Federal Judge Re-Opens Connecticut "Definition of Family" Case

Zoning ordinances that restrict occupation of single family homes to "families" are quite common.  My family and I have lived in two college towns - Athens, Georgia and Fort Collins, Colorado, both of which have and enforce these ordinances to restrict groups of young adults from living in single family neighborhoods. Challenges are not uncommon, but those challenges have had mixed success.

The latest battleground is Hartford, Connecticut, where a group of families are living in a mansion they jointly purchased.  From today's article in the Hartford Courant: 

The neighborhood controversy escalated to a federal lawsuit in March, when the adult members of the 11-person household — two couples with children, a couple with no children and two individuals collectively dubbed the Scarborough 11 — argued that the city was violating their constitutional rights to live together and raise children as a family through a partnership among good friends.

Since the plaintiffs in these types of challenges tend to be groups of single young adults living together, it will be interesting to see how this family group fares.

Jamie Baker Roskie