This morning the Board of Zoning Adjustment met and said it will reconsider zoning requests for homeless shelters as long as they don’t come from an area zoned OR-3. Last month, it ruled in the Mercy Academy case that shelters were not an appropriate use in any zoning category.
The Metro Council was charged with coming up with an ordinance to address the issue.
The move opens the door for Wayside to apply for a BOZA determination on whether it could operate in another zone, including the Hotel Louisville property, zoned C-2, on Broadway.
Stephen Porter, the attorney who represented the Original Highlands Neighborhood Association in that case, said a group of Hotel Louisville neighbors opposed to the shelter moving in are watching the case.
But today’s action opens the door a crack — on Aug. 17 BOZA will make a decision, and that could allow Wayside to apply for permission to locate there.
Metro Government is said to be working with Wayside to find an alternative location for the shelter, even though Wayside won an auction to purchase the Broadway property and has said it intends to move in.
2 responses so far ↓
1 Leonard // Aug 3, 2009 at 7:39 pm
When I read how the City of Louisville is treating Wayside, I feel shameful about being a Louisvillian. A city without Charity is a city without God, and without God we are nothing but self-centered. Wayside is not a eye sore, and has strict rules for being a resident. They feed, house, rehab, and help people find a job and home of their own. God help this City if we chase our missions out of the city. When it is you who is down and out, I guess you can sleep under some bridge.
2 LT // Aug 5, 2009 at 1:02 pm
Wayside is an eyesore and Wayside does not have strict rules for being a resident. This is not an issue of not helping the poor. It is an issue of where is the best place to put a homeless shelter. And it is obviously NOT something that should be in a residential area. Especially with 300+ men, women and children. And “men, women and children” is how this shelter should be presented. If it had been presented as that in the first place, Wayside MIGHT not be having such issues, and would be looking in other areas anyway!
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