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City attorney tells Dade City planning board federal law treats people in recovery as disabled; recommended reasonable-accommodation procedure required by state
Summary
City attorney Patrick Brackens told the Dade City Planning Board that federal law (Fair Housing Act, ADA, Rehabilitation Act) treats people in recovery as having disabilities and that Florida law requires cities to adopt a reasonable-accommodation procedure for certified recovery residences; the board took no formal action.
City attorney Patrick Brackens told the Dade City Planning Board that, under federal law, people recovering from drug or alcohol addiction are considered individuals with disabilities and are therefore entitled to nondiscriminatory treatment in land-use decisions.
"Alcoholism, like drug addiction, is an impairment under the definitions of both the FHA, the Fair Housing Act, the ADA, and the Rehabilitation Act," Brackens said, summarizing decades of federal guidance and a controlling district-court decision. He told the board that without a…
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