CHAPTER 123. COMMUNITY HOMES FOR DISABLED PERSONS LOCATION ACT - Texas Statutes

HUMAN RESOURCES CODE

TITLE 8. RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

CHAPTER 123. COMMUNITY HOMES FOR DISABLED PERSONS LOCATION ACT

Sec. 123.001. SHORT TITLE. This chapter may be cited as the

Community Homes for Disabled Persons Location Act.

Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 16, Sec. 12.01(a), eff. Aug.

26, 1991.

Sec. 123.002. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "person with a

disability" means a person whose ability to care for himself,

perform manual tasks, learn, work, walk, see, hear, speak, or

breathe is substantially limited because the person has:

(1) an orthopedic, visual, speech, or hearing impairment;

(2) Alzheimer's disease;

(3) pre-senile dementia;

(4) cerebral palsy;

(5) epilepsy;

(6) muscular dystrophy;

(7) multiple sclerosis;

(8) cancer;

(9) heart disease;

(10) diabetes;

(11) mental retardation;

(12) autism; or

(13) emotional illness.

Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 16, Sec. 12.01(a), eff. Aug.

26, 1991.

Sec. 123.003. ZONING AND RESTRICTION DISCRIMINATION AGAINST

COMMUNITY HOMES PROHIBITED. (a) The use and operation of a

community home that meets the qualifications imposed under this

chapter is a use by right that is authorized in any district

zoned as residential.

(b) A restriction, reservation, exception, or other provision in

an instrument created or amended on or after September 1, 1985,

that relates to the transfer, sale, lease, or use of property may

not prohibit the use of the property as a community home.

Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 16, Sec. 12.01(a), eff. Aug.

26, 1991.

Sec. 123.004. QUALIFICATION AS COMMUNITY HOME. To qualify as a

community home, an entity must comply with Sections 123.005

through 123.008 and be:

(1) a community-based residential home operated by:

(A) the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental

Retardation;

(B) a community center organized under Subchapter A, Chapter

534, Health and Safety Code, that provides services to persons

with disabilities;

(C) an entity subject to the Texas Non-Profit Corporation Act

(Article 1396-1.01 et seq., Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes); or

(D) an entity certified by the Texas Department of Human

Services as a provider under the medical assistance program

serving persons in intermediate care facilities for persons with

mental retardation; or

(2) an assisted living facility licensed under Chapter 247,

Health and Safety Code, provided that the exterior structure

retains compatibility with the surrounding residential dwellings.

Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 16, Sec. 12.01(a), eff. Aug.

26, 1991. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 491, Sec. 1, eff.

Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 233, Sec. 6, eff. Sept.

1, 1999.

Sec. 123.005. REQUIRED SERVICES. A community home shall provide

the following services to persons with disabilities who reside in

the home:

(1) food and shelter;

(2) personal guidance;

(3) care;

(4) habilitation services; and

(5) supervision.

Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 16, Sec. 12.01(a), eff. Aug.

26, 1991.

Sec. 123.006. LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF RESIDENTS. (a) Not more

than six persons with disabilities and two supervisors may reside

in a community home at the same time.

(b) The limitation on the number of persons with disabilities

applies regardless of the legal relationship of those persons to

one another.

Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 16, Sec. 12.01(a), eff. Aug.

26, 1991.

Sec. 123.007. LICENSING REQUIREMENTS. A community home must

meet all applicable licensing requirements.

Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 16, Sec. 12.01(a), eff. Aug.

26, 1991.

Sec. 123.008. LOCATION REQUIREMENT. A community home may not be

established within one-half mile of an existing community home.

Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 16, Sec. 12.01(a), eff. Aug.

26, 1991.

Sec. 123.009. LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF MOTOR VEHICLES. Except as

otherwise provided by municipal ordinance, the residents of a

community home may not keep for the use of the residents of the

home, either on the premises of the home or on a public

right-of-way adjacent to the home, motor vehicles in numbers that

exceed the number of bedrooms in the home.

Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 16, Sec. 12.01(a), eff. Aug.

26, 1991.

Sec. 123.010. ENSURING THE SAFETY OF RESIDENTS. The Texas

Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation shall make

every reasonable effort to ensure the safety of community home

residents and the residents of a neighborhood that is affected by

the location of a community home.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 646, Sec. 14, eff. Aug. 30,

1993.