Saturday, July 07, 2012

Is the LA City Council Poised to Violate the ADA and the Fair Housing Act?

See this commentary on the Huffington Post.  An excerpt:
So why would the L.A. City Council pass a law that would shut down places like Keaveney House? The proposed Community Care Facilities Ordinance (CCFO) would do just that, and much more. In a misguided attempt to address nuisance "group homes," this dangerous ordinance will make it illegal to have unrelated people share a home in any residential neighborhood anywhere in L.A. 
Sound like overkill? It is. It's also discrimination -- against veterans in recovery, people with disabilities, and seniors on fixed incomes who live with roommates. The proposed ordinance violates fair housing law, the Americans With Disabilities Act, and the state's constitution right to privacy. If passed, disability rights advocates plan to sue, costing the city millions of dollars to battle a lawsuit, at a time when city workers are being laid off in droves. 
The proposed ordinance would shut down well-established, responsible owners of shared housing like New Directions, because this type of housing is not licensed. One of New Directions' houses does have a license, but only because it provides more intensive drug & alcohol treatment, so it is licensed by the California Department of Alcohol & Drug Programs. But the other houses are for veterans further along in their recovery, and no license exists for this type of housing with services, known as "supportive housing."
(The author of the commentary is the CEO of New Directions, just for full disclosure.)

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2 Comments:

Blogger EnjoyHi5!Autism said...

People with Disabilities will continue to advocate for fair housing and other civil right.

8:10 PM  
Blogger EnjoyHi5!Autism said...

Just shared with "disAbilityVOICE - Disability Rights Advocate" social community at http://www.facebook.com/DisabilityVOICE .

9:49 PM  

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