Members of the public crowd into Centralia City Hall earlier this month for a public hearing about a zoning ordinance during a meeting of the city council.
The Centralia City Council is set to consider amendments to an interim zoning ordinance Tuesday, including distance setbacks for certain facilities, one week after the company which made the inquiry prompting the interim ordinance pulled its application for a special use permit.
The council enacted the interim ordinance on April 9 to update portions of Centralia Municipal Code 20.66, including the addition of definitions for Essential Public Facilities and Essential Services Facilities. The latter is the official term for a state-licensed, residential psychiatric facility that Noble Healthcare, LLC sought to operate at 1215 S. Tower Ave. across from the Centralia Christian School.
The amended ordinance contained within the agenda packet for Tuesday’s city council meeting contains changes to limit special use permit applications for ESFs to locations zoned M-1 or M-2 for industrial use. They must also be at least 1,000 feet from public parks, playgrounds, libraries, child care centers, schools, public transit centers, recreation facilities and community centers.
Additional proposed amendments include limiting special use permit applications for “homeless persons facilities” to land zoned M-2 industrial and open space/public facilities — they previously could locate in all commercial and industrial zones as well medium-high and high density residential districts. The updated ordinance would also allow special use permit applications for assisted living facilities in all residential districts as well as H-1 health services and C-1 general commercial districts. Those were previously limited to all commercial and industrial districts as well as residential districts zoned medium density or higher.
Group homes for physically or mentally disabled persons with more than six beds would be allowed, with a special use permit, to locate in H-1, C-1 and LBD (limited business districts) as well as all residential zones. Those group homes are given a different definition in the CMC than ESF or assisted living facilities.
Local residents voiced their concerns about an ESF being located close to a school during a May 14 public hearing at Centralia City Hall. Those who testified during the hearing asked the city to require a setback of at least 1,000 feet from certain public facilities for ESFs, which by state law can host former state psychiatric patients with histories of assaultive and aggressive behaviors.
The interim ordinance did not include those requirements, and the city council could not have imposed them on Noble Healthcare by amending the ordinance after it had already filed for a special use permit. It is unclear if the city hearings examiner, who was scheduled to preside over a public hearing related to the permit application on June 12, could have imposed distance-related requirements as a condition of approval. Such a decision would have likely been appealed by Noble Healthcare to Lewis County Superior Court.
Noble Healthcare co-owner Cale Wester cited the public backlash as well as deepening concerns regarding the condition of the old Sandra Care building it would have renovated for use as an ESF as reasons why the company chose to abandon the project.
Should the city council adopt the amended ordinance, it will be subject to a public hearing on June 25. Council members have until Oct. 8 to codify the ordinance, or propose additional amendments to the document.
