A substance-abuse recovery home for up to 20 men in Golden Gate was unanimously approved by the Collier County Planning Commission, despite neighbors opposing adding a second group home to the property.
Planning commissioners recommended approval of nonprofit David Lawrence Centers’ Hope Home II on 0.47 acres at 3150 62nd St. SW, and to rezone the property from mixed-use to an institutional-use subdistrict. The petitions will go before the Board of County Commissioners on March 25 for a final decision.
DLC’s land-use attorney, Rich Yovanovich, called neighbors’ claims that it would increase crimes a “scare tacit,” and provided an expert from the Collier County Sheriff’s Office to disprove it with statistics. DLC Chief Operating Officer Nancy Dauphinais told commissioners they researched several larger recovery homes in Florida, but smaller recovery homes are more successful.
“They all are operating in residential neighborhoods, next to brand new homes where construction is going up, and people are moving in — not away from those neighborhoods,” Dauphinais said. “… Most research supports that there are lower crime rates, lower rates of homelessness and lower rates of recidivism in communities that have recovery residences.”
She noted more than 50 studies show there is no impact on property values, while some found values increase because recovery homes promote stability in the community.
Although DLC’s request is inconsistent with the goals and policies of the county’s urban Golden Gate Estates Master Plan, county staff agreed there’s a need for recovery residences near DLC, the county’s main mental health provider.
In its application, DLC pointed out the Collier County Strategic Plan recommends supporting organizations that provide human services, including mental health services, for the overall benefit of the county. And county commissioners unanimously adopted the County Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Strategic Plan 2020-24, which recommended dramatically increasing supportive residences for residents recovering from substance abuse disorders.
The property was originally developed as a single-family home in 1980 and was purchased for $630,000 in 2019 by DLC, which converted the house into a recovery home for six men, a family-care residence focusing on drug rehabilitation. Under the current Estates zoning designation, those are allowed as long as 1,000 feet separate it from homes and there are no more than six patients. DLC’s proposed growth-management plan amendment would establish a new institutional subdistrict to allow a second, larger recovery residence.
Hope Home, which opened in 2020, is “democratically run as a functional equivalent to a family and will evict any resident who returns to alcohol or substance abuse.” Two senior residents supervise the home, which is certified by the Florida Association of Recovery Residents and follows National Association of Recovery Residences standards.
DLC noted that since it opened, it’s had a waiting list and DLC has consistently seen residents gain long-term sobriety, 100% returned to gainful employment and there have been no law enforcement issues.
Planning & Zoning Director Mike Bosi told planning commissioners DLC originally proposed a home for 30 men, but county staff suggested 26 and said required setbacks and other property restrictions mean activity won’t be directed toward abutting neighbors on 60th Street SW, but toward the west, the canal and Interstate 75.
“With that and with the restrictions, we really think that it will be on the outskirts of the individual neighborhood and not provide a negative detrimental effect,” Bosi told commissioners.
Neighbors cited concerns over increases in robberies, burglaries and other crimes and noted studies show about 55% of clients return to substance abuse after staying in sober houses.
Dauphinais disputed those statistics but conceded that if a client doesn’t maintain long-term sobriety and returns to substance abuse, it’s a chronic medical condition like diabetes or heart disease, so symptoms may recur, but patients are managed in medically appropriate ways.
DLC CEO Scott Burgess assured residents and commissioners that Hope Home II residents would undergo background checks to ensure they have no sexual or violent criminal history and would go through a clinical screening. He called it a “perfect location” because it won’t impact the neighborhood, is close to major roadways, grocery stores, restaurants and DLC’s main campus.
“Having access to I-75 and major corridors for people to get to work is very helpful for their ability to find work and continue to work,” Burgess said. “When you look at these types of residences, you want them to have close proximity to groceries and other types of things that are necessary for somebody to sustain and survive and thrive and that checks all those boxes.”
