NCJ Number
167152
Journal
Youth Law News Volume: 18 Issue: 2 Dated: (March-April 1997) Pages: 11,14-16
Date Published
1997
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the Federal district court's ruling in The Children's Alliance v. City of Bellevue (Washington State), which pertained to the protections afforded children in group homes under the Fair Housing Act's familial status protections.
Abstract
The conflict surrounding the case arose in 1993 when a nonprofit child welfare agency purchased property in a residential neighborhood of Bellevue to serve homeless, abused, and neglected youth. In response to a vocal group of opposed citizens, the City Council banned group care facilities for children from all residential zones. The court found that the Fair Housing Act's familial status protections cover children living in group homes and that the city's zoning ordinance intentionally discriminated against these children. The court also found that the city's zoning system discriminated on the basis of handicap. Following this ruling, a settlement was reached in which the city has agreed to adopt a new ordinance that imposes no restriction on the siting, size, or operation of group homes for children. Generally, these group homes will be subject to the same regulations as single-family homes. The settlement does, however, require developers of group homes for children to register first with the city and then to engage in a community consultation process. 26 footnotes