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Neighbors say group home moved into Richfield block without local license; council to demand compliance
Summary
Neighbors urged the council to enforce city rules after a RISE Services group home opened at 888 North Indian Hills Drive without advance notice or a local business license; residents asked for a designated contact and stronger local oversight; city staff said the attorney will seek compliance or closure.
Neighbors complained to the Richfield City Council on Tuesday that a group home operated by RISE Services was established at 888 North Indian Hills Drive without notifying nearby residents or obtaining a local business license.
"This facility was introduced without notice, without city approval, and without any opportunity for the neighbors to ask questions," said Sarah Conder, who lives near 888 North Indian Hills Drive, during the public-comment period. Conder told the council the property's ownership chain included multiple LLCs with out-of-state ties and said that made local accountability difficult.
Conder asked the council to require that the home comply with local licensing, zoning, building-code and spacing rules, to ensure compliance with Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) licensing and inspection requirements, and to designate a point of contact or committee that neighbors could use to raise concerns.
Council members and staff described the legal limits on denying a residence based on disability. "By our ordinances and our city laws, we can't deny that," the Chair said, while staff and other council members said the company still must obtain a local business license or a conditional-use accommodation and that the city has enforcement options if it fails to comply.
Staff said the owner initially declined to meet with city staff; the city attorney has engaged and the council asked staff to contact RISE Services' attorney with a deadline for compliance. "We reach out to their attorney and give them a deadline of compliance or to start that process or it goes... we can absolutely shut it down," the Chair said.
Neighbors raised specific concerns including speeding by visitors, smoking near private yards, safety of structural work on the property and the presence of multiple congregate facilities within a short distance. Residents described confusion about whom to call and asked for an easier route to have neighborhood issues addressed without relying solely on state complaint processes.
City staff confirmed that conditional-use permits and business licenses are the usual tools for local oversight; staff said an accommodation route may be needed in some fair-housing contexts but that the operator still must comply with local ordinances and DHHS requirements.
Next steps: staff will continue coordination with the city attorney and attempt to secure a business-license process or other compliance from RISE Services. If the operator does not pursue the required local approvals, staff told the council they could pursue enforcement, including possible closure of the operation.
