County owes explanation
A group home for troubled teens is not exactly the type of business that Uniontown approves for its Central Business District. But neither is an overcrowded prison that counts among its inmates suspected murderers. Uniontown is stuck with the Fayette County Prison. That stone prison connected by a walkway to the courthouse was constructed more than a century ago and long before the city had such modern planning tools as zoning laws and a comprehensive land-use plan. We have long questioned the wisdom of expanding the prison on its current site, both for the hardship it places on the city and for the fact that it fails to solve some of the current problems of shoving so many prisoners onto a small lot that offers limited outdoor exercise area to inmates.
We were basically alone in raising these questions. The county commissioners pushed forward without adequately reviewing other options, are nearly finished building an annex and are still considering further expansions of the prison. They didn’t need the city’s approval, nor did they ask or share much in the way of information.
Now the commissioners want to open the second floor of the former Federal Building to Adelpoi Village to run a group home for a dozen kids, that they claim are nonviolent. This time the county is obligated to explain to Uniontown why this is the best location, right in the heart of the business district.
The commissioners have already agreed to a 10-year lease deal with Adelphoi but need the city’s Zoning Hearing Board to grant a special exception to allow a group home downtown. A hearing was set for Thursday.
About 20 residents and business owners turned out. Whether they were present to just listen to the plans or to lend support or voice disapproval isn’t known, as the county stood up the zoning hearing board, sending an architect instead. The board rightly turned down the petition but noted the county could reapply.
The commissioners need to appear before the board and explain why the Federal Building is the right choice. Adelphoi needs to appear before the board and explain how its group home will be operated and what precautions will be in place to protect the kids and the public.
Instead only the architect showed. While the zoning hearing board does need to hear about such things as parking spaces, and bedroom sizes and the number of bathrooms, the city and the surrounding businesses deserve to know much more.