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Family and advocates urge committee to override zoning-board denial for Naperville group home
Summary
Family members and disability advocates told the development committee that a Naperville plan for six adults with developmental disabilities was carefully planned and merits county-board approval after the zoning board denied requested variances; advocates cited ADA and Olmstead as legal context.
Sharon Castavelli, who said she is the founder of Engage Illinois and a Naperville resident, addressed the committee with family members and housemates to press for approval of a proposed group home. "My name is Sharon Castavelli," she said, and described her daughter Rachel and two housemates as "proud residents of Naperville" who are business owners and active community members.
Castavelli said the Nelsons' proposal was denied by the DuPage County Zoning Board of Appeals despite a "thoughtful, carefully planned proposal" and invoked federal disability law as context. She told the committee that the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Olmstead decision recognize the need for reasonable accommodations so people with disabilities can live in the communities of their choice.
Julie Evans, a disability advocate, urged the committee not only to recommend the project to the county board but also to consider zoning-code changes to encourage supportive housing countywide. She said such changes took years of advocacy in other municipalities and urged DuPage County to act to expand options.
