or our tenants to move code issues towards resolution. David McFadden • 10/27/2009 DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT l~ t ' ■ Planning Division g •.. ' r : '; 129 North Second Street, 2nd Floor Yakima, Washington 98901 %0 ' ' ` (509) 575 -6183 • Fax (509) 575 -6105 'I, y . . b a ' " : www.buildingyakima.com • www.ci.yakima.wa.us /services /planningl October 21, 2009 Myra Abraham, President Oxford House 1406 W. Yakima Ave Yakima, WA 98902 Subject: 1406 West Yakima Avenue Dear Ms. Abraham, This letter is to notify you that the City of Yakima has received citizen complaints regarding the residential structure at 1406 West Yakima Avenue. In response to these complaints, City Code Inspector(s) conducted a cursory review of the building and identified two issues of concern. 1. There has been a change in use of the structure. A Group Home of 8 individuals requires Class 2 Review in the R -3 Zoning District. A Business License is required for the Group Home. 110 2. Some structural alterations have occurred to the house without a Building Permit. A building inspection is required to determine if the changes made conform with the applicable Building and Fire Codes. Please contact the City of Yakima Code Administration Division (575 -6121) regarding the Building Code issues and the City Planning Division (575 -6183) regarding the Zoning Review as soon as possible. 7 Sincerely, (.4 n Davenport Planning Manager Copy: Bill Cook, Director of Community and Economic Development Dave McFadden, property owner Gino Pugliese, Regional Manager Oxford House III Yakima bEffeld w -n I f t �II f ' 1991