The Owensboro Board of Commissioners recently approved enacting a one-year moratorium on new group housing and treatment-related facilities as the City reevaluates zoning rules in response to increasing concerns about homelessness and neighborhood impacts.
The ordinance took immediate effect and halted the processing of new applications for a range of facilities, including residential care homes, clinics, fraternity and sorority houses, dormitories, rehabilitation centers, and transitional housing.
The ordinance tasks the Owensboro Metropolitan Planning Commission with gathering data and reviewing the current zoning ordinance to determine whether updates are needed. Specifically, it blocks:
- New site or development plans for residential care facilities and clinics
- Conditional use permit applications for group housing such as dormitories, fraternity and sorority houses, rehabilitation facilities, and transitional homes
The moratorium has also gained support from local service providers. Harry Pedigo, executive director of the Pitino and St. Benedict’s shelters, said the pause is necessary to allow the system to catch up.
“In recent years, we’ve seen many facilities opening, expanding, or relocating,” Pedigo said. “While their intentions are good, the constant influx of new clients without adequate pathways forward can unintentionally overwhelm the system.”
He said the lack of affordable housing options has created bottlenecks that keep people in shelters longer than intended.
“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,” Pedigo said.
Unless repealed or extended, the moratorium will remain in place for one year. During that time, City leaders are expected to gather public input, evaluate zoning impacts, and potentially recommend formal amendments.
Previously, City Attorney Mark Pfeifer said the idea was first introduced after residents of the Northwest Neighborhood Alliance raised concerns during a December 2024 meeting. He emphasized that the moratorium will not affect existing shelters or facilities, but will instead pause consideration of new proposals.
“If changes are made to the zoning ordinance during that time, commissioners could terminate the moratorium early,” Pfeifer said.
During a previous commission meeting, Commissioner Bob Glenn said the measure should not be viewed as symbolic or purely reactionary.
“My primary emphasis is I don’t want this to be a feel-good measure,” he said. “If this gets passed, we can’t just blithely sit by and hope [homeless individuals] 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.”
