Justice Department: County Rejected Group Homes Because Of Residents'
Disabilities
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
July 7,
2006
TAMPA, FLORIDA--The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a housing
discrimination lawsuit against Sarasota County, Florida accusing it of refusing
to allow six group homes to operate in a residential neighborhood in Warm
Mineral Springs because of the residents' disabilities.
According to a June 30 press statement, the Justice Department claimed
that county officials determined that the homes, which would each house up to
six people with histories of mental illness and substance abuse, would violate
the county's zoning code regarding single-family dwellings. Excluding residents
based on their disabilities would violate the federal Fair Housing Act of 1968.
The complaint, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle
District of Florida, also alleged that the county retaliated against
Renaissance Manor Inc., the group homes' operator, since the company filed its
own lawsuit against the county. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported that both
the Justice Department and Scott Eller, executive director of Renaissance
Manor, say that the county has withheld over $1 million in grants -- that were
previously promised to the company -- since Eller originally sued the county in
2005.
The DOJ suit seeks undisclosed monetary damages to compensate the
victims, plus civil penalties and a court order prohibiting future
discrimination.
County officials have denied that they are discriminating against people
that have disabilities. One county attorney reportedly argued that the cluster
of six homes would, in effect, be an unlicensed institution that happens to
have six buildings on its grounds.
Related:
"Feds sue county over group homes" (Sarasota
Herald-Tribune)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/06/red/0707e.htm
"Column:
In county v. Justice, what is a victory?" (Sarasota Herald-Tribune)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/06/red/0707d.htm
"Disability
Rights and Resources" (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development)
http://www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/disabilities/index.cfm
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Reproduced here under special arrangement
with Inclusion Daily Express international disability rights news service.
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