‘Enough is enough.’ Lexington board votes down homeless center on city’s East Side.

A Lexington planning board voted down a special use permit for the Lexington Rescue Mission to open another location on East Fourth Street after hearing strong objections of neighbors who say the area is already saturated with homeless services and homeless people.

The Board of Adjustment voted Monday meeting 4 to 2 after a more than two hour hearing to deny Lexington Rescue Mission’s conditional use permit for a community center at 203 E. Fourth Street, which is currently an high-density apartment zone.

The Lexington Rescue Mission, which provides food, clothing, job training and other services to the homeless and the needy, has a building on 444 Glen Arvin Avenue and also has several transitional housing units. It has been in operation since 1991. The East Fourth Street location would be an additional location.

City planning staff had recommended approval of the conditional use permit for a community center.

“We want to use this for the administrative and fundraising headquarters. We are going to use it for outreach services. Clients will come in on a one-on-one basis,” said Richard Murphy, a lawyer for the Lexington Rescue Mission. “This would not be used as a shelter.”

It will open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. during the week and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Murphy said.

“The concern is that we will be attracting people that will not live in the neighborhood,” Murphy said. It will not offer meal services -- or a feeding ministry. It had originally proposed meal services but withdrew it after hearing objections from the neighborhood.

“We are agreeable to giving that up,” Murphy said. “We will not be having large gatherings.”

It also agreed not to hold outdoor worship services.

The building is owned by the Episcopal Diocese of Lexington, which also held street outreach services there. The diocese converted the building to an office building about 20 years ago. It received a conditional use permit when it purchased the building, Murphy said. The Episcopal Diocese of Lexington had allowed outdoor church services on the grounds of the building.

Mission says it will help neighborhood

Laura Carr, the executive director of Lexington Rescue Mission, said the mission’s clients are roughly half homeless and half that are housed and need help.

“We help move people out of homelessness,” Carr said. Last year, the mission housed 102 once homeless people through one of its programs. It also helped 158 individuals sign up for housing through the city’s programs.

It helped 124 people obtain state identification, a key barrier to obtaining housing and jobs. It placed 151 unemployed people into jobs.

It helped put 31 people into drug and alcohol treatment.

“If we want to improve issues in the neighborhood, we must address these problems,” Carr said.

Brian Lewis came to the Lexington Rescue Mission six years ago after leaving prison. He went through its jobs program and eventually was employed by the University of Kentucky Hospital, has passed the real estate exam and is a licensed real estate agent and is currently in college with a 3.8 grade point average.

“They opened their arms to me. I never experienced anything like it in my life,” Lewis said.

Lewis is one of several people who spoke in favor of Lexington Rescue Mission’s application, including several neighbors of the mission’s Glen Arvin Avenue location who said they have had no problems at that location. Several neighbors in the East Fourth neighborhood also spoke in favor of the mission moving to the neighborhood, saying additional services were needed.

Other nonprofits in the neighborhood including The Nest, New Life Day Center and Williams Well Brown Elementary school wrote letters supporting Lexington Rescue Mission’s application.

But that’s part of the problem, many neighbors said.

‘Over-saturation’ of agencies

“There is an over-saturation of human service agencies in the First District,” said Lexington-Fayette Urban Councilman James Brown, whose First District includes East Fourth Street.

Vice Mayor Steve Kay, who also lives in the East Fourth Street neighborhood, agreed there is an over-saturation of social service agencies in the neighborhood. Kay said he also believes that agreeing not to allow meal services and outdoor worship services will help mitigate neighbor’s concerns.

“I believe it will be an asset to the community,” Kay said.

Richard Getty, a lawyer who represents the Martin Luther King Jr. neighborhood association, said the Lexington Rescue Mission provides great services.

“No one objects to what they do,” Getty said. “What we question is the over-saturation and the impact given the problems in this area. The problems right now are severe.”

Getty also owns property in that area.

“These centers do not belong in residential areas,” Getty said. “We don’t need another one.”

Nearly 100 residents in the area signed a petition saying they did not want the Lexington Rescue Mission to locate on East Fourth Street, Getty said.

Getty said the over-saturation of nonprofits in that area should be considered when the board makes its decision.

“You reach a point where enough is enough,” Getty said. “Is it fair to the citizens of this area?”

John Morgan, who has also purchased property in the area, said New Life Day Center, which is on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, also promised that it would mitigate problems. But those problems have not been addressed despite repeated attempts to address them.

Jim Burton, who lives on MLK Boulevard, said the problems start after those social service agencies close.

“I’ve had my home broken into,” Burton said. Burton said he also had a bike stolen after a worship service on the property Lexington Rescue Mission wants to purchase.

Stephen Manella, the head of Sayre School, agreed that despite repeated pleas to city officials to help address loitering, drug use and other problems in the area, the problems have persisted.

There are several schools in the area, he said.

“When you are looking at planning and approval, can you identify any other areas with this many schools with so many social service agencies adjacent to it?” Manella said.

Others mentioned they were concerned the Lexington Rescue Mission also may serve sex offenders. It is across the street from the Living Arts and Science Center, which serves mostly children.

Lori Halligan, the executive director the Living Arts and Science Center, said she’s also concerned about parking. People already park in the center’s parking lot. There is limited street parking because of the addition of the Legacy Trail on Fourth Street, which deleted many parking spaces.

“We are concerned that they will be serving sex offenders,” Halligan said. The Living Arts and Science Center is not a school. “If we were a school, they would not be allowed to locate there.”

Halligan said the center has had repeated problems with homeless people sleeping and loitering on the property.

Board members who voted in favor of turning down the Lexington Rescue Mission’s application include: Chad Needham, Raquel Carter, Branden Gross and Harry Clarke. Board members who voted no: Joan Whitman and Thomas Glover.