French Park Hospice Zoning OKd

To pave the way for an AIDS hospice in the French Park neighborhood, the City Council has amended a zoning ordinance to allow the hospice and other “care homes” to open.

The French Park Neighborhood Assn. has supported the Mercy House hospice, and association member Debbie McEwen said she doubts that the new zoning will result in a large number of care homes that could serve clients ranging from the homeless to drug addicts.

“This took care of our requirements of being a caring neighborhood,” McEwen said. But she said that if too many care homes are built in the neighborhood, which is designated a historical area, they would spoil its charm.

McEwen noted that a center for homeless men and another for single women and their children already border the mostly residential French Park, known for its turn-of-the-century homes.

The nearby care homes are in another neighborhood, said Robyn Uptegraff, the city’s executive director of planning and building.

While the new zoning allows for care homes in French Park, each project must receive a conditional-use permit from the city. The permits are meant to ensure that projects are compatible with surrounding neighborhoods by monitoring factors such as the number of clients at a facility, according to a city staff report.

The proposed Mercy House project in French Park must still win approval of the City Council.