Board grants use variance allowing transitional recovery housing at 1814 Clarendon Avenue

The Middletown Board of Zoning Appeals voted to grant a use variance permitting Modern Psychiatry and Wellness LLC to operate a transitional recovery house at 1814 Clarendon Avenue, a property zoned I-2 General Industrial.

Staff told the board that the property is a legally nonconforming residential structure located within an industrial zoning district and that transitional housing is prohibited in I-2 (Middletown Development Code table 12 o 4-3). The property owner and tenant were contacted after city staff determined no certificate of zoning compliance had been submitted for the use; the owner and tenant pursued the variance to bring the property into compliance.

Dr. Quentin Moss, identified himself as the psychiatrist, CEO and owner of Modern Psychiatry and Wellness; attorney Theresa Bamburger represented the applicant at the hearing and walked the board through the use-variance standards. Bamburger said the property is a small residential lot with no room for industrial uses, with on-street parking and a narrow alley in back, and she argued the property could not reasonably be put to any permitted industrial uses. She said the house would continue to be maintained as a residential structure and that the transitional house serves residents who have already completed treatment and are seeking a supervised, neighborhood-based residence while they continue recovery and gain employment.

Dr. Moss described program operations and house rules: curfew and quiet hours, no illicit substance use on the property, no firearms, maintenance of yard and exterior appearance, and an on-site house manager with mobile case managers and periodic supervisory visits. He said the organization is pursuing Ohio Recovery Housing certification and that the state’s site review was pending. The applicant also noted that people in recovery are a protected class under federal and state laws and asked the board to consider that context in its review.

Board members discussed the long-term land-use plan that shows the area as industrial in the future but noted that the neighborhood remains comprised of small houses. After deliberation, a member moved to approve the use variance, citing the code criteria; the motion passed on roll-call vote: David Cash — yes; Stefan Wanamaker — yes; Gary Gross — yes; Thomas Evans — yes; AJ Mintel — yes; Jerry Heidenreich — yes.

Staff and the applicant confirmed that once the variance was approved the request for a reasonable accommodation under federal disability law was moot because the use variance allows the use. The approval resolves variance case 26-25 and permits Modern Psychiatry and Wellness to continue operating the transitional house at 1814 Clarendon Avenue subject to any state certification site visit and standard local permitting.