Public Hearing - Robert Fiske, Community Standards Director
Title
Sober Living Home Application - Amendment to Current Accommodation, Meraki Recovery Housing, 913 121st Avenue NE
Executive Summary
Council is asked to consider a request to amend a current sober living home rental license accommodation from 6 persons to 10 persons.
Background
In December, 2019 Meraki Recovery Housing submitted a Sober Living Home License application for a single family residential home located at 913 121st Avenue NE to be operated as a Sober Living Home as defined by Blaine Code of Ordinances (BCO) Section 18-511(b). The property owner is Grant Johnson, 732 129th Avenue NE Blaine. The home is a typical one story rambler with a full basement, 1043 square feet and built in 1970.
As part of this application, the applicant was requesting reasonable accommodations pertaining to the number of non-related persons which may live in the home. The applicant was requesting the approval to allow up to nine unrelated persons to live in the single family home. Blaine Code of Ordinance requires an application be submitted for any sober living home requesting occupancy of more than 4 unrelated persons.
On February 19, 2020 a public hearing was held and a motion was made and approved to grant the Sober Living Home License and made accommodations to allow up to six non-related adults to live in the home. As a result, License # SBR20-08141 was issued for the license period of one year, expiring on February 19, 2021. In accordance with our city codes this license may be renewed each year without the need of public hearing or additional council action as long as the property is in compliance with all licensing and housing code requirements.
On January 27, 2021, Meraki Recovery Housing submitted a Request for Reconsideration pertaining to the reasonable accommodations approved by the city council in 2019. Their request is for the city council to consider an accommodation allowing up to 10 non-related residents to live in the home. In the current request, the applicant has referenced several court cases and a document from the National Institute of Health (NIH) regarding the therapeutic environment larger numbers of residents may provide and why financial viability should be considered in regards to the accommodations granted. As this request is different from the current accommodation notice of the required public hearing was published in the City’s newspaper and mailed to property owners within 350 feet of the subject property.
Community Standards has no record of complaints regarding this property. The Police Department has a few calls for service on record for this property in 2019 and 2020 but most were medical calls and not excessive, particularly for a congregate living setting.
The following is the information provided for the original license and accommodation application. Changes and/or updates to this information has been included at the end of each item.
Under BCO Section 18-511(c) a sober living home license must be applied for and approved by the City Council. BCO Section 18-511(d) has seven requirements specifically for a sober living home, the requirements and Meraki’s responses from their application were as follows:
1. Description, number and size of available bedrooms.
RESPONSE: 5 bedrooms total, Main level bedrooms #1-118 sq. ft., #2-146 sq. ft., #3-114 sq. ft., Basement level bedrooms #4-120 sq., #5-148 sq. ft. All bedrooms have two twin beds with the exception of bedroom #3 which has a single twin bed for a total of nine beds in the home.
Update 2/9/2021: Current request is for 10 residents, no updated information was provided regarding number of beds per room.
2. Basic floor plan of dwelling (including all levels).
RESPONSE: Copy of floor plan attached.
3. Scaled site plan of property showing house, driveways and garage.
RESPONSE: Copy of a drawing showing house and driveway with driveway dimensions provided and attached.
4. A description and number of off-street parking stalls available.
RESPONSE: Copy of a drawing showing house and driveway with driveway dimensions provided and attached.
5. A property management plan including tenant selection process as well as maintenance of the facility.
RESPONSE: A copy of Meraki Recovery Housings resident requirements and agreement are attached.
6. A crime free/drug free lease addendum signed by and applicable to all occupants of the sober living home.
RESPONSE: Copies of signed lease addendums for six residents were submitted.
7. Proof of membership with the Minnesota Association of Sober Homes, Inc. (MASH) that outlines additional living standards and criteria related to safety, health and house management.
RESPONSE: Copy of MASH Certificate of Membership attached.
In accordance with BCO Section 18-518 Reasonable Accommodations item (2), city staff shall review the request and make a formal recommendation to the city council. The request shall be evaluated under the following factors:
a. Whether there is a qualified disability;
STAFF RESPONSE: Under the Federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, alcoholism is deemed a disability.
b. Whether the request is needed to allow a disabled person equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling or to live in a particular neighborhood as a person without disabilities.
STAFF RESPONSE: In accordance with BCO Section 18-511 a request is needed to allow for more than four unrelated persons to live in a sober living home.
c. Whether the request is reasonable, considering the potential impact on surrounding uses, the extent to which the accommodation meets the stated need and other alternatives that may meet that need;
STAFF RESPONSE: The applicant believes the need to increase the number of persons in the home is necessary to provide a strong support group in a residential environment. Staff understands the applicants request; however no supporting documentation from the applicant was provided identifying a recognized standard for the preferred size of a group “necessary to provide strong support”.
Update 2/9/2021: Several court case references and a document from NIH
d. Whether the request would constitute a fundamental alteration of the city’s regulations, polices or procedures;
STAFF RESPONSE: The request does not constitute a fundamental alteration of city regulations.
e. Whether the request would impose an undue financial or administrative burden on the city;
STAFF RESPONSE: The request does not impose an undue financial or administrative burden on the city.
f. The number, nature and extent of the requested accommodation in relation to the physical limitations of the building and site;
STAFF RESPONSE: The home as stated before is a typical one story rambler with a full basement, 1043 square feet and built in 1970. It has 5 bedrooms, four with two twin beds and one with only one twin bed, for a total of 9 beds, therefore able to accommodate nine persons. The garage is a two car garage and the driveway is 22 feet wide and 55 feet long, which based on an average vehicle length of 18 feet or less, would allow two rows of three vehicles in each. There is also a single parking stall alongside the garage for a single vehicle. Based on this there would be room for nine vehicles to be legally park on site if all spaces are available.
g. Any other factors that may have a bearing on request, as determined by the city.
STAFF RESPONSE: In accordance with BCO Section 18-512 Inspection of Dwelling, an initial inspection of the premises to determine whether the property is in compliance with this chapter was conducted on January 2, 2020. During this inspection three violations were cited, a Zoning Code violation regarding a temporary structure in the rear yard, a Housing Code violation regarding electrical extension cords and the third violation of the Rental Licensing Code. This violation is in regards to the number of residents currently living in the home. There is a current rental license for this address which would allow for up to four unrelated persons to live in the home. However, it was discovered by our inspector that there are currently seven persons living in the home, six residents and one house manager. A copy of the correction notice is attached to the report.
In addition, the inspector noted that with the amount of stored items in the garage there is currently only room for one vehicle in the garage, reducing the number of available off street parking spots to only eight.
Update 2/9/2021: All violations cited had been corrected by 7/22/2020.
Strategic Plan Relationship
This item relates to the Effective Communication Strategic Priority in the Strategic Plan as it provides an avenue for communication with the neighborhood regarding the request so Council can make an informed decision.
Board/Commission Review
N/A
Financial Impact
Annual rental license inspections are currently budgeted and accounted for; outcome of this request would not significantly impact that budget.
Public Outreach/Input
Notice of the public hearing as required by City Code was published in the Blaine/Spring Lake Park/Columbia Heights/Fridley newspaper on February 12 as well as mailed to residents within 350 feet of the subject property.
Staff Recommendation
After reviewing the newly submitted materials, the above evaluation factors, and State Statute, staff continues to recommend the reasonable accommodations limit the total number of non-related residents to six. This would be in line with Minnesota State Statute 245A.11 Special Conditions for Residential Programs, Subdivision 1 which states “it is the policy of the state that persons shall not be excluded by municipal zoning ordinances or other land use regulations from the benefits of normal residential surroundings.” Subdivision 2 Permitted single-family residential use, further states “residential programs with a licensed capacity of six or fewer persons shall be considered a permitted single-family residential use of the property for the purposes of zoning and other land use regulations…”. Using this statute as a recognized and established standard allowing an increase from four persons to six persons is consistent with state licensed residential programs.
Attachment List
Request for Reconsideration of Denial of Reasonable Accommodation
National Institutes of Health Manuscript
Minutes from the 2-19-20 Council Meeting
Application-Floor Plan-Site Plan-House Rules
Correction Notice
MASH Membership Certificate
Property Aerial