Zoning Abuse Hurts Those in Need Across the Country, Lakeland Is Up Next

For more than 45 years, Talbot House Ministries, in Lakeland, Florida, has been a beacon of hope for the homeless and those in need. The organization offers overnight housing, food, an on-site medical clinic, and other resources, for people with limited financial means or no insurance. Now, Talbot House is planning to open a new location to meet growing needs, but it is facing tension and opposition from the community it wants to help.

The proposed location of the new facility, which is zoned non-residential, has raised concerns among residents, who worry the facility could drive down property values, increase crime, and have a negative impact on their neighborhood. Certainly, people should feel safe in their homes, but fears based on stereotypes aren’t based in fact, and governments cannot rely on them when making zoning decisions. Instead, governments should regulate based on the ways land is used, not who uses the land. This is something the city of Lakeland should consider as it approaches zoning decisions.   

Governments across the country have run into trouble by making discriminatory zoning decisions related to shelters. Last winter, for instance, the Flathead Warming Center faced a similar fight in Kalispell, Montana, that resulted in the city illegally revoking the shelter’s permit to operate at the behest of residents right as winter was setting in. The Institute for Justice partnered with the shelter to file a lawsuit challenging the city’s actions. A federal judge ruled Kalispell’s actions were unconstitutional, and the case settled shortly afterward.

Like in Lakeland, nearby residents expressed concerns about crime and public safety. And if the city of Lakeland isn’t careful, it could find itself in the same situation as Kalispell.

Property owners have a right to use their properties peacefully and productively, whether to solve social problems, create affordable housing, or open a small business. Private charities improve communities by helping to address homelessness, a public problem. In this case, nothing should stop Talbot House Ministries from building its new facility on property that it owns.

It is the right of every American to own and use his or her property freely within the rules of the law. The Institute for Justice’s Zoning Justice Project protects the freedom to use property without government abuse or overreach. There is hope for shelters like Talbot who want to give back to their community.

For instance, in North Carolina, the Catherine H. Barber Memorial Shelter was denied a permit for its new location because it was deemed not “harmonious” with the very community it served daily. The Barber Shelter was in compliance with all zoning requirements but was still denied its conditional use permit. The Barber Shelter joined with the Institute for Justice to sue the town. A federal judge agreed that this zoning abuse violated the Constitution, setting the stage for the shelter to open and setting a legal precedent for future shelters.

Zoning abuse can be so restrictive that a family cannot even build housing in their own backyard. Recently in Minnesota, Alex and Lynda Pepin applied for a permit to build an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) in their backyard to house a family in need. The family would be carefully screened by both the Pepins and a local nonprofit, and would be obligated, like any tenant, to refrain from any disruptive or un-neighborly behavior. Still, the city of Blaine denied the permit due to neighbors’ opposition. In other words, Blaine officials were fine with the presence of the ADU, just not the people that would live in it. Controlling private property for irrational or illegitimate reasons is unconstitutional. The Pepins, like all Americans, have the right to use their property freely and for good. 

The Institute for Justice continues to protect against government abuse that denies individual liberty and property rights. Kindness is not Illegal. The Constitution ensures that property owners are treated equally. Talbot House has every right to build on its own property.

Marlee Pricher is a Communications Intern at the Institute for Justice.

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