Upstate New York Municipality, Liability Insurer Agree To Cough Up $150K To Settle Fair Housing, ADA Lawsuit In Connection With City's Zoning Change Denial For Residential Mental Health Facility

In Ogdensburg, New York, the Watertown Daily Times reports:

• City Council has approved a settlement with Step by Step, Inc.,(1) over a federal discrimination lawsuit brought by the mental health services organization following council’s May 28, 2015, vote denying the group a zoning change.
  
  With no discussion Monday, City Council voted unanimously to settle the federal discrimination lawsuit brought by Step by Step by paying $150,000 to the organization. A total of $75,000 of that amount will come from the city’s general fund, while the other half of the money will be paid by the municipality’s insurance carrier, according to city officials.
  
  In a resolution brought forward following an executive session Monday, the council indicated that settling the lawsuit was mutually beneficial to Step by Step, Inc., and city taxpayers.
  
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  The legal flap over Step by Step’s bid to open a mental health services operation in the former Lincoln School on Knox Street began in earnest on May 28, 2015, when Council voted 5-1 against rezoning the residential neighborhood surrounding the former school site.
  
  Multiple public hearings were held prior to the vote in which neighbors of the proposed mental health clinic expressed concerns about neighborhood aesthetics and safety should Step by Step’s mental health clients be allowed to use the former school and its 2.08 acre campus.
  
  Step by Step sued the city in U.S. District Court, Utica, in July 2015, alleging that the city intentionally discriminated against its patients in violation of the Fair Housing Act and Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act by denying its application to rezone 1515 Knox St., from a residential family zone to a Planned Unit Development.
  
  On April 5, 2016, U.S. District Court Judge David N. Hurd ruled in Step by Step’s favor and ordered the city to approve the application. In his ruling, Judge Hurd agreed with Step by Step lawyers that city officials in Ogdensburg intentionally discriminated against its patients in violation of the Fair Housing Act and Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act.(2)
  
  City Council complied with the court order and approved the zoning change from single family to a planned development district on April 18.

For the story, see Ogdensburg to pay Step by Step $150,000 to end discrimination lawsuit.

See also, Judge orders Ogdensburg to approve zone change for residential mental health facility.

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(1) Step-By-Step, Inc. is a consumer-run, non-profit organization committed to bringing services, support and care to persons discovering and recovering with mental illness in St. Lawrence County, New York.

(2) See Step By Step, Inc. v. City Of Ogdensburg, No. 7:15-CV-925 (N.D.N.Y. April 5, 2016).