Mayor Rita Mullins of Palatine convened a meeting of the mayors to address issues of group homes. Reasonable spacing, a limit to the number of residents in one home and consistent federal policy were key issues.

Mayors cited a number of specific instances where they see the fabric of their community torn apart by mismanagement and poor planning of group homes. Others felt their areas were being inundated by totally self-governed group homes.

Mayor Barbara Fahey of Edmonds WA told her city’s experience. A group home for substance and alcohol abuse ignored the zoning laws limiting the number of residents in one group home to six residents. When the city cited the unit for exceeding the limit by allowing eleven residents, the service organization sued the city and the case went to the Supreme Court. The results of the litigation were far-reaching. In 1995, the Supreme Court rendered a decision stating the standards imposed on group homes must be those imposed on any family in the community.

Mayors stated even though they invited group homes into their community; they were met with what they felt were unreasonable demands on the nearby residents. The policy of procuring multiple group homes in close proximity to one another destroys the "family environment" which could otherwise be beneficial a group home.