Trophy Club council workshops town rules for group homes, seeks registration and inspection path

Trophy Club councilmembers on Monday held a workshop to review proposed regulatory changes for assisted-living facilities, community homes and unregulated group homes and to seek direction for ordinance language, registration and inspection procedures.

Town staff said the review is part of the council’s 2024 business goals to establish permitting best practices for senior group homes and boarding homes and to align local rules with state law. Tamara Smith, assistant town manager, briefed council and residents on current ordinance gaps, proposed registration and inspection requirements and a reasonable-accommodation application and appeal path.

"This is not an action oriented, no action on this," Mayor Jeanette Tiffany said at the start of the workshop, noting the session was for discussion and to prepare the town for future permit requests.

The presentation summarized existing regulatory distinctions in Trophy Club’s code: assisted-living facilities (ALFs) are licensed under Chapter 247 of the Texas Health and Safety Code, convalescent homes are regulated under Chapter 242 and Chapter 554 and by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, while "group homes" for people with disabilities are currently unregulated in local code. Smith and legal staff recommended harmonizing town definitions with state law, adding registration and annual inspections tied to certificate-of-occupancy (CO) reviews, and creating a reasonable-accommodation process for uses that otherwise would not be allowed in residential zoning.

Smith said the town cannot impose a separate state license but can require registration and inspections and report noncompliance to the state agency. "We're looking at adding an annual inspection, for compliance with an ALF or a community home. Noncompliance will be reported ... to the Texas Department of Aging and Disabled Services," Smith said.

Council and staff discussed the limits of local authority. A town attorney noted federal and state protections may require reasonable accommodation: "Because of the Fair Housing Act ... they can come into residential areas by right because of that federal law," a legal adviser said during the workshop, and staff emphasized that local rules must align with state statutes on space and occupancy standards.

Staff proposed that reasonable-accommodation requests be routed through the zoning board of adjustment (ZBA) with a documented appeal path; several councilmembers favored that approach over a direct council appeal. Councilmembers also pressed staff for more prescriptive enforcement language in the proposed policy — for example, specific triggers for reporting and progressive steps for violations rather than leaving enforcement to broad staff discretion.

Residents gave examples to illustrate neighborhood impacts. Sarah Menatus, who said she lives at 248 Oak Hill Drive across from Silver Leaf Assisted Living and Memory Care, described repeated on-street parking and safety concerns near the facility and recommended that such homes be sited only on wider streets and that ordinances require and enforce adequate on-site parking: "My complaints are it's a safety hazard, parking so many vehicles on the street ... difficulty for me to get in and out of my driveway," Menatus said.

Another resident, Joan Robbins of 336 Village Trail, asked whether group and community homes might house people of different ages and backgrounds and raised concerns about background checks and safety: "I am a little concerned about the type of people that come into our neighborhood and ... the due diligence to do background checks," Robbins said.

Staff identified specific items to bring forward to planning and zoning and ZBA, including: (1) revised definitions for ALFs, community homes and group homes matched to state code; (2) a town registration form to be added to the CO process; (3) an annual inspection program; (4) a reasonable-accommodation application and decision rubric; and (5) a fee on the town schedule to offset inspection and registration costs. Smith noted the town would not run the state licensing process but would act locally to monitor compliance and report concerns to state authorities.

Councilmembers asked staff to return with a single, consistent set of definitions (in ordinance language rather than policy alone), clearer enforcement triggers and a timetable for public outreach. Several councilmembers emphasized traffic, parking and neighborhood impacts as priorities for the proposed rules and asked staff to consider clear occupancy and interior modification standards tied to state Chapter 123 limits (the town’s recommended alignment would mirror the state limit described by staff: up to six residents with two supervisors in a single home under certain provisions).

Staff also noted pending state legislation. Smith told the council that SB 1402 (a bill described in the workshop as a group-home registration bill) was at committee review and would require group homes to register with the police department and provide contact information for welfare checks if it passes.

The workshop concluded with no ordinance votes; staff will present draft ordinance language, a registration form, fee schedule and procedure documents to planning and zoning and ZBA for review and return to council with public outreach results and recommended final language.

Ending: Council directed staff to proceed to boards and commissions, incorporate public feedback and return with proposed ordinance language and enforcement details for future council consideration.