Little Rock board denies two special‑use permits for sober‑living homes after neighbors cite traffic, density and safety concerns

The Little Rock City Board of Directors on June 17 denied two special‑use permit requests to allow group homes in single‑family zones in Hillcrest, rejecting applications for 205 North Woodrow Street and 822 North Monroe Street after extended public comment and legal argument.

Neighbors and neighborhood groups told the board the homes would worsen heavy morning and afternoon bus traffic near the Arkansas School for the Blind and Deaf, add on‑street parking pressure on narrow streets that allow parking on only one side, and change long‑standing single‑family patterns. Supporters, including current and former residents and recovery‑sector advocates, said the homes provide essential post‑treatment housing and meet national supportive‑recovery standards.

The vote followed a public hearing that drew dozens of speakers from both sides. Residents near Woodrow focused on morning rush‑hour school‑bus movements and alley conditions behind the block; several said they had lodged prior complaints to planning staff and code enforcement and that the planning commission originally recommended denial. Supporters described the homes as structured living environments that help people maintain recovery and rejoin the workforce.

“I owe my life to Sunlight,” said Nicholas Abernathy, who identified himself as speaking on behalf of Sunlight Sober Living. “It’s given me a sense of family… I still work in Hillcrest now.” Justin Buck, executive director of the Wolf Street Foundation and vice chair of the Arkansas Alliance for Recovery Residences, told the board he had inspected both houses and that “they far…