Trophy Club council adopts new rules for nursing, assisted‑living and community homes after resident complaints

The Trophy Club Town Council on Sept. 22 adopted changes to the town’s zoning code regulating nursing facilities, assisted‑living facilities and community homes after a public hearing and resident testimony about impacts from a nearby facility. The ordinance updates definitions, creates a registration and inspection regime, sets fees for permits and inspections, and instructs staff to develop administrative procedures for reasonable‑accommodation requests under federal law. Councilmember Tamara (staff member) told the council the ordinance “establishes requirements for registration and inspection at several key points,” including initial registration, renewal, issuance of a certificate of occupancy and complaint response. The item had been reviewed at a joint Planning & Zoning Commission (PNC) and Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) workshop and approved by the PNC 5–1. Supporters of stronger rules raised parking, deliveries, trash and frequent ambulance calls as core concerns. Resident Pat Kiefer, who said she lives on Fresh Meadow and has experience with a nearby rental that created neighborhood problems, told council members parking was the most serious issue: “Postal service, garbage, and school bus services were impeded, and traffic was reduced to one way.” Sarah Miniatis, who lives on Oak Hill Drive, said the street parking created safety problems on a curve and that the facility’s vendors “parked on both sides of the street,” which she described as a hazard. Under the ordinance, on‑street parking related to these operations must be directly adjacent to a property’s front line, and local parking and other town ordinances remain in effect. The ordinance also requires compliance with local trash rules and state medical‑waste disposal rules; failure to comply may be reported to the state licensing agency. The town added a fee schedule in the ordinance: a $300 permit application fee, inspections at $150, and a $150 reinspection fee; outside consultant costs (including legal review) will be billed at actual cost. The ordinance categorizes violations as life safety, critical or noncritical and sets timeframes for corrective action; persistent noncompliance can lead to revocation of the certificate of occupancy. Council discussion emphasized limits set by state law. Chairman Biggs, who led the Planning & Zoning Commission’s review, told the council the ordinance “is reasonable and also comply with state and federal law.” Councilmember Roland noted the town’s limited authority under state statutes and urged residents to pursue changes at the state level if they want broader powers: “What we are here to do today is unfortunately, we are trying to arrive at an outcome that if we had our way, we'd be breaking state law.” Town staff said the ordinance will be supplemented by administrative policies to handle reasonable‑accommodation requests required by federal law; staff described the reasonable‑accommodation review as an internal administrative process to be developed alongside forms and procedures. Brandon (staff member) told the council that “the reasonable accommodation process would be an administrative policy that we are developing.” The ordinance also notes state law (cited in staff materials as Chapter 123 of the Texas Human Resource Code) treats qualified community homes as a use by right in residential districts; that legal framework limits the town’s ability to prohibit community homes entirely. During debate councilmembers asked for and received a correction to the zoning use table: the use table will include an asterisk or note indicating that some residential allowances are subject to reasonable‑accommodation review. A motion to approve agenda item 19, with the single correction to the use table, was made and seconded; the council voted to adopt the ordinance. The new rules take effect as written in the adopted ordinance; staff will post materials and develop the administrative reasonable‑accommodation procedures referenced in the ordinance. Residents and property owners who want to challenge the state framework were told by councilmembers that changes would need to come through the Texas Legislature.