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Board clears Community and Family Resources to expand recovery campus at 3451 Easton
Summary
The zoning board approved a conditional use allowing a 45,000 sq. ft. addition for an expanded addiction recovery and recovery housing campus at 3451 Easton, enabling a 12‑bed detox unit, new adult residential beds and a proposed 16‑bed adolescent residential program; staff conditions require buffers, site‑plan review and coordination on security measures with neighbors.
The Des Moines Zoning Board of Adjustment voted 7–0 to grant Community and Family Resources permission to add a 45,000‑square‑foot, three‑story expansion to its 3451 Easton Boulevard campus for a full‑service addiction recovery and recovery housing program.
Senior planner Frank Dunn Young summarized the application as a conditional use for group living (not otherwise classified) after the property was rezoned to RX‑1 in 2022. The proposed campus would include outpatient services, administrative space, a 12‑bed detox facility, adult residential units and a proposed adolescent residential program of about 16 beds. Staff’s assessment said the facility would serve roughly 45–60 outpatient clients daily, staff about 50 employees across shifts, and house approximately 62 residents in short‑term stays (four to five weeks for adults; two to three months for adolescents). Staff recommended approval with conditions, emphasizing site plan, building and fire code compliance, preservation/enhancement of natural buffers, fencing and the ability for the zoning enforcement officer to request reconsideration if the operation became a nuisance.
Michelle Delariva, executive director of Community and Family Resources, told the board the nonprofit operates local residential and outpatient programs and argued the colocated model improves retention and continuity of care (clients leaving detox are more likely to enter residential care when it is attached to the same campus). Delariva highlighted the agency’s long track record (more than 55 years), the voluntary nature of stays, 24/7 staffing, monitoring systems and a commitment to preserve trees and work with neighbors on security and buffers.
Support came from a nearby resident who has lived on Easton since 1987 and described the agency as a responsible neighbor. Opposition speakers included a pastor and representatives of two nearby schools (St. Joseph’s and Grandview Christian School) who asked for clear routing and fencing to keep clinic clients from cutting across school grounds during class and activities and requested coordination to protect students during drop‑off and pick‑up.
Board members noted the city’s shortage of adolescent residential capacity and that integrated detox‑residential programs can reduce recidivism. They approved the staff conditions and urged staff and the applicant to work with the school and church on detailed site‑plan mitigation (buffering, internal fencing, routing) and security measures. The motion carried 7–0.
The approval advances the project to detailed site plan, engineering and permit review. Staff emphasized the conditional use may be reconsidered if the zoning enforcement officer documents repeated violations or nuisance conditions.
