Evansville City Council votes against recovery housing growth in Bayard Park neighborhood

EVANSVILLE — The Evansville City Council voted against two rezoning requests Monday that would have allowed a pair of recovery houses to add more residents.

The requests to rezone 971 E. Blackford Ave. and 819 E. Powell Ave. have been a topic of conversation for months for the council, with Bayard Park-area neighbors expressing concern over the number of residents in recovery living in their neighborhood.

The properties are owned by Jordan Milby of New Opportunities for Wellness , an addiction treatment center in Evansville.

The City Council voted 7-1 against the rezoning. Council president Zac Heronemus was the dissenting vote. Councilman Ben Trockman was absent.

As it stands, New Opportunities for Wellness can have five people living in the home at 819 E. Powell Ave., since the rejected rezoning request will leave the current the occupancy limit in place. New Opportunities for Wellness wanted to allow up to 10 people in the home.

At 971 E. Blackford Ave., there are two structures on the land. New Opportunities for Wellness will be able to have no more than 15 people in total in those locations. One building is a single-family home, meaning no more than five people, and the other is a duplex, meaning no more than 10 people.

City Councilor Mary Allen said the situation isn't black and white, which made the decision difficult.

"We met with (New Opportunities for Wellness) and I do think they do good work," Allen said. "I think we need recovery and support programing, but we also need to protect our neighborhood and neighbors as far as investing in their homes and proper community development."

There also isn't anything in local zoning to properly define what the New Opportunities for Wellness homes are. The closest under current ordinance is the definition of a group home.

Heronemus, who is the executive director of Aurora, a nonprofit focused on ending homelessness, said he has seen these programs work. While he agrees it will be a good idea to have guidelines moving forward, he said Monday the decision should be made based on the zoning issue, not the lack of public policy currently in place.

"I do understand the residents' concerns," he said.

Shona Jarboe, who has spoken to the city council multiple times on this issue, said the residents' concerns were focused on the amount of people in one location.

"We are not trying to get rid of recovery residences in residential neighborhoods. That has not ever been our purpose," she said. "It has simply been the density of population that was being put in."

Jarboe said at the 819 E. Powell Ave. location, the limit of five people in the home has already cut down on the stress neighbors were feeling.

"We agree with your decision to not authorize these rezonings at this time," Jarboe said, "but to look at them more closely and find out how it's best going to work for Evansville, for our communities, our neighborhoods and recovery as a initiative and the clients."

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville City Council votes against recovery housing growth in Bayard Park neighborhood