In what may turn out to be a landmark case, U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez ruled a sober living facility can operate in a gated Westlake neighborhood.
Tuesday’s ruling grants federal housing protections to Harmony Haus Westlake LLC, which provides a residential program for men recovering from drug and alcohol addiction in the Parkstone neighborhood, just off Capital of Texas Highway (Loop 360).
Harmony Haus founder Daniel Ragette called the verdict “trail blazing” and said the ruling will set a precedent for sober living facilities.
“We’re blazing a trail for other sober livings to not have to go into disadvantaged neighborhoods,” he said. “We’re raising the bar for sober living. I think we’re reducing the stigma for sober living, and I think that we’ve done a great service to other sober living (facilities) to give them a chance to thrive.”
Parkstone Property Owners Association attorney Eric Hansum would not say whether the entity will appeal the verdict.
“Parkstone had wished for a different trial outcome, and they’re evaluating the decision to determine any future action,” Hansum said.
The case stems from a request by Harmony Haus to open a sober living facility for up to 12 men at 2105 Real Catorce, in the gated West Austin community, housing men recovering from alcoholism and drug addiction. The group home was granted approval from the city of Austin on Sept. 30 to permit up to 12 residents pursuant to the federal Fair Housing Act that mandates cities must provide a “reasonable accommodation” to individuals with disabilities. This accommodation must also be “necessary” for the individuals to have equal access to housing.
However, Parkstone representatives sought to limit the group facility to six individuals and said Harmony Haus violated the community’s deed restrictions that permit only single family homes and prohibit street parking.
Harmony Haus, together with the owner of the rented Parkstone, filed a lawsuit in October. A bench trial was held in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas last month. Harmony Haus is a for-profit company that markets to professionals.
At trial, Harmony Haus attorneys Mark Whitburn, principal in local firm Whitburn & Pevsner, PLLC, and Christopher McGreal, with Dallas-based Disability Rights Texas, argued the program requires 12 residents to be viable and provide the necessary group support. That number, Whitburn stated, allows for two residents per room, roommates who would be accountable to each other for sobriety. The Harmony Haus model includes an approach whereby those further along in recovery supervise newer clients. Additionally, with only six residents, Ragette testified the business wouldn’t be able to operate financially.
With 12 residents, Hansum said, the home would force street parking problems, create a safety issue for residents and drain community resources that fund the maintenance of the private streets which the residents are responsible for. Parkstone witnesses reported noise coming from idling vehicles outside the home and voiced concern that a fire truck wouldn’t be able to navigate the street with cars parked on both sides.
In his opinion, Rodriguez found that Harmony Haus residents, as individuals in recovery, are afforded the same protections as other disabled persons under the Federal Housing Act, and its request to allow 12 unrelated individuals to live in the home—despite Parkstone’s single family residence restriction—was both “reasonable and necessary.” The court further stated that Harmony Haus’s model of 12 residents has “therapeutic value,” is necessary for clients to achieve the program’s benefits and wouldn’t create a hardship for Parkstone’s residents.
Although Parkstone’s documents provide that only single family residences are allowed in the community, these deed restrictions can’t be used to exclude group homes for disabled persons from single family neighborhoods, the opinion stated. The court distinguished that Parkstone’s bylaws don’t limit the number of related or unrelated residents allowed in a home in the community.
In August, the Rollingwood City Council limited residents permitted in a home to a maximum of 10 individuals, whether or not they are related. The city of West Lake Hills doesn’t have an ordinance limiting the number of unrelated residents allowed in a dwelling, City Manager Travis Askey said.
Similar to Parkstone, area homeowners associations generally include single family residence restrictions but don’t limit the number of related or unrelated individuals. Carrie Martin—a community manager for Goodwin Management who manages 12 communities in the Austin area, including Barton Creek Lakeside, Barton Creek West, Serene Hills and Senna Hills—said she has never seen an association document restricting the number of residents in a single family home.
Currently, nine clients are living in the Harmony Haus home, with an additional resident slated to move in during this weekend and two more residents joining the group in March, bringing the house to a maximum occupancy of 12 residents, Ragette said.
For the most part, Parkstone residents have been very supportive of the group home, sending emails praising the program that betters the community and the lives of the home’s residents, he said. When Harmony Haus took over the property, Ragette said the company poured money into the site to update the house’s interior and landscape the yard.
However, he said three neighbors surrounding the home have expressed issues with the program.
“Rightfully so, they’re concerned,” Ragette said. “I’d be concerned too. I put myself in their shoes, and I forgive them. I’d be opposing (a sober living home) as well for fear that my values would drop. But that’s not the case.”
Moving forward, he said Harmony Haus “will definitely be an active member of the community” and a part of neighborhood improvement projects.
“One thing we forget about in sober living is that we’re really in the real estate business,” Ragette said. “We have programming and support services but, at the end of the day, we’re providing housing and we have a right to the housing of our choice.”
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