IN THE ERIE COUNTY HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION

ROBERT E. WIDING III, VICTORIA )HOUSE COLLABORATIVE LLC, and ) Docket No. 10-002-HJOHN DOES ONE THROUGH FIVE )(Other Current and Prospective )Residents of 1156 West 11th Street), )

)Complainants and Plaintiffs )

)v. )

)CITY OF ERIE ZONING HEARING )BOARD; CITY OF ERIE, BUREAU OF )CODE ENFORCEMENT; and CITY )OF ERIE, )

)Respondents and Defendants )

COMPLAINT

JURISDICTION

1. Jurisdiction is pursuant to the Erie County Human Relations Commission

Ordinance No. 59, 2004, Article V, Section D and Article VI, Section A (as

amended by Ordinance No. 39, 2007).

PARTIES

2. The Complainants herein are:

Name: Robert E. Widing IIIAddress: 1156 West 11th Street

Erie, PA 16502

Name: Victoria House Collaborative LLCAddress: 1156 West 11th Street

Erie, PA 16502

and

Names: John Does One Through Five (Other current and prospective residents of 1156 W. 11th Street)

Address: 1156 West 11th StreetErie, PA 16502

3. The Respondents herein are:

Name: City of Erie Zoning Hearing BoardAddress: 626 State Street

Erie, PA 16501

Name: City of Erie, Bureau of Code EnforcementAddress: 626 State Street

Erie, PA 16501and

Name: City of ErieAddress: 626 State Street

Erie, PA 16501

COUNT 1

Denial of Zoning Variance Request/ Disability DiscriminationFailure to Make Reasonable Accommodation/Disparate Treatment

4. Paragraphs 1 through 3 are incorporated herein by reference as though set

forth at length.

5. The Complainants, Robert E. Widing III and John Does One Through Five,

jointly and severally aver that their protected class is that of disabled

individuals, as delineated and defined under the Erie County Human Relations

Commission Ordinance No. 59, 2004 (as amended by Ordinance No. 39,

2007).

6. The Complainant, Victoria House Collaborative LLC, avers that it is a

domestic limited liability corporation, incorporated under the laws of the

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and doing business at all times relevant to

this Complaint in Erie County, Pennsylvania.

7. The Complainant, Victoria House Collaborative LLC, avers that it is the

successor of Victoria House LLC, which requested certain variances from the

Respondents related to the property located at 1156 West 11th Street in Erie,

PA, in April and August of 2009.

8. The Complainant, Victoria House Collaborative LLC, avers that it owns and

operates a Group Home, known as “Victoria House,” located at 1156 West

11th Street in Erie, PA (hereinafter referred to the “property”).

9. The Complainant, Robert E. Widing III, avers that, in addition to being a

disabled individual and resident of Victoria House, he is also the Property

Manager/House Manager/Responsible Agent of/for the property.

10. The Complainants aver that Respondents meet the definition of “person” as

such term is delineated and defined under the Erie County Human Relations

Commission Ordinance No. 59, 2004 (as amended by Ordinance No. 39,

2007).

11. The Complainants aver that, on or about April 28, 2009, they requested the

Respondents to grant a variance of the Zoning Ordinance for the City of Erie,

Ordinance Number 80-2005 (hereinafter referred to as the “City Zoning

Ordinance”) as a reasonable accommodation to allow them to operate and

reside in a Group Home related to their disability.

12. The Complainants aver that Section 305.01 of the City Zoning Ordinance

provides for a variance/zoning exception for Group Homes such as Victoria

House.

13. The Complainants aver that the Respondents denied their initial request for

reasonable accommodation on or about May 8, 2009, mischaracterizing

Victoria House is a “half-way house” and/or “rooming house” (which

Respondents stated are not permitted uses in an R-2 zoning district) and

stating that Victoria House is a “half-way house without any formal oversight

or supervision.”

14. The Complainants aver that they filed an appeal with the Respondents, asking

the Respondents to reconsider the initial denial of the request for the zoning

variance/special exception as a reasonable accommodation related to their

disability.

15. The Complainants aver that the Respondents held a second hearing on the

Complainants’ request for reasonable accommodation on or about August 25,

2009.

16. The Complainants aver that, in the second hearing, the Respondents

acknowledged that Victoria House is, in fact, a “Group Home” that would be

covered under the “Group Home Special Exception” of Section 305.01 of the

City Zoning Ordinance.

17. The Complainants aver that the Respondents denied their second request for

reasonable accommodation on or about September 8, 2009, stating that

density control for a lot size in an R-2 district (3,000 square feet) allows one

or two families or three unrelated people only on a lot that size and that the

same standard should apply for disabled people as does for non-disabled

people.

18. The Complainants aver that the reasons stated by the Respondents for the

denial of their request for reasonable accommodation in both the denial of

May 8, 2009 and the denial of September 8, 2009 are purely pretext.

19. The Complainants aver that any other reason given by the Respondents for the

denial of the requested reasonable accommodation is purely pretext.

20. The Complainants aver that the actual reason that the Respondents denied

their request for reasonable accommodation in the form of the zoning

variance/special exception is solely because of the Complainants’ disability

and the bias of the Respondents against those with their particular disability.

21. The Complainants aver that any reasonable accommodation made by the

Respondents relative to allowing the zoning variance/special exception for

Victoria House to operate on the property would not pose an undue hardship

on or fundamentally alter the nature of the zoning ordinance.

22. The Complainants aver that there are only six (6) current or prospective

residents of Victoria House and that allowing two (2) families of non-disabled

persons to live on one property in an R-2 zoning district could easily mean

that more than six (6) people would be residing on such property at any given

time.

23. The Complainants aver that allowing six (6) unrelated persons to live in one

property in an R-2 zoning district as a reasonable accommodation due to their

disability does not place any more of an undue hardship on or fundamentally

alter the nature of the zoning ordinance than would allowing six (6) related

persons to live on the same sized property.

24. The Complainants aver that the property is, in fact, LARGER than the 3,000

square feet required for the R-2 zoning district and that the Respondents are

aware, or should be aware, that the property is larger than 3,000 square feet.

25. The Complainants aver that others outside their protected class are treated

differently than they have been treated by the Respondents.

26. The Complainants aver, by way of example, that the Respondents have

granted zoning variances to other Group Homes under the same or similar

circumstances, such as the Gertrude Barber Center and the City Mission.

27. The Complainants aver that others, with no disability and/or with different

disabilities than they have are treated more favorably by the Respondents than

the Complainants have been treated.

28. The Complainants allege that the Respondents violated Article IX, Section A,

of the Erie County Human Relations Commission Ordinance No. 59, 2004 (as

amended by Ordinance No. 39, 2007).

29. The allegations in the foregoing paragraphs hereof constitute an unlawful

discriminatory practice and are in violation of the Erie County Human

Relations Commission Ordinance No. 59, 2004 (as amended by Ordinance

No. 39, 2007).

30. The Complainants have filed an Appeal of the Respondents’ denial of their

zoning variance request with the Court of Common Pleas of Erie County,

Pennsylvania, but no action based on the aforesaid allegations of

discrimination has been instituted by the Complainants in any court or before

any other commission within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

31. The Complainants pray that the Respondents be required to provide all

appropriate remedies under Article VI, Section L of the Erie County Human

Relations Commission Ordinance No. 59, 2004 (as amended by Ordinance

No. 39, 2007) and to provide such further relief as the Commission deems

necessary and appropriate.

IN THE ERIE COUNTY HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION

ROBERT E. WIDING III, VICTORIA )HOUSE COLLABORATIVE LLC, and ) Docket No. 10-002-HJOHN DOES ONE THROUGH FIVE )(Other Current and Prospective )Residents of 1156 West 11th Street), )

)Complainants and Plaintiffs )

)vi. )

)CITY OF ERIE ZONING HEARING )BOARD; CITY OF ERIE, BUREAU OF )CODE ENFORCEMENT; and CITY )OF ERIE, )

)Respondents and Defendants )

VERIFICATION

I hereby verify that the statements contained in this complaint are true and correct

to the best of my knowledge, information and belief and that I am authorized to make this

verification on behalf of all Complainants herein. I understand that false statements

herein are made subject to the penalties of 18 PA C.S. Section 4904, relating to unsworn

falsification to authorities.

________________________________________ ________________________Signature Date

________________________________________Street Address

________________________________________ (______)________________City, State and ZIP Code Telephone Number

IN THE ERIE COUNTY HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION

ROBERT E. WIDING III, VICTORIA )HOUSE COLLABORATIVE LLC, and ) Docket No. 10-002-HJOHN DOES ONE THROUGH FIVE )(Other Current and Prospective )Residents of 1156 West 11th Street), )

)Complainants and Plaintiffs )

)v. )

)CITY OF ERIE ZONING HEARING )BOARD; CITY OF ERIE, BUREAU OF )CODE ENFORCEMENT; and CITY )OF ERIE, )

)Respondents and Defendants )

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the within complaint was served on

all parties of record in this proceeding in accordance with the requirements of 1 Pa. Code

33.31 (relating to service by an agency) by hand delivery to the Complainants; and, to

each of the Respondents, by certified United States mail, return receipt requested, postage

prepaid, as follows:

Robert E. Widing III Victoria House Collaborative LLC1156 West 11th Street 1156 West 11th StreetErie, PA 16502 Erie, PA 16502

John Does One Through Five City of Erie Zoning Hearing Board1156 West 11th Street 626 State StreetErie, PA 16502 Erie, PA 16501

City of Erie, Bureau of Code Enforcement City of Erie626 State Street 626 State StreetErie, PA 16501 Erie, PA 16501

Dated this ____________ day of March , 2010.

BY: ___________________________________

THE COMMISSION’S ROLE

The Erie County Human Relations Commission Executive Director, Joseph

Aguglia, Jr., acts as the attorney for the Commission who investigates the claim. In no

way is the Executive Director, any representative of the Commission, and/or the

Commission itself your attorney or representative. In fact, you are encouraged to retain

private counsel if possible. If you desire to have an attorney, please contact the Lawyer

Referral Service of the Erie County Bar Association:

Erie County Bar AssociationLawyer Referral Service302 West 9th StreetErie, PA 16502-1427Phone: (814) 459-4411

The Human Relations Commission, Commission Staff and the Executive Director

do NOT give legal advice to you. Both the Commission and the Executive Director act

as a neutral court in the matter.

________________________________________ ________________________Signature Date

________________________________________Printed Name

________________________________________Street Address

________________________________________ ( )________________City, State and ZIP Code Telephone Number