HomeMy WebLinkAboutHE Determination SP 2021-004 Matias Sober Home Public Service Facility Level II CITY OF PASCO HEARING EXAMINER
FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS OF LAW,AND DECISION
DECISION
"Sober Home" Community Service Facility (Level II)
Special Permit Request, SP 2021-004
April 28, 2021
1. FINDINGS OF FACT
1.1 Proposal. Special Permit request to operate a"Sober Home" Community Service
Facility (Level II) on a .13 acre parcel. The project is intended for men with alcohol and drug
disabilities and mental health issues requiring supportive housing. The Applicant indicated to
Department of Corrections that it would provide transitional housing to the general public;
accept male clients with Community Supervision requirements with the WA State Dept. of
Corrections; and, participate in the Earned Release Date Housing Voucher Program.' With four
bathrooms, a kitchen, dining area, common living area, and utility room, the residence would
house 8-12 men.2 The original SEPA Checklist references "add[ing] a room where the porch
[is]"; it is not clear if this is still planned. The Applicant was not present at the hearing to clarify.
1.2 Location. 711 West Octave Street, Pasco, WA. Parcel No. 112 153 107. The
house is within a residential area and is one block from the Captain Gray STEM Elementary
School, where 640 students are enrolled, and one block west of Pasco High School, where 2,373
students are enrolled. A day-care facility is proximate.
1.3 Applicant Code Compliance History. Ines Matias/Carlos Villa, 74104 N SR
225, Benton City, WA 99320. Over the last 17 years, City of Pasco Code Enforcement has cited
the Applicant for civil violations, including failure to obtain business licenses, illegal rentals, and
illegal dividing the structure into a duplex. Eight complaints were filed between 2011 and
present, with 10 civil infractions confirmed in 2017.
1.4 Site and Surrounding Zoning/Uses. The site is zoned R-1 (Low-Density
Residential) and is occupied with a single-family dwelling unit and garage with a carport.
Surrounding properties are zoned and developed as follows:
• North R-1 Single Family Homes
• East R-1 Single Family Homes
• South R-1/0 Single Family Homes/Vacant
• West R-1 Single Family Homes
' This is from a Dept.of Corrections application,not the City Application,so may not be correct.The City
application says the project is"Renting for Sober Home,"with nothing further,though the form requests detail.
2 Dept. of Corrections application shows 8;initial SEPA Checklist lists 10-12.
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1.5 Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan designation is Low Density
Residential. The Plan encourages the development of housing for all economic segments of the
City's population and the dispersal of special needs housing throughout the community, in a way
which blends in with surrounding neighborhoods. Established neighborhoods are to be
maintained and the City is to ensure new neighborhoods are safe and enjoyable places to live.3
1.6 Evidence Reviewed. The Examiner admitted the Community and Economic
Development Department's ("Department") Staff Report, which attached maps (overview,
vicinity, land use, zoning, and plan), photographs, and the notice of application. After the
hearing, the Department provided the application, initial and revised SEPA Checklist, and
MDNS.
1.7 SEPA. The City of Pasco issued an unappealed Mitigated Determination of Non-
Significance.4 SEPA review is complete.
1.8 Hearing. An open record public hearing was held April 14, 2021.Due to COVID-
19 restrictions, the hearing was conducted remotely, with the Examiner and Department calling
in. Access information was available to the public to allow citizens to join via either a video link
or telephone call-in. There were no reported technical difficulties during the call or afterwards.
However, in case any citizens who wished to comment had difficulty calling in, the record was
kept open through April 15. No additional written comments were received. At the hearing, the
Department, through Mr. Adams, summarized the project. The Applicant did not appear and no
member of the public indicated a wish to comment.
1.9 Notice. Hearing notice was mailed to property owners within 300 feet and
published in the Tri-City Herald. Code required notice requirements were met.5
1.10 Use Operation and Management. The Staff Report indicates house rules
include: (1) no drug or alcohol use/possession; and, (2) DOC supervision requirements. The
SEPA Checklist says a security officer will stop by once a week to check on residents.
Professional qualifications and standards for resident assessment are not identified. No
Mitigation Plan was provided and how the use will operate is unknown. When residents lapse in
recovery, how this will be addressed is not disclosed. The Applicant does not identify behavior
protocols, management, and provision of support services. It is not known what services will be
provided and how the facility will be managed to ensure its integration and safe operation in an
area immediately proximate to two K-12 schools and a day-care facility. It is unknown exactly
how many individuals will be housed, and the strategy for ensuring individuals successfully
transition out of the facility. Applicant qualifications for managing this use are not disclosed.
1.11 Access. West Octave Street.
1.12 Traffic/Parking. Two vehicles could be accommodated on site. Street/alley
parking is available. No other information was provided on expected vehicle use, parking
availability, and expected transportation impacts. The site lacks direct transit access.
3 Plan,Goal LU-3; Staff Report,pp. 1-2,and Goal H-1,Policy H-1-C;Goal H-2.
4 Staff Report,p.2;MDNS(March 29,2021).
5 Staff Report,p.4;PMC 25.200.070 and 25.210.040.
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1.13 Utilities. Water is available from West Octave Street. Sewer service is located in
the alley behind.
1.14 Fire Safety. The MDNS imposed fire sprinkler and fire alarm conditions.
1.15 Staff Report. Except as the Decision revises it, the Staff Report is incorporated.
2. CONCLUSIONS
The proposal is classified as a Community Service Facility, Level II, which include "drug
abuse and alcoholic treatment centers, halfway houses, ... correctional work release facilities, ...
community service housing, ... and other similar uses which provide social, health and welfare
service for citizens...."6 The use requires requires a special permit. The Hearing Examiner may
only grant a special permit if the proposal adequately addresses whether or not:
(1) The proposal is in accordance with the goals, policies, objectives, maps
and/or narrative text of the Comprehensive Plan;
(2) The proposal will adversely affect public infrastructure;
(3) The proposal will be constructed, maintained and operated to be in harmony
with the existing or intended character of the general vicinity;
(4) The location and height of proposed structures and the site design will
discourage the development of permitted uses on property in the general vicinity
or impair the value thereof,
(5) The operations in connection with the proposal will be more objectionable to
nearby properties by reason of noise, fumes, vibrations, dust, traffic, or flashing
lights than would be the operation of any permitted uses within the district; and
(6) The proposal will endanger the public health or safety if located and
developed where proposed, or in any way will become a nuisance to uses
permitted in the district.8
The Comprehensive Plan provides for meeting a variety of housing needs in a way which
supports and is compatible with existing residential neighborhoods. Bringing 8-12 individuals
with a variety of mental, addiction, and prison backgrounds, without any plan for resident
integration into the community, and how occupants will be adequately supported to ensure their
recovery, fails to meet Plan policies and goals. It is not clear how relapse issues and other
behavioral challenges stemming from the trauma these individuals have experienced will be
addressed. This is likely to cause these individuals grave harm. No evidence was presented to
demonstrate the use will be professionally operated by qualified individuals, in harmony with the
6 PMC 25.15.050.
'PMC 25.45.040;PMC 25.200.020(4);PMC 25.15.050.
8 PMC 25.200.080.
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character of the surrounding residential community, including the high school, elementary
school, and day care facility.
Limited information on supporting infrastructure is in the record. While utilities are
present, it is not clear how resident transportation and parking needs will be addressed. Structure
height will not change with the proposal, but an unprofessionally managed use has the potential
to discourage development of permitted uses in the vicinity. The use is not proximate to transit
service, it is not known how professional health services will be provided, as none were detailed,
and it is not clear how behavioral challenges will be addressed.
The use presumably would not have significant fume, vibration, dust, or flashing light
issues. However, as no operational protocols or management plan was provided, and the
Applicant was not present at the hearing to address questions, noise may be an issue. And, it is
not known how transportation impacts will be addressed. These questions are accentuated due to
the conflicting information on occupant number.
A lack of information was submitted with the proposal, the Applicant did not attend the
hearing to address questions, and the location is less than ideal (no transit service, two schools,
and one day-care). Virtually no attention was paid to the necessary health and human services
which must be provided to ensure occupants are safely and responsibly provided a home. The
proposal as presented is not consistent with the public health and safety. It is not in harmony with
and was not demonstrated to support the surrounding community. This is coupled the
Applicant's poor record of code compliance. The use should be denied.
DECISION
The Hearing Examiner, pursuant to the above Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law,
denies the requested Special Permit.
Absent a timely appeal,this Decision is final.9
DECISION entered April 28, 2021.
City of Pasco Hearing Examiner
Susan Elizabeth Drummond
9 See Ch.36.70C RCW(establishing 21 day appeal period to superior court,and setting forth necessary petition for
review contents,along with filing and service requirements).
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