Title

The Zoning of Group Homes for the Disabled...Zeroing in on a Reasonable Accommodation

Document Type

Article

Comments

Also available at http://www.law.uconn.edu/journals/cpilj/

Abstract

The Fair Housing Amendments Act ("FHAA") of 1988 mandates reasonable accommodations to provide the disabled equal access to housing. Since its enactment, group homes for the disabled and townships have debated the reach of the federal law over local zoning regulations. Fourteen years after passage of the FHAA the idea of a group home, especially, a group home for recovering addicts, located in a residential neighborhood still meets with formidable resistance. This attitude prevails in spite of research that reveals a group home generates no adverse impact on the community in which it operates. Nonetheless, public opposition to a group home "next door" continues to be a powerful weapon against integration and, ultimately, recovery from substance abuse.

Date of Authorship for this Version

June 2003

Keywords

Disability Law