At least a dozen downtown residents are upset that a historic home on South Broadway is being used as a rooming house for rehabilitating substance-abuse offenders, but zoning officials have recommended that the operators of the home be granted the conditional-use permit needed to continue running the facility.
The Capitol Zoning District Commission - a committee that governs building design and use in Little Rock’s downtown historic district - is to take up the issue of awarding the permit at a 5:30 p.m. meeting Thursday at 410 S. Battery St.
The commission’s staff noted in its recommendation for approval that while it didn’t believe that the proposed use of the home met all of the goals laid out in the neighborhood’s master plan, that wasn’t sufficient reason to deny the application.
The staff report also noted that denying the permit on the basis of the disabilities - including recovery from substance abuse - of the clients who live there would be a violation of the federal and state fair housing acts.
The pale-green Queen Anne-style, two-story home at 2000 S. Broadway sits in the Governor’s Mansion Historic District. With five bedrooms and 2½ bathrooms, home-operator Muskie Harris has already admitted the maximum capacity of 10 clients. Harris began operating the facility in late November without acquiring the proper permit from the Capitol Zoning District because he says the property’s real-estate agent didn’t inform him of the requirement.
If the permit isn’t approved, the home’s operator would have 30 days to appeal to Pulaski County Circuit Court. If the court upholds the decision, it would be a violation of capital zoning code for the house to be used as a boarding home, and the commission could seek a court order for the occupants to move out.
Harris is leasing the home for two years at $2,500 per month under a lease-to-purchase agreement. The house is listed for sale at $275,000. The agent, Ray Scott of The Villa Marre Real Estate Group, is also a member of the city’s Downtown Neighborhood Association, which unanimously voted to oppose Harris’ application to the Zoning District Commission for the permit to use the building as a “chemical-free house.”
Scott didn’t return messages seeking comment.
The neighborhood association cited the number of people living in the home - 10 clients plus two managers - as excessive and its reason for opposing Harris’ application. The Mansion Area Advisory Committee voted 11-1 to oppose the use of the home as a chemical-free house. Members of that committee were concerned about the structural and mechanical capability of the home to meet the needs of 12 full-time occupants. Members also said its proximity to a child-care facility was “inappropriate.”
Those concerns were on par with reasons residents in the area said they opposed Harris’ plan for the house. Many residents were also upset that Harris began operating the home without first seeking permission from the Zoning District Commission,according to letters sent to the commission.
But Harris, a substance-abuse consultant and liaison who operates in Arkansas courts, said there’s a need for a chemical-free house in Little Rock.
“I know from experience in the therapeutic community that no one wants a rehab home in their neighborhood,” Harris said in response to the opposition. “They want it out on some rural road in the county. But everybody needs that service.”
Twelve of his business acquaintances wrote the commission in support of Harris’ endeavor on South Broadway, describing him as a trustworthy and dedicated professional. The supporters included a reverend, prosecuting attorneys, chiefs of police and a circuit judge.
Little Rock Police Chief Stuart Thomas said Harris is a “responsible, engaged, sincere and professional individual whom I consider to be an asset to this community.”
“I believe the services offered by Mr. Harris to be of great benefit to our citizens and am unaware of any problems or issues associated with the manner in which those services are delivered,” Thomas wrote.
Harris said the home will house individuals who have pending charges and who have already completed a treatment program for their substance-abuse problems. The home will serve as an intervention and chemical-free environment for the individuals to get back on their feet. They’ll stay for one year to 18 months, and they will all work.
“After the individual comes out of treatment, they have a sponsor, they continue to use tools of Alcoholics Anonymous, they are employed and they are productive,” Harris said. “They have a very productive world, but they want to stay in a chem-free environment where it doesn’t trigger them to want to use again. This is a very positive, safe, first-class environment that helps an individual hold his sobriety, become a productive, constructive, responsible and accountable member of society.”
The stipulations tied to the conditional-use permit would restrict anyone who has been convicted of the illegal manufacture or sale of drugs, anyone who is currently using drugs illegally and sex offenders from living in the home.
Arkansas, Pages 13 on 01/19/2014