Nether Prov weighs ruling on ‘sober-living’ house’s zoning
NETHER PROVIDENCE >> Neighbors hoping for a decision on a controversial “sober-living” facility for men will have to wait until the township zoning board’s next meeting on May 15.
At its latest meeting on Monday night, the board heard concise closing arguments on the case involving the Providence Recovery House that centers on whether it is violation of municipal code by operating in a residential neighborhood.
The board will now consider all of the information it has heard during a hearing stretching back to last summer before ruling on the matter.
Attorney Zach Rule, representing the facility’s owners, made the case that federal law – and specifically the Fair Housing Act – has more of a bearing on whether the North Providence Road operation is permissible than Nether Providence’s zoning laws.
“People who are in active recovery are considered handicapped under the Fair Housing Act,” said Rule, who cited several court rulings to buttress his arguments.
But township Solicitor Mike Maddren laid out multiple reasons why Nether Providence officials were warranted in taking action against the facility, which came to their attention after a 25-year-old from Schuylkill County died of an overdose on only his second day at the house on Sept. 10, 2015.
“This is very obviously not a residential use,” Maddren said. He pointed to the numerous hours each day that clients do not have access to the facility because they are supposed to be working or receiving treatment; the large number of vehicles, sometimes numbering a dozen or more, parked there; and that fact that female clients living at an apartment in Upper Providence also take part in activities at the site.
“It’s more of a transient housing (facility) than a home,” he said.
The solicitor said there are other group homes in the township, and they adhere to municipal requirements, including registering and ensuring their properties undergo fire safety inspections.
However, Providence Recovery House has yet to register, he said.
“It’s almost an acknowledgement that this isn’t qualified” to be considered a group home under the Fair Housing Act, Maddren said.
Vincent Mancini, an attorney representing a group of neighbors of the facility, also challenged the notion that the property passes the test to be considered a group home and, in turn, a “protected” operation under federal law.
“What this is is a very, very lucrative business opportunity” for its owners, and one that does little vetting of clients, he said,
Mancini said Providence Recovery House charges clients $4,000 a month and can hold up to 10 at a time.
“I defy you to find another property in Nether Providence that draws up to $40,000 a month in rent,” he said, adding that doesn’t include the fees paid to a related treatment center in Media.
Dung Lau and William Heran own and operate both Providence Recovery House and Providence Treatment LLC.
“There is no the two, bright line” between the lawyer said. “The two are intermingled,” Mancini said.
In February, neighbors testified that they were caught off guard by the opening of the facility and do not consider it to be an appropriate use of a property in an area zoned strictly for single-family residences.
The facility accepts men ages 25 and older “who are serious about working a program that is sustainable and gets them back on track with their careers, families and personal contentment.” During their stay, clients work during the day and return in the early evening for meditation, dinner and a 12-step meeting.