01/12/2006 Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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•requirement of 250 square feet. The average assisted living unit size is 150 square feet. The proposed square footage for the 30 assisted living units exceeds the 50 Sates average square footage size of 150 square feet. Mr. Murtaugh with Catholic Charities advised that the goal is to provide a service which is currently needed but not being met in the area. The market is showing that seniors in the area that would like to downsize from their large homes can not afford what is available in the area. Currently the individuals who would occupy the proposed assisted living units are those who can no longer be on their own as they need assistance, but they do not want to become a burden to their families. By providing the proposed size units it will allow seniors in the area to receive the assistance they need and remain in an area and surroundings they are familiar with. The assisted living tenants receive all their meals served in a dining room setting, and activities to help them continue to be active and socialize. Department reports: Ms. Wenger reviewed that in early 2005 the City undertoolc revising their senior housing district requirements and among those was the appropriateness of minimum square footage. The minimum square footage for a one and two bedroom unit was looked at but assisted living versus independent living needs were not differentiated between. The first draft of the proposed code had no minimum square footage requirements and just left it up to State requirements to regulate square footage required. That draft was approved by the Planning Commission but when it reached City Council the question arose as to how the Building Department would enforce State codes. That is when Council felt a minimum square footage should be set for both independent and assisted living and assisted living was set at 350 square feet. However, due to many of the issues raised Council has placed the legislation back into committee to investigate further the minimum square footage requirements for assisted living. Mr. Conway advised that because current codes did not address assisted living unit sizes his department used the minimum square footage required for an independent unit, which was established in 1995. He fiu-ther advised that at that time when setting minimum square footage for independent units assisted living was not a consideration. Ms. Wenger said that she supported the variances being requested by the applicants. Mr. Gareau Sr. said that North Olmsted has moderate homes and the seniors in the area want to stay in the area and the applicants are trying to provide a method in which the seniors can afford to stay in the area. The practical difficulty is that 400 square feet for assisted living is not reasonable and the applicants are requesting the board take that into consideration. Mrs: Sergi questioned if any of the assisted living tenants would be bed ridden or unable to leave their rooms. She further questioned if more than one person could live in the assisted living rooms. Mr. Pat Gareau reviewed that the average age of assisted living tenants are in their early to mid 80's and have some deficits in daily living but the typical assistance required for assisted living is help managing medication and making sure a healthy diet is followed. There may be couples in independent living units or even in a single room assisted living units, but there would never be two people living in the assisted living studio unit. Tenants may be in wheelchairs or require walkers but each tenant is evaluated and assessed when being placed into a room. There is a licensed nurse during the day as well as during the evening and then 3 personal care givers to help the tenants 24 hours a day. There is a call bell system wired throughout the building to bring help. Most tenants bring their own furniture and facilities such as these allow seniors to live independently longer and feel less of a burden to their families. It is not often that tenants living at the facility are still driving, there may be drivers living in independent units but not usually assisted living. Council Member Nicole Daily Jones was present to represent her ward and urged the board to grant the variances pertaining to the assisted living unit sizes. She agreed with Ms. Wenger and reiterated that Council was investigating sizes of assisted living units before moving forward with the current legislation. She did not believe that the sizes of the studio units would in any way pose a threat of 3of11