Allentown Victory Church filed a federal lawsuit last week, claiming the Allentown Zoning Hearing Board violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and other anti-discrimination laws by denying the church permission to operate a sober-living group home located in West Park.
Since February 2019, 11 disabled residents recovering from drug or alcohol addiction have lived in a 10-bedroom house operated by the Church. The residence is called the Recover Victory Home.
According to an online document outlining the codified ordinances of Allentown, the city’s high-density residential zoning regulation prohibits drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities or halfway houses, except under certain circumstances, such as accommodating those with disabilities.
The church imagined the board would make an exception to allow it to operate the sober-living home because every disabled resident living in the home qualifies for disability accommodations based on the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Federal Fair Housing Act.
But the zoning board rejected the request, so leaders filed a lawsuit alleging that the disabilities of the recovery house’s residents were not considered as required by the zoning code and that the city’s actions have the effect of denying needed housing opportunities to recovering drug and alcohol abusers.