GROUP HOME RULES MAY VIOLATE FEDERAL LAWS

An attorney for an organization that works with recovering drug addicts and
alcoholics believes the Wilmington City Council may have violated the
federal Fair Housing Act by requiring live-in supervisors in group homes.

Steve Polin, a lawyer in Washington, D.C., for Oxford House International,
which has group homes nationwide, said he received an e-mail from someone
in Wilmington and began following the group home issue here.

"They may have taken what is perceived as a bad situation and made it
worse," Mr. Polin said Tuesday afternoon.

City Attorney Tom Pollard disagreed with Mr. Polin.

"Somebody has got to be responsible," he said, adding that he was not going
to get into a legal discussion with Mr. Polin through the newspaper.

Tuesday morning, the City Council passed amendments to its zoning rules
that could force a number of homes to move or close.

The rules separate group homes into small, medium and large cat-egories,
all of which would have to have live-in supervisors and meet a half-mile
separation requirement. All would have to submit conditional use permits,
which would be decided by the city staff. No public hearing would be required.

Small group homes would house three people with disabilities plus a family
member or live-in supervisor. Medium group homes would have up to six
people with one or two live-in supervisors for a total of eight and large
group homes would be allowed to have up to 10 disabled people and two
live-in supervisors.

Jack Watkins, chairman of the city's Planning Commission, said adjacent
property owners should be notified even when public hearings aren't
required of group homes. It would allow people a chance to comment on group
homes that plan to locate in their neighborhoods, he said.

Mr. Polin said that Oxford Houses are self-run and self-supporting and
don't have live-in supervisors.

Oxford Houses could apply for special use permits to operate residential
group homes, a fourth category, which can house more than three people and
do not require live-in supervisors, said John Fullerton, city zoning
administrator. The city Planning Commission and the City Council would
decide whether to recommend and grant special use permit requests after
holding public hearings, he said.

Residential group homes, which may or may not be for people with
disabilities, would be required to maintain a one-mile separation
requirement from other group homes, except in commercial zones where no
separation would be required.

They would be allowed in multifamily districts, historic districts,
historic district-mixed use, commercial districts and mixed-use districts.
But they wouldn't be allowed in single-family neighborhoods.

Oxford Houses, Mr. Fullerton said, could apply for special use permits to
operate as resident group homes. He said two Oxford Houses currently exist
side by side in a single-family neighborhood.

Mr. Polin said he wanted to review the amendments and talk with Oxford
House officials before deciding on the next step.

City officials were unable to determine how many group homes may have to
move elsewhere or close their doors because they are operating illegally.

"It's a moving target," said Mark Zeigler, a city planner, adding that some
will have to move.

The city staff has determined that of the 62 group homes in the city, about
40 were operating illegally because they failed to meet the previous
one-mile separation requirement and failed to get the required zoning
verification. Previous estimates indicated that about half of the 40 would
continue to be illegal under the new rules.

Group homes that haven't been approved by the city must submit an
application that will be reviewed by city staff members to determine if
they'll be allowed to remain open.

Mr. Fullerton said the city has already received the names of nine
applicants who will be provided forms to fill out after the staff has
developed them. The forms, he said, should be ready by Friday. The
applicants will probably be given a week to submit completed applications,
Mr. Fullerton said.

The staff will evaluate the applications to determine if two or more are in
conflict because of the separation requirements. In those cases, Mr.
Fullerton said, a lottery would be held in which the person who draws the
lowest number would be allowed to operate and the others would have to move.

"None of the city departments are interested in forcing people out on the
streets," Mr. Fullerton said. Of the nine applicants already on a list,
only two appear to be in conflict of the separation requirements, he said.

The city, Mr. Fullerton said, will work with group homes that have to move.

Mr. Pollard, the city attorney, told the council Tuesday that the process
has been a long one to come up with rules and regulations that protect
neighborhoods and at the same time comply with the federal Fair Housing Act
and Americans with Disabilities Act.

The acts prohibit discrimination based on numerous factors, including
disabilities. People trying to recover from alcohol and drug abuse are
among those who are considered disabled as well as people who are mentally
and physically handicapped.