Special Needs Housing

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Which definition best describes the facility?

• Emergency and transitional housing – Establishments offering daily meal service and housing to persons who are in need of shelter. This classification does not include confidential shelters, or facilities licensed for residential care by the state of Washington.
• Confidential shelter – Shelters for victims of domestic violence, as defined and regulated in RCW 70.123 and WAC 248-554. Such facilities are characterized by a need for confidentiality.
• Adult family home – Family abode, licensed by the state of a person or persons who are providing assistance with Activities of Daily Living (“ ADL”) such as bathing, toileting, dressing, personal hygiene, mobility, transferring, and eating, as well as room and board to more than one but not more than six adults, 18 years or older, with functional disabilities who are not related by blood or marriage to the person or persons providing the service.
• Staffed residential home – A home, licensed by the state, providing 24-hour care for six or fewer children or expectant mothers, 17 years or younger, with or without functional disabilities. The home employs staff to care for children and may or may not be a family residence. New housing solely or partially for juveniles who are committed to the physical custody of the Department of Social and Health Services under the Juvenile Justice Act of 1977 must be sited under Section 13.06.530, Juvenile Community Facilities.
• Extended care facility – Establishments providing 24-hour supervised nursing care for persons requiring regular medical attention, but excluding facilities providing surgical or emergency medical services. Such facilities are licensed by the state as nursing homes.
• Continuing care retirement community – An age-restricted development that provides a continuum of accommodations and care, from independent living to long-term bed care. Due to the wide range of services provided, such facilities generally operate under multiple state-licensing programs.
• Retirement home – A multiple-family dwelling, a complex of dwellings, an apartment hotel or a complex of apartment hotels and/or boarding houses operated primarily as a residence for retired persons. Depending on the level of care provided, such facilities may or may not require state licensing. These establishments may include the following accessory facilities for the exclusive use of its residents and guests:

1. Food preparation, service, and storage on a group basis;
2. Indoor and outdoor recreation facilities;
3. Religious assembly facilities;
4. Medical and nursing facilities for the care of illness;
5. Administrative offices and staff quarters;
6. Commissary facilities;
7. Common lobby and lounge areas.

• Residential care facility for youth – A facility, licensed by the state, that provides 24-hour care for persons who are 18 years of age or younger, with or without functional disabilities, that has not been licensed by the state as a staffed residential home. Such facilities may, in addition to providing food and shelter, provide some combination of assistance with Activities of Daily Living (“ ADL”), such as bathing, toileting, dressing, personal hygiene, mobility, transferring, and eating, and additional services such as social counseling and transportation. New housing solely or partially for juveniles who are committed to the physical custody of the Department of Social and Health Services under the Juvenile Justice Act of 1977 must be sited under Section 13.06.530, Juvenile Community Facilities.
• Residential chemical dependency treatment facility – A residential facility, licensed by the state that provides chemical dependency treatment and includes room and board in a 24-hour supervised facility.
• Intermediate care facility – A facility that provides, on a regular basis, assistance with one or more Activities of Daily Living (“ ADL”) such as bathing, toileting, dressing, personal hygiene, mobility, transferring, and eating, including persons with functional disabilities, needing health-related care and services, but who do not require the degree of care and treatment that a hospital or extended care facility provides. Such facility requires a state boarding home license. This use includes assisted living facilities, but does not include adult family homes, staffed residential homes, or residential care facilities for youth.
• Continuing care retirement community – An age-restricted development that provides a continuum of accommodations and care, from independent living to long-term bed care. Due to the wide range of services provided, such facilities generally operate under multiple state-licensing programs.

Is the facility allowed within the Zoning District?
The following use table designates all permitted, limited, and prohibited uses in the districts listed.

(P=Permitted Outright, CUP = Conditional Use Permit Required**, N=Not Permitted)

*Facilities established after July 16, 2002 in the R-4L, R-4, R-5, PRD, URX, and RCX Districts are subject to the dispersion requirement for Emergency and Transitional Housing facilities.  The dispersion requirement requires the lot line of any emergency and transitional housing shall be located 600 feet or more from the lot line of any other emergency and transitional housing. Where existing proximity to a limited access highway or freeway affords comparable protection, the 600 foot distance requirement may be waived.

Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for Special Needs Housing
Public Meeting – Prior to submitting an application for a conditional use permit to the City, the applicant shall hold a public informational meeting with adjacent community members.  The applicant shall provide written notification of the meeting to the appropriate neighborhood council, qualified neighborhood and community organizations, and to the owners of property located within 400 feet of the project site.

Site Inspection – Prior to submitting an application for a conditional use permit to the City, the applicant shall schedule an inspection by the appropriate Building Inspector and appropriate Fire Marshall to determine if the facility meets the Building and Fire Code standards for the proposed use.  The purpose of this inspection is to ensure that the applicant, the City, and the public are aware, prior to making application, of the building modifications, if any, that would be necessary to establish the use.

Required submittals –

1. Land Use Permit Application
2. Written confirmation from the applicant that a pre-application public meeting has been held
3. Demonstration of inspection to include a description of any necessary building modifications identified during the inspection
4. An Operation Plan that provides information about the proposed facility and its programs
5. Review criteria. Applicant’s response to review criteria contained in TMC 13.05.010.A.5.c

Concomitant Zoning Agreement (CZA) – After a CUP is approved, the applicant is required to sign and record a CZA with the Pierce County Auditor.  The CZA will be prepared by the City Attorney and will include a legal description of the property along with the conditions of the permit and applicable standards and limitations.

Applicable Regulations
Tacoma Municipal Code Section: 13.05.010.A.5 – Special Needs Housing