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Brookings council denies two Oxford House requests to exceed occupancy limits after heated hearings
Summary
After lengthy testimony from Oxford House staff, residents and neighbors, Brookings City Council voted to deny reasonable‑accommodation requests for 312 Eighth Avenue (requested 7 occupants) and 908 First Street (requested one additional occupant per unit). Council cited insufficient evidence of necessity and neighborhood impacts.
Brookings City Council denied two requests from Oxford House on Oct. 22 seeking exemptions from the city’s ordinance limiting unrelated occupants in single‑family homes.
The first hearing concerned 312 Eighth Avenue, where Oxford House asked the council to waive the city’s occupancy restriction so the home could house seven people. Oxford House representatives—including regional manager Leif Plobe and outreach worker Devin Coates—testified that the group‑run, self‑supported houses promote long‑term recovery by providing peer support, weekly house meetings, shared financial responsibility and connections to community partners such as Behavioral Health and the Salvation Army. A resident, Cameron Lara, described the house as life changing.
Neighbors and local homeowners countered that the property had been…
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