AIDS Hospice Loses Zoning Ruling

Los Angeles’ chief zoning administrator has reluctantly ruled that a Hollywood hospice for AIDS patients--the only one in the city and one of just a handful in the county--violates zoning laws and cannot remain in the neighborhood where it has operated for five months.

The operators of Hughes House, at 1308 N. Ogden Ave. in a neighborhood of single-family homes, say they are confident they can successfully fight the ruling and won’t have to move.

But hospice supporters, including Los Angeles Councilman Michael Woo, say the case is important because its outcome will influence the way nonprofit agencies and public officials treat future proposals for hospices, particularly those located in residential neighborhoods.

Because there are no provisions in the city zoning code for hospices, which care for the terminally ill, Hughes House officials contend that the five-bed facility is legal under state and city laws, which allow up to six unrelated people to share a single-family home. City building and safety officials agreed.

But, saying it caused him “a great deal of anguish,” Chief Zoning Administrator Franklin P. Eberhard overruled the Building and Safety Department. He likened the hospice to a hospital, which would not be permitted in the Fairfax district neighborhood where Hughes House operates from a rented home.

“This decision is not made lightly considering the impacts on the affected property and its unfortunate occupants . . .” Eberhard wrote. “It is the zoning administrator’s fervent desire that a legislative solution be found so that appropriate housing may be provided AIDS/ARC victims.”

Plans for Appeal

Lawyers for Hughes House say they will appeal Eberhard’s decision. They have until today to file their challenge with the city Board of Zoning Appeals.

Ron Wolff, executive director of Hospice Los Angeles/Long Beach, which runs Hughes House, said he was disappointed and surprised by Eberhard’s decision. However, he said he is confident that hospice lawyers will be able to win their appeal on grounds that Hughes House is not a medical facility.

“We feel that, No. 1, it’s a legal use,” Wolff said. “No. 2, the moral imperative is so overwhelming. There needs to be a place for these people to be cared for in the final stages of life.”

Eric Shockman, a spokesman for Woo, said that if the appeals board ruling goes against Hughes House, “I think we’re sending a chilling effect throughout the entire state. That chilling effect says to other social service providers who are willing to place terminally ill AIDS patients within a humane setting . . . ‘Don’t do it.’ ”

Shockman said the point of hospices is to allow terminally ill patients to spend their final days in a residential neighborhood “rather than being warehoused in an industrial or commercial zone along with potatoes or refuse.”

In Los Angeles County, public officials are just beginning to make an effort to establish hospices for those with acquired immune deficiency syndrome. In March, the county Board of Supervisors voted to commit $2 million from next year’s budget to pay for AIDS hospice programs.

In addition, Los Angeles Archbishop Roger M. Mahony announced in February that the Roman Catholic Archdiocese plans to open four hospice-style shelters for AIDS patients this year, and as many as eight more in the next several years.

As of April 30, 4,916 cases of AIDS were reported in the county; 62%, or 3,068, of those patients have died.

John Schunhoff, a staff analyst of the county health department’s AIDS program office, said he knows of only nine AIDS hospices or hospice-style residences in the county. He said Hughes House is the only one in the city, although other facilities serve as shelters for AIDS patients. With the exception of Hughes House, hospices have been placed in commercial areas or low-income neighborhoods and have not generated zoning disputes.

From its inception, Hughes House, named after Shawn Hughes, the first employee of the city of West Hollywood to die of AIDS, faced vocal opposition from its neighbors.

In numerous leaflets, petitions and letters to public officials, they have complained that the hospice is not in keeping with the character of their neighborhood and that it violates the area’s zoning designation, which permits single-family dwellings, parks and playgrounds and other non-commercial uses.

Wolff, however, said he thinks the conflict is more than a simple zoning dispute.

“I think it has a lot to do with death and it has a lot to do with fear of AIDS,” said Wolff. “What’s distressing is they’re saying: ‘Care for AIDS patients is OK as long as it’s not in my neighborhood.’ ”