Opinion ID: 778066
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Reasonable Accommodation Theory

Text: 53 For similar reasons, RECAP and the United States fail to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under a reasonable accommodation theory. A municipality discriminates in violation of the FHA, the ADA, or the Rehabilitation Act if it refuses to make changes to traditional rules or practices if necessary to permit a person with handicaps an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling. Shapiro v. Cadman Towers, Inc., 51 F.3d 328, 333 (2d Cir.1995) (quoting H.R.Rep. No. 711, 100th Cong., 2d Sess. 25 (1988), reprinted at 1988 U.S.C.C.A.N. 2173, 2186). Returning to the example of the zoning ordinance prohibiting elevators, a proper reasonable accommodation claim might assert that the zoning authority should have waived or modified its rule against elevators in residential dwellings to permit those who need them to use them and thereby have full access to and enjoyment of residences there. See Salute v. Stratford Greens Garden Apartments, 136 F.3d 293, 301-02 (2d Cir.1998) (providing examples of typical accommodation cases). 54 Here, however, the zoning rules do not prohibit the proposed halfway houses in the first place. The plaintiffs do not seek a variance to a traditional rule or practice that was neutrally applied. Rather, they challenge the defendants' specific decision to deny RECAP a special-use permit for discriminatory reasons. The plaintiffs' argument in this case is that the Planning Board determined that the planned use would have an adverse effect on the neighborhood because of an illegitimate reason, the identity of the group of users. Because the plaintiffs do not point to the prerequisite neutral application of a rule, they fail to state a claim under a reasonable accommodation theory.