R-0943-96 RESOLUTION NO. 943-96
A RESOLUTION REQUESTING THAT THE LEGISLATURE AMEND
CHAPTER 419 OF THE FLORIDA STATUTES TO PROVIDE FOR: A
LOWERING OF THE THRESHOLD FROM SIX TO FOUR RESIDENTS IN
COMMUNITY RESIDENTIAL HOMES IN SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL
ZONES, IMPOSING A REQUIREMENT OF LIVE-IN SUPERVISION AT A
RATIO OF 2:1 FOR RESIDENTS OF SUCH HOMES, AND, FOR
PERMANENT REMOVAL OF SUCH RESIDENTS THAT ARE FOUND
GUILTY OF VIOLATING A MUNICIPAL ORDINANCE; PROVIDING FOR AN
EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the State of Florida has pre-empted municipal zoning ordinances
throughout the state that might otherwise restrict the placement of groups of six or fewer
disabled, handicapped, elderly and/or juvenile persons, unrelated by blood or marriage,
from living together in community residential homes in single-family residential zones; and
WHEREAS, the State of Florida has recognized that, although community
residential homes may be a preferred alternative to institutional living for such persons,
there is a need to provide for decent, safe and sanitary living conditions for such persons,
as well as a need to protect the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the
communities into which community residential homes are placed; and
WHEREAS, Chapter 419 of the Florida Statutes provides for spacing requirements
for community residential homes and other local reviews when community residential
homes accommodate more than six residents, all in recognition that through Chapter 419
the State is attempting to balance the needs of residents of community residential homes
with the needs of the communities into which they are placed; and
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WHEREAS, recent incidents in Miami Shores Village involving H.R.S. licensed
community residential homes have raised concerns among the citizens of Miami Shores
that Chapter 419 of the Florida Statutes, as presently drafted, does not properly or
adequately balance the rights and needs of the residents of community residential homes
with those of the residents of the communities into which they are placed; and
WHEREAS, recent incidents in Miami Shores Village have made it apparent that
there is a need to provide full-time supervision and to insure adequate living space for
residents of community residential homes, for the protection of the residents of such
homes and of the residents of the communities into which they are placed; and
WHEREAS, H.B. 2255 is currently pending in Florida's House of Representatives
which seeks to amend Chapter 419 of the Florida Statutes to address and remedy similar
defects identified by counties into which community residential homes have been placed;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Village Council of Miami Shores
Village, Florida, that the Village encourages the Florida House of Representatives to
amend Section 1 of H.B. 2255 as follows:
"Section 1. Section 419.001, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
419.001 Site selection of community residential homes.--
(2) Homes of six four or fewer residents which otherwise meet the
definition of a community residential home shall be deemed a single-family
unit and a noncommercial, residential use for the purpose of local laws and
ordinances. Homes of six four or fewer residents which otherwise meet the
definition of a community residential home shall be allowed in single-family
or multifamily zoning without approval by the local government, provided that
such homes shall not be located within a radius of 1,000 feet of another
existing such home with six four or fewer residents. Such homes with six
four or fewer residents shall not be required to comply with the notification
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provisions of this section; provided, however, that the sponsoring agency or
the department notifies the local government at the time of home occupancy
that the home is licensed by the department.
(14) A home or community residential home resident charged with
a criminal violation of law or convicted of a violation of a local county or
municipal ordinance shall be permanently removed by the department from
the home or community residential home in which the resident resided at the
time of the charge or conviction and placed in another more appropriate
location. A license issued without compliance with the provisions of this
subsection shall be considered null and void, and continued operation of the
home may be enjoined.
(15) All community residential homes, including those described in
s. 419.001(2). shall be required to maintain live-in supervision of the
residents in such homes at a ratio of at least one live-in supervisor for every
two residents."
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the Village Council of Miami Shores Village,
Florida, that the Village encourages and requests the Legislature of the State of Florida,
in the current legislative session, to amend Chapter 419 of the Florida Statutes, 1995, by
adopting H.B. 2255 with the amendments proposed in this Resolution.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Resolution shall become effective
immediately upon its adoption.
ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the Village ouncil, hemon March 19, 1996.
Louis S. Imbur a, Jr., Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM: ATTEST:
)qqv�/WMark S. Ulmer, Esq. Barbara A. Fugazzi
Village Attorney Village Clerk
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