Mendenhall Estates Group Homes

The applicant withdrew this application.

The applicant is requesting conditional use approval of a reasonable accommodation exception for the Mendenhall Estates Group Homes project located at 230 West 400 South in a R-1-Flex zone. The applicant’s proposal is to convert ten of the approved subdivision lots into group homes with the reasonable accommodation of up to eight people in each home. The reasonable accommodation is meant to afford a person with disability an equal opportunity to use or enjoy a dwelling. Utah State Code defines disability to include major life activity and mental or physical impairment. The mental and physical impairment portion includes alcoholism and drug addiction. Disability does not include those who are actively using illegal drugs. The applicant proposes to partner with I Am Recovery to provide 80 beds to clients who generally have two weeks to 30 days of sobriety and are transferring from a Residential Facility or Detox Center.

The Development Code has group homes as a permitted use in all residential zones. However, that permitted use is for the standard allowance of four people to match the definition of “Family” in Chapter 39 of the Lehi City Development Code. This use is protected by Fair Housing Laws which means the City would be required to approve all ten lots with a group home with four people each.

As noted in Section 12.150 of the Development Code, an exception for a reasonable accommodation has to be based on a number of factors. The burden of proof falls on the applicant to demonstrate that the requested accommodation is necessary and reasonable under the standards and definitions set forth in federal and state law, including federal and state case law. Necessary means that the accommodation requested shall ameliorate or make better a disability’s effect and shall be linked to providing the same opportunity a non-disabled person would have to use and enjoy a dwelling. In other words, the applicant must demonstrate that the increase in residents will have a causal effect on the improved rehabilitation of those seeking to overcome addiction.

The applicant’s narrative provides additional information about I Am Recovery’s program and standard practices. It mentions that the clients will be randomly drug tested, under 24-hour supervision by trained professionals, and checked against the Sex Offender list.

The applicant’s narrative states that they will use materials and layouts on the homes that are similar to other single family home developments in Utah County. This complies with the Code requirement that the homes architecturally blend in with the surrounding area.

No changes are proposed to the layout of the approved Mendenhall Estates subdivision that was approved in May 2021. Almost all horizontal infrastructure improvements have been installed at this point. The applicant is at the stage now that building permits could be filed for vertical home construction.