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Tequesta adopts process for reasonable accommodations for certified recovery residences
Summary
Citing new state law, council approved first reading of an ordinance establishing an application, 60-day review clock, minimum housing standards and an appeal route for reasonable-accommodation requests for certified recovery residences; council also directed staff to pursue a separate nuisance ordinance option.
The Village Council on May 14 approved the first reading of Ordinance 5‑26, establishing a village review process for reasonable accommodation requests from certified recovery residences under new state law.
Community development staff explained the ordinance creates a written application, requires applicants to demonstrate compliance with minimum housing standards and to show that an approved accommodation would not create a de facto social‑services district. The ordinance sets a 60‑day council review timeframe (the state’s requirement), allows staff to request additional information (which pauses the clock), and provides an appeal route to a special magistrate. The code limits the village’s ability to require more than one interior inspection per year for certified recovery residences — a restriction staff said is driven by Fair Housing Act interpretations.
Councilors sought stronger enforcement tools for chronic problems; city attorneys advised that a separate chronic‑nuisance ordinance would be a better mechanism for addressing repeat calls for service, noise, overdoses or other recurring issues. Council voted in favor of first reading and instructed staff to return with proposed nuisance‑ordinance language in a future code update package.
