LAKEVIEW — A long-awaited zoning hearing Friday had both sides of the proposed Rosecrance center in Lakeview champing at the bit, but no decision has been made.
It took eight hours for both sides to lay out their cases before the Zoning Board of Appeals, which must grant Rosecrance a special use permit before the nonprofit can open the addiction recovery residence at 3701 N. Ashland Ave.
The board typically makes its decision after the hearing, and with the long, late hours on Friday, it could be several days before it is announced.
One point of contention were the conditions Ald. Tom Tunney's laid out Thursday before he said he'd agree to support the project.
Tunney (44th) asked that Rosecrance comply with a Good Neighbor Agreement, keep the special-use permit nontransferrable, set a two-year expiration on the special-use permit and cap the number of residents at 18 for the first year of operation.
Rosecrance said Friday it could not comply with the last two requirements, believing that limiting the number of residents and setting a time limit on the permit would violate fair housing laws that protect people in recovery.
And yet, Tunney hesitated to withdraw his support.
"I believe they can do the job, [and] I believe the need is there. But I also believe there needs to be some checks and balances because it is a new and, I believe, lucrative market in Chicago they're entering for the first time," Tunney said Friday afternoon.
While Rosecrance stressed that it needed at least 24 full beds to be financially viable, Tunney said the nonprofit should "look at this as an investment" and compromise with the neighborhood.
He likened the situation to the Broadway Youth Center, which entered a similar Good Neighbor Agreement with Tunney when it first opened. When it reapplied for its permit two years later, the process went smoothly, Tunney said.
The board's concerns early in the day focused on Rosecrance opening its first recovery home in an urban environment as large as Chicago. Its five homes currently are located in Rockford and Woodstock, and while CEO Philip Eaton said that Rockford is the third-largest city in Illinois, it didn't hold water with the board.
"This would be the first home you'd have in a densely populated, urban area. People in Rockford might think they're urban. I don't," said board chair Jonathan Swain.
Neighbors have raised the issue that Rosecrance hasn't prepared for the differences between a 30-bed apartment building in Lakeview and the large, secluded homes with sprawling campuses.
Those opposed have also said the transitional nature of the residence — which would have stays between a month to 1½ years — would clash with west Lakeview's single family homes and family environment.
To that, Swain countered that temporary housing situations like single-room occupancy hotels, domestic violence shelters and vacation rentals are all permitted under current zoning regulations. Why, he asked, would a recovery home be different?
Neighbors who insisted they support addiction treatment services found the question difficult to answer.
For the first time, opposing neighbors raised the issue that Rosecrance does not offer special programs for members of the LGBTQ community — an issue of importance with its proposed proximity to Boystown and a large gay community. Psychologist Stacey Belmont testified that such services were desperately needed for gay people coping with addiction to succeed in recovery.
Rosecrance clarified that it does not discriminate against anyone seeking treatment and has specialty tracks for people in the LGBTQ community.
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