CGPHA - Shenandoah assisted-living facility 

CGPHA - Shenandoah assisted-living facility

Dear Coconut Grove Neighbor:

From The Miami Herald

SHENANDOAH
Settlement in assisted-living case
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 Fern￡ndez 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 Tom￡s 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.

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approximately 500 homes. The purpose of the Association is to improve
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