News

By Mary Thurwachter
    
As in many other municipalities, sober houses have been infiltrating Lantana neighborhoods, often to the chagrin of neighbors. In an effort to regulate sober houses — group homes (but not treatment facilities) for recovering addicts — the Town Council, at its June 24 meeting, considered changing the definition of “family.”
    But after discussion, the council decided to take no action on the matter.
    The measure probably would have been little, if any, help in discouraging the onslaught of sober houses, Town Attorney Max Lohman said, adding that, at best, it would be a sideways move.
    “Federal law trumps state law and trumps town law,” he said. “This area is best left alone because it is an indefensible position. Sober houses are covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and courts have routinely struck down regulations in other municipalities as discriminatory.”
    Council members acknowledged that an effort to redefine “family” was not likely to help.
    “Other cities who tried to fight this (in court) have lost their britches,” said Council Member Lynn Moorhouse. “We should take the advice of our attorney.”
    State Sen. Jeff Clemens, who happened to be at the meeting to give a legislative update, weighed in on the issue. He said he was working on more oversight for sober houses and had introduced a bill to require that the Department of Children and Families license sober houses and prevent them from being within 1,000 feet of each other. But his bill never made it out of committee.
    Clemens said he was able to get state money to finance a study on how many sober houses there are in Florida.
    “Hopefully, we’ll know how many there are,” he said. “We need to get a handle on this.”
    At the town’s May meeting, property owners who live near the proposed sober house at 118 N. Oak Ave. (near the Ocean Avenue shopping district) turned out to oppose the sober house. They delivered a petition with 300 signatures of residents who worried about an increase in crime and a downturn in property values if recovering addicts moved into the neighborhood. The discussion on what defines “family” came about as a result of that conversation.
    In other action, the Town Council:
    • Held its first budget workshop on June 10 and scheduled the next one for 5:30 p.m. July 22. The town has kept the same tax rate — $3.24 per $1,000 of assessed value  — for the past 11 years.
    • Delayed until November a decision on whether to allow the Lantana Historical Society a chance to turn a dilapidated, town-owned triplex at 111-115 Prospect Road into a museum. The house needs extensive renovations, including a new roof, electrical wiring, doors and windows.
Council members expressed concerns that the Historical Society may not be able to generate the necessary money to undertake and maintain the project.