Court of Appeals Affirms Public Policy in Favor of Adult Care Facilities (MI)

Just about every set of bylaws has them – restrictions on “commercial” activity and the requirement that a home/unit be used only for “residential” purposes. However, litigation regularly erupts over whether certain activities are commercial or residential in nature.  With regard to adult foster care facilities and whether they constitute commercial or residential activity in community associations, a recent opinion from the Michigan Court of Appeals, Saunders v. Counts, is instructive in that we might generally expect our state courts to rule in favor of adult foster care facilities. Although it is an unpublished opinion, and the court explicitly stated that the opinion should not be construed such that “…restrictive covenants or deed restrictions can never work to bar operation of an adult foster care facility,” the opinion confirms that it would be generally inadvisable to oppose operation of adult foster care facilities within a Michigan community association.    Read the article………………….