Phoenix wants to regulate sober-living homes
As Arizona and the nation battle a growing opioid epidemic, it’s no surprise that more rehabilitation facilities have opened across the Valley.
What has surprised some Phoenix residents is that many of these dwellings are popping up unregulated in the middle of their neighborhoods. Now the city is trying to do something about it.
There are hundreds of group homes across Phoenix, set up in single-family dwellings, that house anywhere from two to 10 people recovering from drug abuse. There are no licensing requirements to operate these facilities and virtually no government oversight.
Sober-living homes — where some people live after attending a drug treatment program but before returning to independent living — are critical for long-term recovery, according to Jeff Taylor of the Arizona Recovery Housing Association. And for the most part, he said, they’re professionally
managed.
“A well-run sober-living home is going to be almost invisible to the community,” Taylor said.
But recently, some operators have opened poorly-managed homes, putting both the people who live in the homes and the surrounding neighborhood at risk, Taylor said.
Phoenix is taking initial steps to eradicate nuisance group homes, a move requested by community groups for months.
By March, the city could require sober-living homes to obtain a license from the city and abide by certain standards, including random drug testing.
But the new requirements, although welcomed by neighbors and even some group-home operators, could land the city in legal turmoil.
The federal government considers addiction a disability, which means that under the Fair Housing Act, it cannot place any housing restrictions on these individuals that it wouldn’t impose on a typical family.
“There’s still this ongoing fear that we might end up in a lawsuit,” said Phoenix City Councilwoman Debra Stark, one of the council’s leaders on the issue. “When the federal government sues it can become very expensive.”
The Arizona Department of Health Services licenses and inspects group homes that house individuals who are elderly or who have physical or mental disabilities.
No such requirements exist for sober-living homes, Stark said.
“(Sober-living homes) do serve a purpose. They really do. But if you don’t have any standards for a neighborhood you may not know who you’re living next to,” Stark said.
About a year ago, Jeff Spellman joined other Phoenix residents concerned about the increase of unregulated sober-living homes in neighborhoods. They formed Take Action Phoenix.
The group asked the city to take advantage of a state law passed in 2016 that gives cities the authority to regulate group homes.
Phoenix’s current zoning rules include limited requirements for group homes. Sober-living homes with six to 10 residents must register with the city and are not supposed to locate within 1,320 feet of another group home.
In 2015, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development launched an investigation into the legality of Phoenix’s spacing rule, which prompted the city to stop enforcing it.
The city reinstated the 1,320-foot rule this year after implementing a process that allows operators to apply for an exception to the rule.
Over the summer, Phoenix established a committee to allow residents, like Spellman, and industry professionals, like Taylor, to brainstorm how the city could manage group homes.
The committee recommended the city pass an ordinance that would require group homes and their managers to obtain a license from the city and adhere to minimum operations standards.
The “structured sober living home” licensing procedures and standards are still in the draft stages, but proposed standards include mandatory random drug and alcohol testing, quarterly safety assessments and required 12-step or comparable recovery program attendance.
City estimates put the one-time group-home licensing fee between $800 and $1,000 and the one-time manager fee between $100 and $300. There could be a nominal annual renewal fee.
Spellman said the city has been slow to move forward with the licensing procedure, which led Take Action Phoenix to submit a petition to the City Council, asking members to establish a timeline to adopt an ordinance or place a temporary moratorium on group homes.
On Wednesday, the council approved a schedule that will bring the licensing framework before the council for a final vote in March. If approved, the licensing requirement will take effect 30 days later.
“I think this is legally as quick as they could possibly get this done,” Spellman told the council.
Although some other cities, including Prescott, have adopted similar ordinances pertaining to sober-living homes, there’s still some concern that the requirements could violate federal laws.
Taylor said that so long as the rules the city adopts are aimed at promoting the health and safety of the residents who live in the homes, the city should be in the clear.
For example, the state’s health department can require a home with people who are elderly to place padding around sharp cabinet edges if there’s a concern residents may fall, Taylor said.
In the same vein, the city should be able to require drug testing at sober-living facilities to make sure that all residents have access to a safe, drug-free home.
“There’s a right way to do this and I think the city is doing it the right way,” Taylor said. “We’re getting there.”
In 2016, HUD and the U.S. Department of Justice released a joint statement on group-home regulation. In it, the departments cautioned local governments against adopting ordinances based on “stereotypes about persons with disabilities or specific types of disabilities.”
The statement specifically stated that a city cannot force a person living in a group home “to receive medical, support, or other services or supervision that they do not need or want.”
But it also said there are some safety requirements that would not violate federal law as long as they are “enforced in a neutral manner” and “do not specifically target group homes.”
During a November City Council meeting, Councilman Sal DiCiccio said the city needs to “push the legal boundary” on group-home regulation before the proliferation of sober-living homes continues.
“We need to get into that uncomfortable stage. Because if we’re not uncomfortable on our end, we’re going to have an amazing amount of people in the city of Phoenix who are going to be uncomfortable if we don’t take action,” he said.