A proposal to convert a long-vacant motel and restaurant north of Hillsboro into a transitional housing center for homeless people appears to be on the ropes.
The Jefferson County Council voted 3-2 on July 24 against approving a conditional-use permit that would allow the New Hope Outreach Center, described as a religious sanctuary and rehabilitation center, on the site of the former Opal’s Motel and Restaurant at 9637 Old Hwy. 21.
The council likely will discuss the issue at a future meeting to determine whether to place a resolution on a subsequent agenda to deny the application or to vote again to approve the conditional-use permit.
Three people told the council they were against the plans for the facility that eventually could house a maximum of 20 people; no one spoke in favor of it.
The Jefferson County Planning and Zoning Commission, which advises the County Council on land-use issues in unincorporated areas, voted 6-2 on July 13 to recommend approval of the permit.
The 5.89-acre site includes two buildings that were used for motel rooms and a third that was a restaurant.
New Hope Outreach Center, a ministry of New Hope Fellowship Church of High Ridge, is requesting the conditional-use permit.
“People have raised a lot of concerns about it,” said Councilman Bob Tullock (District 7, House Springs).
He also said he had questions about staffing at the center.
“One of the conditions in the bill states that there would be at least one staff member for every 10 residents. The way I read it is if they have one to 10 residents, there should be one member of the staff present,” he said.
County Counselor Jalesia F.M. Kuenzel said the bill doesn’t specify around-the-clock staffing at the center.
“But in the bill itself,” Tullock said, “there is no distinguishable time frame, whether it’s in the morning or evening.”
Kasey Kindt, a member of the church’s pastoral staff, told the P and Z board that a “top-notch” security service would be employed for the facility, and that once a mobile home on the site is replaced with a building for additional rooms, bringing the number of residents above 10, a staff member would be on site around the clock.
“There’s no statement (from New Hope on around-the-clock staffing that) it could be a week, a month, a year, whatever, but we’re including it as a condition,” Tullock said. “As I understand it, these folks are going to be able to come and go as they please – there’s nothing restricting them – during the evening hours, and a lot of people in the area are extremely concerned about that, and justifiably so.”
Councilman Gene Barbagallo (District 2, Imperial) and Charles Groeteke (District 4, Barnhart) also voted against the permit.
Barbagallo said he shared Tullock’s concerns about staffing at the center, and Groeteke said he also was concerned that the site is partially in the floodway and floodplain of Sandy Creek, which runs along the back side of the site.
Groeteke said he also had questions about the reactivation of a sewage lagoon on the site.
County planning staff told P and Z commissioners that the lagoon would have to conform with current regulations, and Kindt said New Hope would hook onto the Hillsboro sewer system once lines are extended to the area.