Owensboro officials may be pressing pause on new group housing and treatment facilities, introducing an ordinance Tuesday that would block applications for up to a year while the City reexamines zoning rules amid rising concerns about homelessness and neighborhood impacts.
The proposal — Ordinance 13-2025 — calls for a one-year moratorium on applications for residential care facilities, clinics, fraternity and sorority houses, dormitories, rehabilitation centers, and transitional homes within city limits.
City officials said the move follows public concerns about the increased homeless population often seen around certain facilities. The Board of Commissioners directed the Owensboro Metropolitan Planning Commission to gather data and review the zoning ordinance to determine whether changes are necessary to address citizens’ concerns.
The ordinance specifies that the Owensboro Metropolitan Planning Commission will not accept or process new site plans or development plans for residential care facilities and clinics. It also prevents the Owensboro Board of Adjustments from considering conditional use permits for group housing, including dormitories, fraternity and sorority houses, rehabilitation facilities, and transitional homes.
City Attorney Mark Pfeifer noted that the concerns first surfaced during a December 2024 meeting, when residents of the Northwest Neighborhood Alliance raised the issue.
“The moratorium will not affect existing shelters or facilities in any way. It will only stop consideration of any new shelters or facilities during the 12-month moratorium,” Pfeifer said.
He added that if changes are made to the zoning ordinance during that time, commissioners could terminate the moratorium early.
Commissioner Bob Glenn said the ordinance reflects concerns voiced during neighborhood alliance meetings, particularly in the northwest area of the city. He noted residents there have seen significant growth in rehabilitation and transitional facilities.
“The feeling was that those facilities exist, and do we really need to just continue to pile these on? If so, could we at least take time to study where we’re at and where we’re going? That’s the strongest reason, potentially, to do it,” Glenn said.
Glenn cautioned, however, that the moratorium should not be treated as a symbolic response.
“My primary emphasis is I don’t want this to be a feel-good measure, like we do this and oh, we feel good about ourselves because we’ve answered the constituents’ concerns,” he said.
He outlined three broader questions the community must address: how to get more people off the street, whether some of those individuals would choose to return to other communities if supported, and how Owensboro can coordinate solutions that move people from homelessness and addiction toward stability.
“If this gets passed, we can’t just blithely sit by and hope they go away, or hope they all decide to get help. There has to be a pathway for these folks to move from, in some cases, addiction, to sobriety and then hopefully to the workforce,” Glenn said.
Service providers have also weighed in. Harry Pedigo, executive director of the Pitino and St. Benedict’s shelters, said he supports the City’s approach.
“I support the City’s proposed moratorium on new shelters, treatment centers, and group homes. While it may seem counterintuitive at first, I believe this pause will have a positive impact on our community and the individuals these facilities serve,” Pedigo said.
He added that while the moratorium doesn’t impact his own facilities, the pause is needed to allow the system to catch up.
“In recent years, we’ve seen many facilities opening, expanding, or relocating,” he said. “While their intentions are good, the constant influx of new clients without adequate pathways forward can unintentionally overwhelm the system. Shelters and treatment centers are designed to be places of transition — not long-term destinations — but most affordable housing waitlists are already one to two years long. This backlog means people stay in shelters longer, limiting turnover and creating a bottleneck.”
The moratorium would take effect upon adoption and remain in place for up to one year unless repealed or extended. Commissioners are expected to vote on final approval during their September 2 meeting.
