Lakeland’s Planning and Zoning Board voted 4-1 on Dec. 16 to block Talbot House Ministries‘ bid to relocate its homeless shelter to Memorial Boulevard, despite warnings from the organization’s attorney that the decision could violate federal civil rights laws.
The board denied a zoning change for a 72,000-square-foot facility at the southeast corner of Memorial Boulevard and North Ingraham Avenue, leaving the project’s future in doubt.
The proposed facility would have replaced Talbot House’s 150-bed campus at 814 N. Kentucky Ave. with a larger, modernized complex of up to 390 beds that would focus less on emergency overnight shelter and more on longer-term housing, job training and health care.
Attorney warns of legal risk
Talbot House attorney Tim Campbell told board members that denying the application could violate the federal Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act…