Inside the proposed HOPE Harbor building. Sydney Green | Collegian 

The Hillsdale Planning Commission voted unanimously to deny a request to convert a storage building behind Hillsdale Community Thrift into a “dwelling facility” to be used as a sober transitional housing facility at a meeting Wednesday. 

“My opinion is contrary to how I voted this evening,” Commissioner Kerry Laycock said during the meeting. “I do admire what you are doing, and I want to see a solution in our community, but our charge here is to assure compliance with the ordinance.”

The HOPE Harbor project — which stands for Hillsdale Opportunity Promoting Empowerment — aims to convert the storage building behind Hillsdale Community Thrift into a sober transitional housing facility. The effort is led by Melissa “Missy” DesJardin, who formerly ran Camp Hope before it closed Oct. 16 after the Hillsdale City Council deemed its tent structure unsafe for occupancy. 

DesJardin sought approval to turn the building into a “dwelling facility” under the city’s ordinance for the B-3 general business district. 

Laycock  said in the meeting that there is no clear category to put HOPE Harbor under in the section of allowable uses in the B-3 district. 

“For family daycare and group homes, the ordinance is very specific; it says that no dormitory facilities shall be provided or permitted,” Laycock said. “The motel use prohibits cooking facilities other than the manager or the caretaker. I don’t know a path forward out of this.”

According to DesJardin, the Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act require that cities and towns make reasonable accommodations for sober living homes. 

“People with disabilities like addiction should have equal opportunity to live in and enjoy housing,” DesJardin told The Collegian after the meeting. “All we were asking for were reasonable accommodations to afford people this, and the commission didn’t know that under federal law they have to allow for this.” 

DesJardin said she was disappointed in the outcome, as she and her team had been working to prepare the building to meet the city’s requirements. 

“The city told us we needed to move our storage containers to create a fire lane and update our documentation to reflect that our program is not a permanent housing facility,” DesJardin said. “We decided to make it a sober transitional housing facility specifically to target one of the major causes of homelessness.”  

Bethany Karn, an assertive community treatment worker who will partner with HOPE Harbor residents, emphasized the connection between substance use and homelessness. 

“Pretty much 100% of my clients have had some sort of substance use,” Karn said. “Substance use, mental health disorders, and homelessness co-occur and require intense services that offer wraparound support.” 

DesJardin said the Community Action Agency in Hillsdale plans to offer programs to the residents at HOPE Harbor to help with these issues. 

According to DesJardin, the facility would be able to hold 16 residents, with four triple bunk beds and two double bunk beds in the building. 

Keri Stewart, president of the board of directors for HOPE Harbor, said the community’s support has been significant over the past few weeks. 

“Every time there is a hurdle thrown up, something comes through — without fail,” Stewart said. “There are a lot of people helping us get over the hurdles at the same time.”

DesJardin said she is prepared to continue moving forward with her plans. 

“We are going to get a lawyer to show that we are protected under federal law and appeal to the zoning board to ask for a variance,”  DesJardin said. “It will be a struggle, but it will be just fine.”

An earlier version misnamed Commissioner Kerry Laycock.