HB 351

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to community residential homes; amending
3s. 419.001, F.S.; revising definitions; requiring the
4sponsoring agency of a community residential home to
5provide certain information to a local government under
6certain circumstances; providing an effective date.
7
8Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
9
10     Section 1.  Subsections (1) and (2) of section 419.001,
11Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
12     419.001  Site selection of community residential homes.--
13     (1)  For the purposes of this section, the following
14definitions shall apply:
15     (a)  "Community residential home" means a dwelling unit
16licensed to serve residents, as defined in paragraph (c), who
17are clients of the Department of Elderly Affairs, the Agency for
18Persons with Disabilities, the Department of Juvenile Justice,
19or the Department of Children and Family Services or a dwelling
20unit licensed by the Agency for Health Care Administration,
21which provides a living environment for 7 to 14 unrelated
22residents who operate as the functional equivalent of a family,
23including such supervision and care by supportive staff as may
24be necessary to meet the physical, emotional, and social needs
25of the residents.
26     (b)  "Department" means the Department of Children and
27Family Services.
28     (b)(c)  "Local government" means a county as set forth in
29chapter 7 or a municipality incorporated under the provisions of
30chapter 165.
31     (c)(d)  "Resident" means any of the following: a frail
32elder as defined in s. 400.618; a physically disabled or
33handicapped person as defined in s. 760.22(7)(a); a
34developmentally disabled person as defined in s. 393.063; a
35nondangerous mentally ill person as defined in s. 394.455(18);
36or a child as defined in s. 39.01(14), s. 984.03(9) or (12), or
37s. 985.03(8).
38     (d)(e)  "Sponsoring agency" means an agency or unit of
39government, a profit or nonprofit agency, or any other person or
40organization which intends to establish or operate a community
41residential home.
42     (2)  Homes of six or fewer residents which otherwise meet
43the definition of a community residential home shall be deemed a
44single-family unit and a noncommercial, residential use for the
45purpose of local laws and ordinances. Homes of six or fewer
46residents which otherwise meet the definition of a community
47residential home shall be allowed in single-family or
48multifamily zoning without approval by the local government,
49provided that such homes shall not be located within a radius of
501,000 feet of another existing such home with six or fewer
51residents. Such homes with six or fewer residents shall not be
52required to comply with the notification provisions of this
53section; provided, however, that, prior to occupancy, the
54sponsoring agency provides the local government with the most
55recently published data compiled that identifies all community
56residential homes in the district in which the proposed site is
57to be located in order to show that no other community
58residential home is within a radius of 1,000 feet of the
59proposed home with six or fewer residents. At the time of home
60occupancy, the sponsoring agency or the Department of Children
61and Family Services must notify or the department notifies the
62local government at the time of home occupancy that the home is
63licensed by the department.
64     Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2006.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.