Question #1
Question:
A residential care home for the elderly is planned for my neighborhood. I'm
concerned about traffic impacts. Do city laws or zoning codes cover this situation?
Answer:
There's not much a city can do about a residential care home proposed for a residential
area. That's considered an appropriate fit. In addition, state laws regulate
these kinds of operations and override city zoning laws, leaving local government
officials' hands tied.
If a residential care home, halfway house or
recovery house opens in your neighborhood and causes problems with traffic, noise or
crime, you can take the owner to court. In fact, all of the surrounding neighbors
can file individual small claims court actions, an inexpensive way to address a problem
property that is detrimental to the neighborhood.
If enough neighbors file these actions, the property
owner could find himself or herself with substantial liability even though damages in each
individual case are limited to $5,000. This technique has been used effectively in
several instances where landlords rented to undesirable tenants who created a nuisance in
the neighborhood.
Before such a home actually is open and operating,
however, your options are few.
