Large crowd opposes halfway house
By CHRISTINE HAINES
chaines@yourmvi.com
It will be more than a month before the Fallowfield Township Zoning Hearing Board makes a decision about whether a halfway house for addicts will be permitted in a residential neighborhood, but the views of the public were clear Thursday.
Approximately 100 people attended the zoning hearing for the halfway house proposed for a former personal care home at 1039 Fourth St. Extension that is owned by Von and Bobbie Braddock. Fallowfield Township supervisors have already voted against a conditional use permit for the facility, and that denial is being appealed to the zoning hearing board.
Braddock testified that he operated the personal care home for more than 10 years, but closed it in July 2018 after it dropped to just four residents after state law changed to make it easier for people to afford personal care in their own homes. Braddock said switching to a home for people in recovery is the most economically realistic move.
“Personal care is not feasible. To change that to a single-family home is not cost effective,” Braddock said.
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