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Altoona council adopts licensing rules for halfway, recovery and boarding houses after public concern over 1,500-foot rule
Summary
Altoona City Council voted 5–1 to adopt a new licensing ordinance for halfway houses, recovery residences and boarding/rooming facilities that creates application, inspection and separation rules; public commenters and some members warned the 1,500-foot separation and a four-person occupancy cap could reduce housing options and raise fair-housing questions.
Altoona City Council voted 5–1 to adopt a new ordinance establishing a licensing program for halfway houses, recovery residences, rooming and boarding houses and similar facilities, adding a new Chapter 571 to the city code.
The ordinance, moved for adoption by Councilman Ickes and seconded by Councilman Ellis, sets application and inspection requirements and includes spacing and occupancy provisions that critics at the podium said could limit housing access for vulnerable residents. Mayor Matt Pacifico cast the lone vote against adoption.
Why it matters: supporters said the measure addresses safety and substandard conditions found in some group-living facilities and brings those sites under the city's rental-inspection and code-enforcement frameworks. Opponents — including family-services providers and recovery-home operators — said the spacing requirement and an occupancy cap risk running…
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