City of Eagle Fire Department breaks the Federal Fair Housing Law in regards to People With disabilities and is sued by HUD
City of Eagle Fire Department has HUD lawsuit against them for breaking the Federal Fair Housing Law in regards to People with Disabilities.
The City of Eagle Fire Department has broken the Federal Fair Housing Law that states that people with disabilities must have equal rights in housing as any other single family home. Kurt McClenny and the Eagle Fire Department attorney Gary Luke have done everything in their power to deny the rights of people with disabilities to have fair housing under the law. They were provided with the Joint Statement from the Department of Justice and HUD that clearly states that people with drug and alcohol addictions must be treated the same under the law as any other person in a single family home. Due to their refusal I have had to file a suit against them through HUD. This means that HUD will sue them in this case. The following is an excerpt from the DOJ and HUD statement that Gary Luke has determined has nothing to do with them.
Q. What kinds of health and safety regulations can be imposed upon group homes?
The great majority of group homes for persons with disabilities are subject to state regulations intended to protect the health and safety of their residents. The Department of Justice and HUD believe, as do responsible group home operators, that such licensing schemes are necessary and legitimate. Neighbors who have concerns that a particular group home is being operated inappropriately should be able to bring their concerns to the attention of the responsible licensing agency. We encourage the states
to commit the resources needed to make these systems responsive to resident and community needs and concerns.
Regulation and licensing requirements for group homes are themselves subject to scrutiny under the Fair Housing Act. Such requirements based on health and safety concerns can be discriminatory themselves or may be cited sometimes to disguise discriminatory motives behind attempts to exclude group homes from a community. Regulators must also recognize that not all individuals with disabilities living in group home settings desire or need the same level of services or protection. For example, it may be appropriate to require heightened fire safety measures in a group home for people who are unable to move about without assistance. But for another group of persons with disabilities who do not desire or need such assistance, it would not be appropriate to require fire safety measures beyond those normally imposed on the size and type of residential building involved.
Unfortunately for the taxpayers of the City of Eagle this puts them in the position of having to pay the loss of business that will occur by the Eagle Fire Department not allowing the appropriate use of a single family home for people with disabilities as for people without them. The potential loss is from $156,000 to $1,404,000. I guess they would rather be charged with this loss than abide by the Federal Fair Housing Law. Do you, the citizens of the City of Eagle, who pay a special tax to support your fire department really want them to waste your money in this way.
Upon interviewing many other fire departments in the area it was found that all of them understand how the Federal Fair Housing Law works and all of them would allow this "residential drug and alcohol rehab facility", in their cities without any demands for other standards than those required by the building department for that city for the International Building Code and/or the International Residential Code for a single family home. The City of Eagle Building Department allows there to be 8 clients and 2 staff in a "group home", according to the Idaho State Statute 67-6531 and 67-6532. This document was submitted to Kurt McClenny and Gary Luke and Gary Luke found a case that would deny that the fire department must meet this requirement. Every other fire department I talked to in the area feel that they are to abide by this Idaho State Statute and the Federal Fair Housing Law. The Eagle Fire Department clearly is set to discriminate against people with disabilities. The people with disabilities act states that they "must be treated the same as those without disabilities". To require that sprinklers must be put in a residential drug and alcohol rehab facility and they are not required where people are living in a single family home is to treat them differently. If they were treated the same then only the laws that any person living in a single family home must apply.
Those of you who are citizens of the City of Eagle will pay the price. The citizens of other city's in your area would not have to pay the price as their Fire Chief's agree to meet the codes. You might think about what this could do in this financially difficult time. Can the Eagle Fire Department afford to waste this much money by breaking the law. Will you even have a fire department left when they have to spend this much money just so they can discriminate.
Understand that this facility can be built in your town. All that the Eagle Fire Department is doing is requiring sprinklers that need not be required if it was used as a single family home.
The case against them is huge. The fact that the other fire departments in the area all would abide by the laws and that Eagle is the only one that would not is not good for them. The HUD investigator will clearly let them know that this is the case.
So, this goes on. If you, the citizens of Eagle Idaho would rather the fire department not waste your money in a case they will clearly lose and that will pay me so well please respond to this.
I will keep in touch with you as to how this is going. As the HUD investigator does their job I will fill you in about it.
I have no choice but to sue them for this infraction of the Federal Fair Housing Laws.
The City of Eagle Fire Department has broken the Federal Fair Housing Law that states that people with disabilities must have equal rights in housing as any other single family home. Kurt McClenny and the Eagle Fire Department attorney Gary Luke have done everything in their power to deny the rights of people with disabilities to have fair housing under the law. They were provided with the Joint Statement from the Department of Justice and HUD that clearly states that people with drug and alcohol addictions must be treated the same under the law as any other person in a single family home. Due to their refusal I have had to file a suit against them through HUD. This means that HUD will sue them in this case. The following is an excerpt from the DOJ and HUD statement that Gary Luke has determined has nothing to do with them.
Q. What kinds of health and safety regulations can be imposed upon group homes?
The great majority of group homes for persons with disabilities are subject to state regulations intended to protect the health and safety of their residents. The Department of Justice and HUD believe, as do responsible group home operators, that such licensing schemes are necessary and legitimate. Neighbors who have concerns that a particular group home is being operated inappropriately should be able to bring their concerns to the attention of the responsible licensing agency. We encourage the states
to commit the resources needed to make these systems responsive to resident and community needs and concerns.
Regulation and licensing requirements for group homes are themselves subject to scrutiny under the Fair Housing Act. Such requirements based on health and safety concerns can be discriminatory themselves or may be cited sometimes to disguise discriminatory motives behind attempts to exclude group homes from a community. Regulators must also recognize that not all individuals with disabilities living in group home settings desire or need the same level of services or protection. For example, it may be appropriate to require heightened fire safety measures in a group home for people who are unable to move about without assistance. But for another group of persons with disabilities who do not desire or need such assistance, it would not be appropriate to require fire safety measures beyond those normally imposed on the size and type of residential building involved.
Unfortunately for the taxpayers of the City of Eagle this puts them in the position of having to pay the loss of business that will occur by the Eagle Fire Department not allowing the appropriate use of a single family home for people with disabilities as for people without them. The potential loss is from $156,000 to $1,404,000. I guess they would rather be charged with this loss than abide by the Federal Fair Housing Law. Do you, the citizens of the City of Eagle, who pay a special tax to support your fire department really want them to waste your money in this way.
Upon interviewing many other fire departments in the area it was found that all of them understand how the Federal Fair Housing Law works and all of them would allow this "residential drug and alcohol rehab facility", in their cities without any demands for other standards than those required by the building department for that city for the International Building Code and/or the International Residential Code for a single family home. The City of Eagle Building Department allows there to be 8 clients and 2 staff in a "group home", according to the Idaho State Statute 67-6531 and 67-6532. This document was submitted to Kurt McClenny and Gary Luke and Gary Luke found a case that would deny that the fire department must meet this requirement. Every other fire department I talked to in the area feel that they are to abide by this Idaho State Statute and the Federal Fair Housing Law. The Eagle Fire Department clearly is set to discriminate against people with disabilities. The people with disabilities act states that they "must be treated the same as those without disabilities". To require that sprinklers must be put in a residential drug and alcohol rehab facility and they are not required where people are living in a single family home is to treat them differently. If they were treated the same then only the laws that any person living in a single family home must apply.
Those of you who are citizens of the City of Eagle will pay the price. The citizens of other city's in your area would not have to pay the price as their Fire Chief's agree to meet the codes. You might think about what this could do in this financially difficult time. Can the Eagle Fire Department afford to waste this much money by breaking the law. Will you even have a fire department left when they have to spend this much money just so they can discriminate.
Understand that this facility can be built in your town. All that the Eagle Fire Department is doing is requiring sprinklers that need not be required if it was used as a single family home.
The case against them is huge. The fact that the other fire departments in the area all would abide by the laws and that Eagle is the only one that would not is not good for them. The HUD investigator will clearly let them know that this is the case.
So, this goes on. If you, the citizens of Eagle Idaho would rather the fire department not waste your money in a case they will clearly lose and that will pay me so well please respond to this.
I will keep in touch with you as to how this is going. As the HUD investigator does their job I will fill you in about it.
I have no choice but to sue them for this infraction of the Federal Fair Housing Laws.
Labels: City of Eagle, Eagle Fire Department, Eagle Fire Department breaks Federal Fair Housing Law, HUD lawsuit against Eagle Fire Department, Idaho
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