Board upholds zoning violation for Stepping Stone Recovery Housing at 520 High Street, grants until July 1 to vacate

The Amelibo County Board of Adjustments on Jan. 21 sustained a planning director’s determination that Stepping Stone Recovery Housing, operating at 520 High Street in Danville, is a group‑living facility not permitted in the RM‑2 (two‑family residential) district and ordered the property vacated by July 1.

Blake Hobson, proprietor of Stepping Stone Recovery Housing, and his attorney, Mr. Bailey, urged the board to consider federal guidance and recovery‑house practice in classifying the residence. Hobson said the house “is a lifeline for a lot of people” returning to Danville and described the residence as peer‑run, transitional housing serving men coming out of treatment and under supervision. He said the house opened at the 520 address in September and that prior locations included a property on 217 Lisa Avenue where the operation dated back to about 2018.

Bailey argued that the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recognizes non‑familial households of disabled persons who choose to live together and that, under the Americans with Disabilities Act and current clinical definitions, many people with substance use disorder qualify as disabled — a classification that can bear on housing protections. Bailey also cited the National Alliance for Recovery Residences (NARR) occupancy guidance and described common industry practices (week‑to‑week resident arrangements, a paid house manager, and square‑footage standards).

Planning staff presented the city zoning ordinance’s definitions and said the 520 High Street use fits the ordinance’s definition of a “group living facility,” which the ordinance lists as including transitional housing and some residential programs for drug and alcohol treatment. Staff noted group living facilities are not permitted in RM‑2 and listed other districts where such uses are permitted or allowed by conditional use permit. The board attorney emphasized the scope of the board’s review: whether a zoning violation occurred, not broader policy changes to the ordinance.

Property owner Danny Jones (Lodge Squad Properties) told the board he has owned the house since 2009, said he has not had neighbor complaints, and described local demand for rental units. Board members expressed sympathy for Hobson’s work and the needs of people in recovery but said the board lacks authority to change zoning definitions. After deliberation members voted to sustain the director’s findings but instructed staff to allow occupants through July 1 to relocate. The motion to sustain the planning director’s findings, with the July 1 vacate date, was seconded by Jim and carried by voice vote; the record does not include a roll‑call tally of individual votes.

The board’s decision sustains the zoning violation finding and provides a timetable for compliance; it does not change the ordinance definitions or permit group‑living facilities in RM‑2.