| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to community residential homes; amending |
| 3 | s. 419.001, F.S.; revising definitions; requiring the |
| 4 | sponsoring agency to provide certain information to the |
| 5 | local government; providing an effective date. |
| 6 |
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| 7 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 8 |
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| 9 | Section 1. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 419.001, |
| 10 | Florida Statutes, are amended to read: |
| 11 | 419.001 Site selection of community residential homes.-- |
| 12 | (1) For the purposes of this section, the following |
| 13 | definitions shall apply: |
| 14 | (a) "Community residential home" means a dwelling unit |
| 15 | licensed to serve residents, as defined in paragraph (c), who |
| 16 | are clients of the Department of Elderly Affairs, the Agency for |
| 17 | Persons with Disabilities, the Department of Juvenile Justice, |
| 18 | or the Department of Children and Family Services or a dwelling |
| 19 | unit licensed by the Agency for Health Care Administration, |
| 20 | which provides a living environment for 7 to 14 unrelated |
| 21 | residents who operate as the functional equivalent of a family, |
| 22 | including such supervision and care by supportive staff as may |
| 23 | be necessary to meet the physical, emotional, and social needs |
| 24 | of the residents. |
| 25 | (b) "Department" means the Department of Children and |
| 26 | Family Services. |
| 27 | (b)(c) "Local government" means a county as set forth in |
| 28 | chapter 7 or a municipality incorporated under the provisions of |
| 29 | chapter 165. |
| 30 | (c)(d) "Resident" means any of the following: a frail |
| 31 | elder as defined in s. 400.618; a physically disabled or |
| 32 | handicapped person as defined in s. 760.22(7)(a); a |
| 33 | developmentally disabled person as defined in s. 393.063; a |
| 34 | nondangerous mentally ill person as defined in s. 394.455(18); |
| 35 | or a child as defined in s. 39.01(14), s. 984.03(9) or (12), or |
| 36 | s. 985.03(8). |
| 37 | (d)(e) "Sponsoring agency" means an agency or unit of |
| 38 | government, a profit or nonprofit agency, or any other person or |
| 39 | organization which intends to establish or operate a community |
| 40 | residential home. |
| 41 | (2) Homes of six or fewer residents which otherwise meet |
| 42 | the definition of a community residential home shall be deemed a |
| 43 | single-family unit and a noncommercial, residential use for the |
| 44 | purpose of local laws and ordinances. Homes of six or fewer |
| 45 | residents which otherwise meet the definition of a community |
| 46 | residential home shall be allowed in single-family or |
| 47 | multifamily zoning without approval by the local government, |
| 48 | provided that such homes shall not be located within a radius of |
| 49 | 1,000 feet of another existing such home with six or fewer |
| 50 | residents. Such homes with six or fewer residents shall not be |
| 51 | required to comply with the notification provisions of this |
| 52 | section; provided, however, that, prior to occupancy, the |
| 53 | sponsoring agency provides the local government with the most |
| 54 | recently published data compiled that identifies all community |
| 55 | residential homes in the district in which the proposed site is |
| 56 | to be located in order to show that no other community |
| 57 | residential home is within a radius of 1,000 feet of the |
| 58 | proposed home with six or fewer residents. At the time of home |
| 59 | occupancy, the sponsoring agency or the department must notify |
| 60 | or the department notifies the local government at the time of |
| 61 | home occupancy that the home is licensed by the department. |
| 62 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2005. |