Planning board blocks Talbot House plan to relocate

LAKELAND, Fla. — Talbot House Ministries may soon need to find a new location for its proposed homeless shelter and social services campus.

Lakeland’s Planning and Zoning Board recently blocked the organization’s plan to relocate to Memorial Boulevard after months of pushback from the community. The campus would have served up to 390 people and provided long-term housing, job training and health care.

While there is still a long process ahead, residents living on Edgewater Drive say the board’s decision brought them one step closer to preserving the neighborhood they know and love.

“When we initially moved into this neighborhood, it was a very quiet and close-knit community,” longtime resident Wanda Avery said.

Avery said that she and her neighbors have worked to maintain that atmosphere over the past 20 years.

“They love this community, but they also want to protect our livelihood, our way of life here, our feeling of community,” she said.

Avery said that Talbot House Ministries’ plans to build its campus nearby could have had a negative impact. She said she was concerned about the proximity to homes and nearby schools.

“Nothing is protected. They have nothing in place to protect the five schools in the area,” Avery said. “If you count feet from the corner of Ingraham to Memorial, you’re 60 feet across the street from the opening to the school.”

City leaders said they took residents’ concerns into consideration during the most recent Planning and Zoning Board meeting. Despite the organization making several changes to its plans — including moving the building farther from homes and rotating the entrance to face North Ingraham Avenue — board members still voted to deny the proposal.

Talbot House’s attorney, Tim Campbell, warned that the decision could violate federal civil rights laws.

“It is discriminatory under the Fair Housing Act for a local government to deny a land-use approval based upon the use of the property for services which assist the homeless and disabled,” Campbell said.

However, Avery said it is also important to consider the rights of nearby residents.

“We just can’t imagine, honestly, that this has anything to do with the betterment of this community,” she said.

Talbot House has 30 days to appeal the decision to the Lakeland City Commission, which would make the final decision after a public hearing.