The Metropolitan Board of Zoning Appeals Division 1 on Wednesday approved a variance allowing a six‑foot chain‑link fence along Bates Street at 201 Shelby Street, where Progress House operates a residential addiction‑recovery facility, to create a controlled outdoor courtyard for residents.

The petitioner, Progress House Inc., said the fence was needed to provide safe outdoor space for roughly 88 residents undergoing treatment and to limit unsupervised contact with passersby. Jim Lingenfelter, representing Progress House and Aspire Indiana, told the board the facility had invested about $4 million in recent years to upgrade operations and that an enclosed outdoor courtyard would help reduce temptation and protect residents in early recovery.

Why it matters: Progress House is adjacent to other services and evolving development, including a planned unhoused-services project across the street. Petitioners said a six‑foot fence will help create a secure outdoor area for meditation, recreation and supervised gatherings; staff opposed the variance on the grounds that the consolidated zoning ordinance does not allow a six‑foot front-yard fence where the frontage abuts lower‑height zoning designations.

Lingenfelter said the organization will set the new fence back three to four feet from the sidewalk and add landscaping to preserve a pedestrian experience along Bates Street. He emphasized the fence would not block access to any existing alley, which the petitioner described as vacated for public access, and that access for adjacent properties would be retained. Lingenfelter said Progress House may later seek to acquire adjacent properties and potentially upgrade the fence material if fundraising permits.

Staff recommended denial, citing ordinance standards that limit opaque front-yard fences to 42 inches in transitional front yards and expressing concern for pedestrian experience along Bates Street. The staff report noted the site sits in an I‑3 industrial area but abuts a D‑8 parcel and that the ordinance does not make an allowance for a six‑foot fence along the D‑8 frontage. Board members discussed alternatives and landscaping before voting to approve the variance.

The board voted unanimously to grant the variance (2025‑DV1‑046). The approval included commitments from the petitioner that the fence would be set back from the sidewalk, incorporate landscaping to maintain pedestrian character and preserve access for neighboring properties. The petitioner said chain link was the immediate material choice for cost and flexibility but indicated openness to switch to a decorative material in the future if funding allows.

Next steps: Progress House must comply with any required permits and submit an affidavit of compliance when the installation is complete; staff will monitor adherence to the recorded commitments.