Location, Location, Location
Sometimes you find the perfect location for your assisted living operations, only to find out that there’s another regulated home too close-by to get your proper permits. The other location may not even be an assisted living home, but it poses a hurdle to your business plans.
Unreasonable spacing requirements (a/k/a “buffer zones”) imposed by municipalities and counties in Arizona between new and existing assisted living homes have finally been addressed by the state legislature. House Bill 2724 had been introduced by Arizona Representative Ben Toma earlier this year, which would have prohibited local governments from imposing distance requirements between assisted living homes. The bill was consistent with recent HUD enforcement actions under the Fair Housing Act against Arizona cities, as well as comments from the U.S. Department of Justice in other states indicating that the ADA and court directives require state and local governments to make services available to people with disabilities in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs, regardless of age or type of disability.
As H.B. 2724 proceeded through the legislative approval process, its language was watered-down. Instead of prohibiting distancing requirements, the new law requires local governments to establish procedures that assisted living homes can use to request reasonable accommodation to any spacing requirement. Enacted into law by the Governor on April 13, 2022, the new statute represents forward movement toward the goal of giving Arizonans with disabilities a meaningful choice to receive the services in residential settings that are integrated into the community, and not automatically prohibited by arbitrary distance rules
Pinkowski Law can assist with reasonable accommodation request submissions for regulated housing. If a county or municipality is placing barriers in front of your business plans, do not hesitate to schedule a consultation with us.
Look for more weekly blog posts on topics of interest to Assisted Living and Behavioral Health operators. The information herein is intended to be educational and an introduction to the subject matter presented. Despite any statutory or regulatory references cited in the article above, it is NOT specific legal advice to be relied upon for specific individual circumstances. Contact your own legal professional or reach out to our firm if you would like specific advice on this topic.
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