(a) Special Permit. No person or entity shall operate a group home in the Village without first obtaining a special permit therefor. Such a special permit shall be applied for through the Municipal Manager. Only group homes of the kinds and types described herein shall be permitted.
(b) Contents of Applications. The application submitted to the Municipal Manager shall show that the proposed group home meets the standards and guidelines previously listed, and shall include the names and addresses of all owners of property abutting the lot on which the proposed group home is to be located. In the event that the proposed group home does not meet the standards and guidelines, the application shall expressly identify each standard or guideline which the proposed home does not meet, and state the reasons that such a failure to meet a standard or guideline does not have a negative impact on the community.
(c) Site Plan. A site plan for the proposed group home shall be submitted to the Municipal Manager for review. Such plan shall show the boundary lines of the lot; the location, dimensions and use of structures on contiguous lots; the distance in feet from the structures on contiguous lots and from other group homes; all walks, drives and parking areas; all landscaping, existing and proposed; and all proposed modifications to any structures on the lot.
A statement from the applicant with respect to how the group home does or will comply with the zoning ordinance requirements shall be filed with the site plan.
(d) Operating Plan. Any application for a group home shall also include an operating plan. Such plan shall include the name and background of the licensee of the home; the ownership of the home; the ownership of the property and the terms of lease or rental, if any; the name of the sponsoring organization; the names of persons on the Advisory Committee; the nature of services to be provided by the home; the number of residents and the nature of their disabilities; the number of resident staff and their qualifications; the number of nonresident staff and volunteers on each shift; the number of shifts; anticipated traffic for such purposes as deliveries, off-premise therapy, visitation by nonresident therapists, etc.; the approximate annual cost of operation; and funding plans for such operation.
(e) Municipal Manager's Review. The Municipal Manager shall review any application submitted to determine whether it contains the necessary information as required in the above sections.
The Municipal Manager or his designee shall examine the property to determine if it is suitable for such use under the group home building, sanitation and fire laws of the Village, County and State, and the regulations set forth therein.
The Municipal Manager or his designee shall evaluate the safety of access to the property by streets and public sidewalks, availability of on-street parking, placement of driveways, speed and density of existing traffic and accessibility of public transportation.
The Municipal Manager shall determine whether the requisite licenses have been issued, or will be issued in due course, by the appropriate State or County certifying agencies.
In case of an initial application, if the required detailed plans have been furnished, and if the application is otherwise properly submitted, the Municipal Manager shall forward the application to the Planning Commission for a report regarding the application.
(f) Planning Commission. The Planning Commission shall approve the design of a proposed new structure and the remodeling of an existing structure to determine whether the structure will be feasible for permitted uses within the district in the event that the group home is discontinued, and will not be detrimental to the area because of substantial differences in materials, exterior design or site development with other structures in the area.
The Planning Commission may recommend conditions or restrictions upon the construction, location and operation of the group home as shall be deemed necessary to secure the general objectives of this chapter and the Zoning Code and to ensure that such home shall not have a negative impact on the community.
The Planning Commission shall issue a written report sixty days after receipt by the Chairman of the Planning Commission of the application from the Municipal Manager. The Municipal Manager shall forward such report, along with the group home application, to Council. The Municipal Manager shall arrange for Council to visit the location.
(g) Village Council. Before considering the issuance or renewal of a special permit for a group home, Council shall hold a public hearing. Council shall give thirty days notice of the time and place thereof in a newspaper of general circulation in the Village, and shall notify by ordinary mail all owners of property abutting the lot to be used for the proposed group home at least fifteen days prior to the date of such public hearing. Council shall consider the standards and guidelines established in this chapter, the group home application, evidence presented at the public hearing and the Planning Commission's report in making its determination. Council shall have the right to request additional information to assist it in making its determination.
Council may issue a special permit only if Council rules that the group home does not, by nature or by reason of the requirements imposed by this chapter, have a negative impact on the community. In making this determination, Council shall consider the following factors:
(1) Impact on the community of permitting a group home to be located in that particular location.
(2) Location and number of other group homes in the Village.
(3) Effect on property values.
(4) Need to maintain neighborhood characteristics.
(5) Needs of the residents of the community.
(6) Needs of the residents of the proposed group home.
(7) Effect on the public peace, health, safety, morals and welfare.
If Council determines that a special permit for a group home should be issued, it shall so instruct the Municipal Manager to issue the special permit.
Council shall have the right to waive any provision of the standards and guidelines as set forth, provided that Council rules that such waiver shall not have a negative impact on the community or be injurious to the public health, safety or general welfare of the community and of the residents and property owners in the vicinity of the proposed home.
(Ord. 84-28C. Passed 7-17-84.)