Miami dropped a
requirement that assisted-living
facilities citywide seek city approval
when changing ownership.
BY
MICHAEL VASQUEZ
mrvasquez@herald.com
Miami city commissioners voted
Thursday to settle lawsuits filed by a
Shenandoah assisted-living facility that
had claimed the rights of the mentally
ill were violated when the city recently
tried to shut it down.
The lawsuits filed by Family Boarding
Home Inc. cited a variety of city
policies they called discriminatory.
But it was one particular section of
the suits that bothered commissioners
most -- the one naming them personally.
Should Miami have lost in court,
commissioners feared being hit with
hefty damages, and perhaps losing their
homes.
''I didn't run for office to put my
personal wealth at risk,'' Miami City
Commissioner Johnny Winton said. ``That
wasn't part of the deal.''
The settlement decision was a victory
for assisted-living facilities citywide
as Miami commissioners promised to do
away with a requirement that such
facilities obtain city approval before
changing ownership.
New owners took over Family Boarding
Home two and a half years ago but were
unable to get city commissioners to sign
off on the deal. Because this was in
violation of city law, Miami recently
ordered the Family Boarding Home to
close.
STAYING OPEN
With that key ownership-approval
requirement no longer in place, the
facility will remain open for the
foreseeable future.
Other facilities that change owners
also will no longer have to deal with
the scrutiny that comes with asking the
City Commission to permit a sale. City
Attorney Jorge Fernández criticized
this requirement as unconstitutional
because it applied only to
assisted-living facilities.
Commissioners voted 3-1 to settle
with Family Board Home.
The only commissioner to fight the
settlement was Tomás Regalado, who
represents the Shenandoah neighborhood
where the facility is located.
Regalado criticized his counterparts
for acting in haste.
Residents in Shenandoah, who complain
the city's lax enforcement of rules has
allowed the neighborhood's mentally-ill
population to reach damaging
proportions, said this latest city
action removed a needed safeguard.
''It provides a review process. . .
.They're missing the big picture,'' said
Hugh Ryan, president of the
Miami-Shenandoah Neighborhood
Association. ``They were just bullied
into removing a law from the books.''
ONE LESS WEAPON
Without that law, residents -- about
50 of whom packed City Hall --
complained they had one less weapon in
their years-long quest to shut down
assisted-living facilities that
neighbors say operate in blatant
disregard for city rules.
For example, in single-family
neighborhoods, facilities must be at
least 1,000 feet apart and serve a
maximum of six patients.
Family Boarding Home operates several
facilities clustered together and serves
a total of 72 patients.
The facility has argued in court that
because the city allowed it to exist
under those conditions for many years,
Miami lost the right to enforce its
zoning laws.
Representatives from Family Boarding
Home could not be reached Thursday
night.
The settlement approved Thursday
would force the facility to reduce its
patient load from 72 to 62 people, still
far above city code.
Shenandoah residents, several of them
attorneys, were angry at the way the
case was resolved.
''It sends the wrong message,'' said
resident Linda Schmidt, an attorney. 'It
tells the public, `If you don't get your
way, sue the commissioners, and they'll
back down.' ''
Responding to residents who still
want Family Boarding Home closed, city
commissioners said they could take the
facility to court on other grounds, such
as how close together assisted-living
facilities can be located.
Miami's court battle against Family
Boarding Home began only recently began,
and Commissioner Regalado -- the lone
''no'' vote -- argued the city should
hold off on settling until the court
case got going.
Copyright 2005
Knight Ridder
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/11971674.htm
