Green Level council denies zoning appeal for family care home over half-mile rule

The Town of Green Level Council on March 26 denied Lesley Carter’s appeal of a zoning permit for a proposed family care home, finding the property lay within the town’s required half-mile separation from another boarding or rooming house.

Town Administrator Barrett Brown told the council that the permit was denied because the proposed home was within the separation distance stated in the Town Code § 153.182 (Boarding and Rooming Houses). Brown said the distance was measured by driving the route, using the odometer reading, and by a GIS radius search, which showed the two properties to be approximately 0.3–0.36 miles apart.

The town attorney, Eugene Russell, told the council the ordinance’s mileage limitation could be revised, but that any change would require drafting an amendment, placing it on a future council agenda, referral to the Planning Board and a public hearing. “Since it is the mile distance that is the limitation, it can be modified to be a shorter distance,” Russell said.

Mayor Remonia Enoch, who moved to deny the appeal, said she believed the family care home would be "a great service to the community" but warned that granting an exception or changing the ordinance in this instance could lead to broader changes in how the separation rule is applied. Mayor Pro-Tem Patricia Jones, who seconded the denial, recalled a prior similar appeal that had been denied for the same reason. Councilmember Hosea McBroom asked for clarification on how the distance was measured; Brown described both the driven odometer method and the GIS check.

On the motion to deny the appeal, Mayor Remonia Enoch moved and Mayor Pro-Tem Patricia Jones seconded. Enoch, Jones and McBroom voted yes; Councilmember Stephanie Enoch abstained. The motion passed by a 3-0 vote. Afterward Mayor Pro-Tem Jones moved to adjourn, Councilmember Stephanie Enoch seconded, and the council adjourned at 6:23 p.m.

No ordinance change was proposed or adopted at the March 26 meeting; Attorney Russell outlined the procedural steps required should the council choose to pursue an amendment at a future meeting.