Title
An Ordinance amending and supplementing the Allegheny County Code of Ordinances, Division 2, entitled "County Government Operations," through the creation of a new Chapter 280, entitled "Group Home Registration Program," in order to provide a uniform mechanism for establishing compliance of group home service providers with applicable local ordinances.
Body
Whereas, various providers maintain group homes within Allegheny County as a means of providing assistance to individuals who are deemed incapable of living alone or without proper supervision; and
Whereas, these group homes exist for the assistance of a wide variety of individuals, including individuals recovering from drug addiction, developmentally disabled individuals, abused or neglected youths, individuals with behavioral or emotional problems, and/or individuals with criminal records; and
Whereas, although a condition of receiving County funding for many of these group homes is compliance with all applicable ordinances, it appears that establishing such compliance is not yet subject to any uniformly administered procedure; and
Whereas, it is the judgment of Council that establishing a record of strict compliance with local ordinances is a matter of paramount importance for group homes, insofar as such facilities are often perceived by their neighbors as being subject to different enforcement criteria than regular residences with regard to those ordinances; and
Whereas, it is also the judgment of Council that creating a uniform procedure for establishing group home compliance with local ordinances is desirable insofar is it will reduce the potential for disputes between the group home owners and the municipalities in which the facilities are located, and provide the County with a means of evaluating the appropriateness of continuing contractual funding relationships with particular group home service providers, so long as such procedure does not impinge upon the ability of existing group homes to house residents; and
Whereas, the safety and comfort of all group home residents must be guaranteed to the maximum extent possible, and Council finds that the orderly and uniform application of local building, fire, and other safety regulations to group homes is a necessary component of ensuring that residents are kept at least as safe and comfortable as all other residents of the municipality who must abide by those same regulations;
The Council of the County of Allegheny hereby enacts as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Allegheny County Code of Ordinances, Division 2, entitled "County Government Operations," is hereby amended and supplemented through the creation of a new Chapter 280, entitled "Group Home Registration Program," and comprised of the following sections:
Chapter 280
Group Home Registration Program
§280-1. Purpose.
The purpose of this Chapter is to provide for a registration program for the occupancy of certain group home properties located within Allegheny County as a means of establishing compliance with local ordinances. This Chapter does not create a licensing program, and the fact that a group home is registered with the County should not be construed to mean that the County has made any determination that the property is fit for human habitation, or that it is in compliance with any codes, ordinances, statutes, or regulations.
§280-2. Definitions.
For the purposes of this Chapter, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
A. Dwelling Unit shall mean one room or rooms connected together, constituting a separate independent housekeeping establishment for owner occupancy, rental, or lease, and physically separated from any other rooms or dwelling units which may be in the same building, and containing independent cooking and sleeping facilities.
B. Habitable Room shall mean any room used for sleeping, living, cooking or dining purposes, but excluding closets, pantries, bath or toilet rooms, hallways, laundries, storage spaces, utility rooms and similar spaces.
C. Owner shall mean any person, agent, firm, corporation or other legal entity having a legal or equitable interest in a rental unit or rental property, including but not limited to a mortgagee in possession, the beneficiary of a trust, or the holder of a life estate.
D. Group Home shall mean any property (including associated land, buildings, accessory structures, accessory dwelling units, common areas, parking areas, and other appurtenances) used or occupied as, or containing, any Dwelling, Rental or Rooming Unit(s) or Habitable Rooms which are designed or converted to serve as a non-secure home for three or more unrelated persons who share a common characteristic requiring supervision in their residence. For the purposes of this Chapter, the term shall not be construed to include correctional institutions or hospitals.
E. Rental Unit means a dwelling unit, rooming unit, or habitable room that is occupied for residential purposes in exchange for consideration.
F. Rooming Unit shall mean any room or group of rooms forming a single habitable unit used or intended to be used for living and sleeping, but not for cooking or eating purposes.
G. Transient Occupancy shall mean occupancy that is less than two weeks duration in the same or similar units owned by the same owner.
§280-3. Applicability.
This Ordinance applies to all Group Homes located within Allegheny County, but shall not apply to the following housing arrangements unless the arrangements were created to avoid the application of this Ordinance:
A. Transient occupancy in a hotel, motel, inn, bed and breakfast, or other similar lodging facility.
B. Hospital, nursing home, congregate care facility, assisted living facility, extended medical care facility, or other similar facility.
C. Rentals of apartments or other Rental or Rooming Units by individual tenants.
§280-4. Registration of Rental Units and Rental Properties Required.
A. No later than January 1 of each year, the owner or, if applicable, lessor of any Group Home property shall register such Group Home property with the Allegheny County Department of Human Services.
B. The registration required under the terms of this Chapter shall be made on such forms and in accordance with such instructions as may be provided by the Allegheny County Department of Human Services, and shall include at least the following information:
1. The names and addresses (both street and mailing) of all owners and, if applicable, lessors of the group home property. If the owner or lessor is a corporation or other legal entity, the names and addresses of its officers, partners, members, or trustees shall be provided.
2. Emergency contact information for the owner or lessor, including addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses, if any.
3. The name, address (both street and mailing), and emergency contact information for any local agent, including telephone numbers and e-mail address, if any.
4. A site description that includes the address, owner identification, the number of rental units with their E-911 numbering scheme, number of bedrooms and maximum occupancy of each Group Home, number of unrelated persons in each Group Home, and one or more sketches showing property boundaries, location of buildings, trash containment areas, buffering and screening, parking areas, type of parking area surfaces, and number of parking spaces.
5. Names and addresses of parties responsible for the maintenance of utilities, electricity, water, sewer and heating.
6. The expiration dates of leases in force as of the date of registration.
7. A written certification from the Municipal Manager, Chief of Police, Code Enforcement Officer, or Mayor of the municipality or municipalities in which the Group Home is located indicating that the Group Home is in compliance with all applicable local ordinances. In the event that the Group Home is not in full compliance, the written certification shall specifically cite the applicable local ordinance(s) and contain a full description of the deficiency or deficiencies alleged, and shall be filed together with a statement of planned corrective action by the Group Home owner or lessor, which shall include a timetable not to exceed ninety (90) days for all proposed corrective actions. In the event that any municipality does not provide a written certification of compliance or a sufficient description of noncompliance under the terms of this Section to the Group Home owner or lessor within fourteen (14) days of receiving a written request from the Group Home owner or lessor, the Group Home shall be deemed in compliance with all local ordinances for the purposes of this Chapter. Municipalities shall not be permitted to file amended or untimely certifications of noncompliance under any circumstances.
C. The designation of a local agent does not relieve the owner of the responsibility for compliance with this Ordinance.
D. The owner or lessor, at the time of registration, shall also submit payment of any registration fees as established by the Allegheny County Department of Human Services, provided that such fee does not exceed fifty dollars ($50.00) for any annual registration. If a Group Home is not registered by the deadline established in this Chapter, the fee shall be doubled. If a Group Home is not registered during a year in which it has been in existence, the fee shall be due retroactively.
E. Any Group Home for which a plan of corrective action is filed under the terms of §280-4.B.7. shall have no more than ninety (90) days from the date of filing to complete all corrective actions delineated therein. In the event that all corrective actions are completed and the required municipal certificate of compliance is filed with the Department of Human Services within ninety days, the Group Home shall be registered without paying any additional registration fees or penalties. After ninety days, all penalty provisions of this Chapter shall be applicable.
F. The owner or lessor may file a combined registration for all Group Homes located within the same municipality, provided that each unit is separately described as part of the site description and an individual certification of compliance with local ordinances is provided for each Group Home facility.
Any Group Home that is not registered or under the terms of a corrective action plan shall be deemed ineligible for all funding from all County agencies during the period of non-registration, to the extent that such denial of funding is consistent with any in-force contract between the owner or lessor and Allegheny County and applicable state and federal law.
H. Nothing contained within this Chapter shall be deemed to authorize the application of any penalty delineated within this Section to any group home service provider that has been prosecuted as a result of selective enforcement of one or more local ordinances, or who has violated the terms of a local ordinance that is found by a court of competent jurisdiction or reasonably believed by the Department of Human Services to be unconstitutional, ultra vires, or invalid on any other grounds.
§280-5. Penalties.
Any person who is found to be in willful violation of any provision or requirement of this Chapter shall be guilty of a summary offense and, upon conviction thereof, shall be subject to a fine of not more than five hundred dollars ($500.00). Each violation of a separate provision or requirement, and each day of violation, shall constitute separate offenses. Nothing contained within this Chapter shall be deemed to authorize the application of the penalties delineated within this Section to any person who has been prosecuted as a result of selective enforcement of one or more local ordinances, or who has violated the terms of a local ordinance that is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional, ultra vires, or invalid on any other grounds.
§280-6. Transition Provisions.
The initial registration of any Group Home existing prior to the date of final passage of this Chapter shall be made not later than thirty (30) days after such date of final passage.
SECTION 2. Severability. If any provision of this Ordinance shall be determined to be unlawful, invalid, void or unenforceable, then that provision shall be considered severable from the remaining provisions of this Ordinance which shall be in full force and effect.