May city require a conditional use permit for a group home for persons considered disabled or handicapped?
No, this is not permitted under the “Washington Housing Policy Act” (WHPA), RCW 35A.63.240. This statute provides: No city may enact or maintain an ordinance, development regulation, zoning regulation or official control, policy, or administrative practice which treats a residential structure occupied by persons with handicaps differently than a similar residential structure occupied by a family or other unrelated individuals. As used in this section, “handicaps” are as defined in the federal fair housing amendments act of 1988 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 3602). Accordingly, a development regulation that requires a conditional use permit for a group home for handicapped or disabled individuals but not for single-family residences violates this statute, which is stricter than comparable provisions of the federal Fair Housing Act. In Sunderland Family Treatment Services v Pasco, 107 Wn. App. 109 (2001), the state court of appeals struck down Pasco’s requirement that “group care facilities” obtain a
