Officials respond to neighbor concerns over sober living house

Published 4:00 pm Wednesday, January 15, 2025

WARRENTON — City officials are navigating next steps amid neighborhood concerns over plans for a sober living house in the Fort Stevens Historic Area.

Last month, at least a half-dozen neighbors shared public comment with the City Commission after learning that a duplex on Russell Drive had been sold with plans to use the location as an Oxford House. On Tuesday, a handful of those neighbors returned to City Hall for an update.

An Oxford House is a shared residence where people recovering from substance use disorder can live together in an environment free of drugs and alcohol. According to the organization’s website, houses are self-governed and members may stay as long as they want, provided they remain sober, don’t cause disruptions and pay their share of expenses. People in recovery fill out an application and are interviewed by members of the house.

Oxford House has vacancies at houses across the country. The advertised capacity at the Fort Stevens location is seven, with five vacancies.

For some, that seems like more than the neighborhood can handle.

“It’s not going to be just seven people,” said Andrew Holmberg, a nearby resident. “It’s seven lives in a house, as opposed to a family of seven people, so you know, you have seven family members, seven girlfriends, seven boyfriends, seven people visiting you for seven different groups.”

Oxford House declined to comment. Warrenton City Manager Esther Moberg said representatives from the nonprofit were also invited to Tuesday’s discussion but did not attend. She confirmed that a few Oxford House residents have moved into one side of the duplex, and the other half is being occupied by tenants unassociated with Oxford House.

Neighbors have raised concerns about potential impacts on parking and the neighborhood’s historic character. Holmberg said parking is already limited, and neighbors often need to borrow one another’s spots if they have visitors. Although the duplex on Russell Drive has some on-site parking, it doesn’t match the anticipated number of new residents.

While some neighbors have expressed concerns over the idea of a sober living house in their area, Holmberg said he has had positive interactions with the tenants who have moved in so far. In the right place, the Oxford House model makes sense to him — but without adequate parking, he fears a higher number of occupants would be untenable for the neighborhood.

“I feel really sad about the situation now, because I don’t see that they can live there with less than seven people to be able to afford the rent of the house … so, you know, in an ideal world, we would have four people on each side, one person in each bedroom, and I think it’d be great,” he said. “I think they’re lovely neighbors.”

Moberg said several city departments have responded to concerns about the plans. According to a staff memo from Christian Salinas, a code compliance officer, the city received one complaint in December for a vehicle parked between the sidewalk and roadway along Russell Drive. Salinas determined the vehicle was parked legally, as there were no restrictions for vehicles parked in the public right of way.

Robert Johnston, the city’s interim building official, also provided a staff memo about a recent site visit. According to the memo, Johnston found evidence that indicated unpermitted work inside the residence, including the construction of a wall to create a new bedroom. Some electrical modifications were also made. Given the work many residents have put into preserving the historic character of houses in the area, Holmberg said the changes have been concerning.

The city’s code allows up to five people in a residence before jumping to a different level of occupancy. The duplex has four bedrooms on either side — and although an additional wall could change that, it doesn’t automatically constitute a change in occupancy or a life-safety issue. If more people do move into the house, it could trigger additional requirements for a sprinkler system or review by the Planning Commission, but Moberg said there’s nothing to take action on now.

She added that no major structural changes have been made to the duplex, and it still counts as a residential use. Some had questioned whether the building would be considered commercial instead.

“We are continuing to review occupancy,” Moberg said. “We took seriously (neighbors’) complaints about business and commercial.”

While a clinic or rehabilitation facility might have on-site services, Moberg said an Oxford House is simply a place for people to live.

She said a clinic or similar facility might have Alcoholics Anonymous meetings on the site, “therapy on-site, they might even have a methadone clinic on-site. None of those are in this building. There’s no office. There’s nobody controlling these individuals. They’re making the choice to do sober living as individuals.”

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