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Residents urge Fulshear to regulate residential-treatment homes after repeated police calls; staff to pursue legal review
Summary
At a council public hearing, multiple residents described repeated police and emergency calls to a nearby residential-treatment property and urged the city to adopt ordinances; staff said state preemptions limit some local authority but will work with legal to draft registration and other measures.
Several Fulshear residents used the council’s public-hearing period on Dec. 16 to press elected officials for stricter rules and more transparency about residential-treatment operations that have opened in single-family neighborhoods.
At the hearing, Kathy Ward said the house next door was not a group home or community home with federal protections and that her neighborhood has seen “numerous police calls.” Dawn Prophet, who lives adjacent to the property she identified as New Life Residential Treatment Center, told the council her household logged repeated police responses and described growing fear and disruption: “Since September we've experienced 8 police calls,” she said, citing specific dates.
Planning staff told the council they discovered the use after observing construction activity and that the facility had not pulled required permits. City staff and legal advisers cautioned council members that state and federal law can preempt some locally imposed restrictions on residential-care uses; staff nonetheless proposed a registration/permit approach so the city can track locations, confirm state licensing and inspect building- and life-safety compliance. “We feel that transparency and knowledge are two of the best things that we can do,” planning staff said.
Council members emphasized public safety and the need for clarity about whether a use qualifies as a state-recognized group home or is instead a business operating in a residential neighborhood without appropriate licensing. Staff said they are drafting a recommended ordinance and a companion reasonable-accommodation ordinance to ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act; legal staff cautioned the council that new rules generally cannot be applied retroactively to existing, lawfully established uses.
Next steps: Staff will continue legal review and refine an ordinance and registration process to present to council in January. The city will seek to ensure any code changes respect state limits while improving neighborhood notification and safety oversight.
