Nonprofit Seeks to Build Group Care Home in Downtown Wheaton

STARS Family Services, a nonprofit that provides supportive living arrangements developmentally disabled adults, is proposing to build a group care home to house up to 15 people in downtown Wheaton.

Wheaton’s Planning and Zoning Board will hold a public hearing to consider the application for the proposed facility at the southeast corner of Cross Street and Union Avenue on Tuesday night.

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STARS provides small supportive living arrangements and related services to developmentally disabled adults of the STARS Disability Ministry of in Wheaton, according to a Wheaton city staff memo.

Since opening its first house in north Wheaton last June, the organization has received applications from more than 20 adults who live with their aging parents, who, “are finding it increasingly difficult to care for their adult children,” according to the memo.

To house up to 15 residents, the facility would be comprised of two housing structures with a courtyard, constructed in two phases, according to the memo. Each home would have an attached two-car garage with a shared driveway off of Union Avenue. Guest, volunteer and staff parking will be on the shared driveway.

Wheaton city staff recommended approval of STARS’ zoning application if the applicant testifies that parking will be adequate for the proposed use, and obtains a license from the Wheaton Group Care Home Commission, according to the memo.

Following the public hearing, the Planning and Zoning Board’s recommendations will go before City Council for a final decision.

In a letter to property owners near the proposed development, Staff Planner Tracy Jones wrote that residents’ participation at the hearing and City Council meeting is “welcomed and encouraged.”

The Planning and Zoning Board meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 19 at Wheaton , 303 Wesley Street, Wheaton.