Council introduces 365-day moratorium on group homes, prompting town-hall requests and legal concerns

The Hammond City Council voted Nov. 18 to introduce an ordinance imposing a 365-day moratorium on acceptance and processing of applications for group homes, group care facilities, adult day care, assisted-living, boarding and rooming homes, lodging houses and certain zoning amendments. The ordinance text includes a variance pathway for exceptions.

Councilman Wells, who placed the item on the agenda, described the measure as a “pause” intended to allow council and staff to study locations and zoning before more facilities open in neighborhoods, citing resident complaints and police patrols near some group homes. Wells said the moratorium is intended to "protect" neighborhoods while the city develops clearer rules.

Residents and other speakers offered mixed views during the public comment period. Some urged the council to hold town-hall meetings and produce clearer local rules; others warned that state licensing governs many facility types and that affected operators could sue if the ordinance were applied as a blanket ban. One resident asked whether the moratorium would block homeless shelters; staff said the introduction does not explicitly reference shelters but that the topic could be discussed and clarified at future hearings.

Council voted to introduce the moratorium ordinance and the item will return for public hearing and additional drafting. The ordinance text as introduced allows applications for variances, so individual exceptions remain possible while the city reviews policy.