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Councilors raise concerns about concentration of rehab and transitional housing, law director to review zoning
Summary
Councilors expressed constituent concern that multiple rehab/transitional facilities may be clustering in certain wards. Law Director Costa Mastros said zoning rules limit facility proximity and will research additional options; Mr. Mayo urged a broader zoning review to ensure consistent treatment across wards.
Council members spent an extended portion of the administrative report discussing zoning and whether the city is seeing an increasing concentration of rehabilitation or transitional housing facilities.
Mr. Albaugh said he had heard "rumor" that new rehab housing and other conversions were being bought in the city and said he was concerned Steubenville might become "a city of transitional housing and rehab housing." He asked how the city could "curtail that." Law Director Costa Mastros responded that existing zoning rules limit how close certain facilities may be to one another and said he would research whether further zoning changes are appropriate. "We do have on the books... zoning laws that will... limit the number of those facilities that can be in proximity to one another," Mastros said.
Mr. Mayo pressed for a systematic review, saying some wards appear more open to such uses than others and requesting a consistent, citywide comparison of zoning allowances before applications proceed to hearings. Mastros agreed to look into options and return with possible approaches, while stressing the need to interpret current laws "objectively" and to balance neighborhood protections with being business-friendly.
