A proposal to allow three elderly and disabled individuals to live in a house in North Little Rock’s Lakewood subdivision is meeting resistance from city officials who say the arrangement isset up as a business.
Legislation to grant a special-use permit and to rezone the house at 4404 Arlington Drive, just off Fairway Avenue, will be considered by the North Little Rock City Council on Monday.
The application for theproposed House of Three goes to the City Council almost six weeks after the Planning Commission denied the application in an 8-0 vote with one member absent.
The city’s position is that the House of Three, operatedby Koy Butler of Lonoke, is a business that is inappropriate to have within a residential neighborhood, said Deputy City Attorney Matt Fleming.
The rezoning request is to change the home’s zoning from R-1 to R-2, both single-family designations. The difference between the two classifications is that a special-use permit is required for a business license at the Arlington Drive location. Special uses aren’t allowed in an R-1 zone, but are in R-2.
“It’s right in the middle of the Lakewood residential area,” Fleming said. “The House of Three is a for-profit business. It’s not your typical landlord-tenant relationship, because it’s not just providing the typical landlord services.”
The residence is owned by Butler’s company, Vandelay Industries. The setup would allow three elderly and/or disabled individualsand a caretaker to live in the home with round-the-clock care, according to its website, houseofthree.net. Butler is a former nursing-home administrator, according to the website.
“We think they provide services that raise it to the type of relationship that requires a rezoning,” Fleming said.
Stephen Giles, a Little Rock attorney for the company, counters that the property will still be for residential purposes. There wouldn’t be any changes to the exterior to show that it was anything other than a home, he added.
“It will not change the character of the residential use of the neighborhood in any manner,” he said. “Yeah,there will be some traffic, but it will be much lower than for many homes that have teenaged kids with cars and have guests over and parties and friends who park on the street.”
Though it is a for-profit company, Giles said that distinction is “without a whole lot of merit” under the proposal. There are also protections for the disabled under the federal Fair Housing Act that provides disabled individuals to be “entitled to the same amenities as anyone who is not disabled,” Giles said.
“The city has determined that, hey, it’s a business and no business can operate in an R-1 designation,” Giles said. “We’re really trying to demonstrate to the City Council that, aside from theFair Housing Act, this is a very reasonable use. It just so happens that the city’s zoning code provides it to be rezoned, which is a very difficult burden.”
Five people spoke against the application at the Nov. 13 Planning Commission meeting, mainly worried about retaining the character of the residential neighborhood and a possible negative effect on surrounding homes.
A letter of support has been sent to aldermen from Jerry Copeland of North Little Rock, who wrote in part that the project “is a great way to help people with disabilities.”
There is a House of Three at 23 Lyric Lane in Little Rock’s Leawood Heights, Giles said. That house was purchased by Koy and Laura Butler in October 2012 for $225,000, according to real-estate transactions records.
“If you drive by there, you would not be able to tell at any time of the day that it’s anything other than a single-family residence,” Giles said.
The House of Three hasn’t opened at the Arlington Drive location yet, but Butler’s company has purchased the property and made changes “in anticipation of having it there,” Fleming said.
Arkansas, Pages 15 on 12/22/2013