Little Rock planning commission approves The Gardens mental-health facility with 24-hour security condition

The Little Rock Planning Commission on Aug. 14 approved a conditional use permit allowing The Gardens to operate a 16-resident mental health and therapeutic community at 9621 Tall Timber Boulevard, subject to conditions including a provision that the permit be nontransferable and that 24-hour security services be provided on the premises.

The permit allows The Gardens to occupy an existing 11,918-square-foot building on a property of more than seven acres and to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week with up to eight staff or caregivers on site at any one time. The commission’s vote followed roughly an hour-and-a-half of public comment and a presentation by the applicant.

Staff had recommended approval, noting the site’s wooded buffer and the applicant’s limitations on occupancy, but dozens of neighbors and community leaders urged denial or stricter conditions, citing an existing nearby detox facility and repeated emergency calls.

Joe White, the onsite applicant, described the program’s intended population and…