Conditional Use Permit for Residential Care Facilities
If I were the city manager, I would implement the local community’s residential policy. Although the Fair Housing Act requires non-discrimination in residential areas, I believe it is prudent to align national law with local circumstances. Such interweaving is necessary since it allows the state government to choose its role in the regulatory system. Also, allowing states to adopt their regulatory framework over the federal framework has the advantage of enforcing more rigorous standards. That is because national regulation is subject to preemption due to its broader scope.
According to Kettl (2012), implementing the community’s residential policy could set precedence for other states and even the federal government in the long run. For instance, California made a law requiring all cars to contain catalytic converters to reduce the impact of pollution. All carmakers across the US adopted the directive since they could not ignore the massive California market. Besides, carmakers could not only install vehicles meant for the California market with catalytic converters. Therefore, the local government may set precedence by adopting a community-specific housing policy.
However, contravening federal laws may subject one to legal suits by the affected parties. In this case, people with disabilities or their representatives may sue the local government for violating the Fair Housing Act. The policy may be set aside not because it contravenes the Constitution but because it contravenes federal law (O’Regan, 2018).
In summary, local governments can issue their own regulations. Community-based zoning helps the community to control the location and use of buildings constructed in a given area. Housing is a complex issue that requires a specific local regulatory framework to address the residents’ needs.
References
Kettl, D. F. (2012). The politics of the administrative process. Cq Press.
O’Regan, K. M. (2018). The Fair Housing Act Today: Current Context and Challenges at 50. Housing Policy Debate, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511482.2018.1519907
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Question 
Conditional Use Permit for Residential Care Facilities
Suppose you were the city manager in the situation from the first DQ. Would you implement the policy? Explain why. Discuss the challenges that might occur if someone did choose to implement the policy.
BACKGROUND SUMMARY: Residents from the Woodland Hills and Pineview Estates Subdivisions approached the Town about a Residential Care Facility in Pineview Estates.
The Fair Housing Act applies to Residential Care Facilities. This means that individuals in this country have the right to choose where they live, and it prohibits housing discrimination based on color, national origin, religion, gender, substance abuse, and the mentally ill, provided certain permitted restrictions are met.
DISCUSSION:
Neighbors in this area have expressed concerns regarding the location of the facility; however, the Town cannot consider the feelings of neighbors when making a decision about granting a permit to a residential care facility that serves six or fewer persons. In the same way, a local government would break the law if it rejected low-income housing in a community because of neighbors’ fears that such housing would be occupied by racial minorities, a local government can violate the Fair Housing Act if it blocks a group home or denies a requested reasonable accommodation in response to neighbors’ stereotypical fears or prejudices about persons with disabilities. This is so even if the individual government decision-makers are not themselves personally prejudiced against persons with disabilities. If the evidence shows that the decision-makers were responding to the wishes of their constituents and that the constituents were motivated in substantial part by discriminatory concerns, that could be enough to prove a violation. Moreover, there is a specific Arizona statute (A.R.S. § 36-582, attached) that requires a city or town to treat such facilities as a permitted residential use. This statute allows a city or town to enforce its other zoning and building code provisions.
However, the Town may have a provision in the Code to meet all requirements of a Conditional Use Permit. This allows the Town to require conditions such as licenses, certificates, permits, or registrations. If these cannot be produced or if other conditions are not met, the Town can revoke the Permit.
RECOMMENDATION: Staff Recommends approving the proposed language changes with the clear understanding that the Fair Housing Laws still apply in these situations.