COM 0067.061 2006-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Honorable Pete Hoffmann Chair and Presiding Officer and Members of the County Council COUNTY COUNCIL Page 2 March 7, 2007 The best way to accomplish the above is to replace subsection (c) of Bill 345, Draft 3 with one that reads as follows: "(c) A group living facility in operation on the effective date of this ordinance, or a group home in operation which has an application for a license or certification as a group livine facility pending on the effective date of this ordinance may continue in operation with not more than eight residents despite non-compliance with the criteria contained in subsection (b)(3) of the definition of "group living facility" provided that the license or certification is received within fifteen months of the effective date of this ordinance." To give an example: under this provision, if there were two group living facilities currently operating with eight residents in asingle-family zone, on different lots, but within five hundred feet of each other, they could both continue operating because the distance restrictions would not apply to existing operations. Otherwise, if one of the two must reduce its resident count from eight to five, we have the problem of deciding which one gets to have eight. Also, if a home currently has eight residents, and has a pending license application, it could continue operating with eight, for up to fifteen months, until it received its license. The other changes that were in Councilmember Ford's proposed Draft 4 aze all improvements over Draft 3 and are consistent with views expressed at the committee meeting: the elimination of subsection (b)(4), which referred to "overconcentration", and the statement that the distance requirements do not apply to adult residential care homes and intermediate care facilities/mental retardation communities. The reference to "overconcentration" is unnecessary because this is handled by (b)(2) and (b)(3). The exemption of adult residential care homes and intermediate caze facilities/mental retardation communities from the distance requirement is necessary because of state law, H.R.S. sec. 46-4(d), that protects these in residential areas. I will attend the council meeting on March 9 to discuss these possible changes to Bill 345, Draft 3.