Legal issues & What we are doing
Cascade House
A single family residential home being converted into a residential treatment center housing up to 8 girls with severe anxiety and OCD. Each girl will reside in the home for 6-12 months with intensive treatment of their OCD or severe anxiety. These treatments are not covered by most insurances and families pay $500+ dollars a day per resident.
Conditional Use Permit
Such a facility requires a conditional use permit (CUP) to be granted in order to proceed in a RA-1 zone. A conditional use permit must be obtained after meeting all requirements and zoning laws. Cascade House was awarded this CUP by the planning commission based upon code 1292 allowing for a "residential facility for handicapped persons."
What is considered a Residential Facility for Handicapped Persons?
Under Wasatch county code 16.21.17, a residential facility for person with disabilities needs to meet certain criteria. 1. It must be occupied on a 24 hour per day basis by 8 or fewer persons with disabilities, in a family type arrangement under the supervision of house or family manager. 2. Conform to all applicable standards and requirements of the department of human services; (and most importantly) 3. Be operated by or operated under contract with that department. Cascade House does not meet the requirement for being run by or under contract with the department of health and human services. They are a for-profit organization and being under contract with the department of health would not generate enough revenue.
What type of facility is Cascade House?
Cascade's intensive therapy is directed toward treatment of severe OCD and anxiety and its primary purpose is not for housing, but for treatment. This would place them out of the the 1292 code for a conditional use permit and they would more likely fall in the 6516 code which governs "sanitariums, convalescent and rest home services (lodging and meals offered with full time medical staff. Includes asylums, drug abuse, substance abuse.) These codes can be found under 16.36.05 of the Wasatch County Code and would not be permitted in a RA-1 zone.
ADA and FHA
The reason that the facility was granted a conditional use permit is because they used federal laws protecting persons with disabilities. Since OCD and Severe Anxiety are considered a disability, Cascade Home is claiming this argument to trump all other Wasatch County laws and codes. This is however, not a housing issue as their patients/clients already have a residence and they are not being denied purchase of a home to live in. If a person with a disability wanted to purchase the home and live there they would not need a conditional use permit nor would anyone in the neighborhood oppose. There is no discrimination with the ADA or FHA in this case.
Where we are now
After two rounds with the planning commission and review board we are off to district court. We came so close to winning the fight on the previous rounds, but our best chance will be in a court of law. The codes and laws are on our side, we just need to keep fighting and we need your support. Our court date is not yet set, but will be early next year. A lot of work has been put into this already, but we need funding to keep the fight going.
Community Concerns
Parking
The facility will house 8 non related girls ages 13-17. There will be 10-20 employees on site during the day shift alone, not including visitors and deliveries. We have been informed during the last meeting by the review board that parking does not need to fully accommodate employees and visitors will be allowed to park on the street, even though that will narrow the road for one way traffic. Currently with their parking plans and the onsite vehicles to transport the girls there is not enough parking to accommodate.
Traffic
Three shifts of employees coming and going from the site likely will overlap with peak times our children are walking to and from the bus stop and also any children playing in the street. With the increased amount of traffic from deliveries, employees and visitors, the risk of pedestrian auto accidents also increases.
Commercial Business in Residential Neighborhood
Commercial Businesses are not allowed in residential areas. By allowing this conditional use permit, it opens the door to other high traffic businesses to be allowed in the area. As a community we need to make our voices heard that a for-profit and high traffic commercial business should stay in commercially zoned areas.
Join Us in the Fight, please consider donating to our legal
How To Donate
QR code is the gofundme account. You can also send a check to Dustin Sidwell, 2924 E 1400 S, Heber, UT 84032