A Draper developer whose plans to build an assisted-living facility for seniors was denied earlier this year is suing the city for violating the Federal Fair Housing Act.
Lon Lewis is trying to get approval to build a 14,000-square-foot group home -- which would accommodate up to 24 people -- at 12607 S. 1300 East.
But Lewis says the city is unwilling to grant him an exception to an ordinance limiting occupancy to eight people, making it economically unfeasible for him to build or operate it.
Based on his revenue and cost projections, Lewis said he couldn't get financing for anything smaller than a 24-person facility, making an exception to the ordinance necessary under the Fair Housing Act.
"They can't operate at a profit," said Richard Allen, Lewis' attorney. "So in order to allow for the elderly handicapped to live in residential areas, they need the exception to that limit -- and federal law requires them (the city) to do that. It's based on economic necessity."
At the time Lewis applied for a site plan review in May 2008, there was no code limiting the number of disabled people who could live in a residential facility, his lawsuit says. But Lewis' application had been deemed incomplete by city staff, "who were unwilling or unable" to help resolve any issues with his paperwork, it claims.
Then, on Aug. 5, 2008, the Draper City Council approved a new ordinance limiting occupancy in assisted-living facilities to eight people, making their code more in line with state rules. At that same meeting, some city councilors suggested the facility be built in a commercial zone.
Lewis -- who spent $50,000 to have his plans and designs prepared -- believes the city's actions were in direct response to his proposal, according to his lawsuit, filed July 2 in the U.S. District Court.
Jody Burnett, the attorney representing the city of Draper, declined to comment on the lawsuit pending his review of the case.
Lewis' subsequent application for an exception to the ordinance, filed in late February, was denied by Draper assistant city manager Andy Hall, who expressed concerns about altering the character of the neighborhood.
But the courts, the lawsuit says, have indicated that assisted-living facilities don't affect the essential elements of a zone if similar buildings and uses are allowed there -- and that's true in this case, the lawsuit contends.
More than one 14,000-square-foot home is in the same zone, Lewis contends. And single-family homes don't have occupancy limits, as long as the people living there have a familial relationship. Thus the Draper ordinance limiting occupancy in a group home to eight people "facially discriminates" because it treats disabled people differently.
"(Lewis) believes that there's a need for these facilities in Draper and he would like to build one there," Allen said, but, "he can't do it without the exception. And until they (the city) adopted that limit a year ago, his facility clearly would have complied with all of the requirements."
Lewis is asking the court to declare Draper's ordinance a violation of the Fair Housing Act, and to order the city to approve the permits needed to build his assisted-living facility. He's also asking for damages, reasonable costs and attorneys fees.
