Board of Aldermen to reconsider halfway house approval after legal glitch
By Randy Bell
A vote to approve a church’s request to operate a halfway house in Clinton was rescinded after the City discovered that a legal notice regarding a public hearing was published two days late. The error came to light as City officials were preparing to respond to an appeal filed on behalf of the Owens Insurance Agency, which opposes the halfway house being located near its office in the Clinton Business Park. The City had okayed DaySpring Community Church’s request on May 2, with Mayor Phil Fisher breaking a tie vote among the Board of Aldermen.
Ward 4 Alderman Chip Wilbanks, an attorney, says the notice should have been published fifteen days before the hearing on the proposal to grant the church a conditional use permit.
“Apparently, it was done only thirteen days [before the hearing],” Wilbanks says. “Procedurally, we didn’t cross all the T’s and dot all the I’s.” He says instead of fighting the appeal, knowing there was a problem, “We all thought it was best just to start over and do it correctly.” The Board voted May 16 to rescind the approval.
That action means the church’s request will go back to the Planning and Zoning Review Board for another hearing on June 27. Director of Community Development Roy Edwards says a new application wasn’t necessary.
“There are no changes in the application,” Edwards says. The Board of Aldermen will reconsider the request at its meeting on July 5.
The church wants to operate what it calls “a sober living facility” for a dozen former Hinds County Penal Farm inmates to help them reenter the free world as productive citizens.
Melinda Owens is one of several business owners who oppose the location of the halfway house, saying they’re concerned about the safety of their employees and worried about the impact on the business environment. On May 12, Owens filed an appeal in Hinds County Circuit Court on behalf of her company, calling the City’s May 2 decision “arbitrary and capricious and unsupported by clear and convincing substantial evidence.”
Now, Owens says she is glad to get a second chance to try to convince the Board to reject the request.
“I think we’ll have even more business owners in the surrounding area being proactive to help fight the conditional use on the second go-around,” said Owens.
DaySpring’s Senior Pastor Dr. Matt Friedeman didn’t respond to an emailed request for comment on the Board’s decision to restart the approval process. In an earlier interview, he called the halfway house proposal “an anti-crime initiative” which would reduce recidivism among those former inmates, saving taxpayers money.
