Springfield groups push back against Ability Housing settlement

Some Springfield community groups are pushing back against a settlement deal that would end a lengthy dispute over a plan to house homeless, disabled persons.

WOKV first told you last week that settlement documents have been filed with the City Council to end multiple federal lawsuits. The lawsuits stem from a plan by Ability Housing to renovate a building in Springfield to provide apartments for homeless veterans with a mental or chronic physical illness. The City denied the needed approval for the project, claiming it didn't fit within the zoning of the area. Ability Housing, Disability Rights of Florida, and ultimately the Justice Department as well, all filed suit, saying the denial was discriminatory against disabled persons.

If the City Council signs on, the settlement would mean the City pays Ability Housing $400,000, pays DRF $25,000, and pays the Justice Department a civil penalty of $25,000.  The City would also establish a $1.5 million grant to develop “Permanent Supportive Housing” for persons with disabilities, and that grant would be awarded through a competitive bid.

Additionally, the settlement lays the groundwork for changes in zoning laws in order to make sure they don’t infringe on any rights, and provide for potential accommodations for disabled persons. This package of changes has also been filed for City Council consideration, and that’s where the community groups have some concerns.

Christina Parrish, the Executive Director of the Springfield Preservation and Revitalization Council, says they’re worried these changes were introduced outside of the normal vetting process. The special zoning overlay in Springfield which prohibits community residential homes, nursing homes, group care homes and similar facilities would be removed, under the proposal.

“They did not carefully consider how the proposed changes might affect the existing zoning laws, and how they’ll affect development of the communities that are effected,” Parrish says.

The overlay is designed to protect the historic qualities of Springfield. Parrish believes there is room for change, but not by imposing these changes that she believes haven’t been fully screened.

“Now would be an ideal time for the City Council to say ‘Let’s go back and take a look at the entire overlay and consider how we can best revise it to meet all the needs of the community’,” she says.

The SPAR Board of Directors held a special meeting this week and voted unanimously to oppose the legislation because of the way the zoning changes have been proposed. They added that they don’t believe the changes achieve the stated purpose of the settlement- to protect the rights of disabled citizens to live where they choose- and instead make Springfield “the default and de facto area in Jacksonville for disabled housing”.

The Springfield Improvement Association and Archives also is organizing against the settlement. They held a meeting this week to speak about “how devastating the outcome could be for Historic Springfield and the severe impact on all other neighborhoods in Jacksonville.”

Parrish says they feel like they were painted in these lawsuits as a community that promotes discrimination against the disabled, and that’s not the case.

“Hopefully, the end result of all this will be changes that will allow disabled folks to live in whatever part of Jacksonville they choose to live in, and the City will find ways to support appropriate housing,” she says.

The bills are all in front of the City Council, and face votes in the coming weeks.

Neither side admits wrongdoing in the settlements and both maintain their respective arguments.