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Politics & Government

Zoners Turn Down Boarding House for Ex-Prisoners

Prison chaplain wanted parking variance for SouthSide home where former prisoners would get help re-integrating with community.

 

A prison chaplain seeking a variance to the off-street parking requirements for a proposed SouthSide boarding house for ex-prisoners was turned down by the Bethlehem Zoning Hearing Board Wednesday night in a 3-to-2 vote.

Yasin Kacak of Scranton, a chaplain at the state prison in Mahanoy City who wants to incorporate as a non-profit organization to help former prisoners integrate into a community, proposed no off-street parking spaces at 639 Broadway. The city zoning ordinance requires four off-street parking spaces for a boarding house, a permitted use in a residential zoned district.

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Kacak testified that the two-story, three-bedroom dwelling would be occupied by four males renting rooms for $100 a week for a six-month-long program, and a resident supervisor.  

As a condition of tenancy, Kacak agreed tenants would not have vehicles and use public transportation, while a supervisor would park on the street. The property, owned by a Whitehall landlord, cannot be restructured to accommodate off-street parking, he pointed out.

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Area residents opposed to the variance cited parking issues, including the increased use of on-street parking for visitors to the halfway house, as well as safety issues for area children. Kacak stated that visitor hours would be restricted, and ex-prisoners would be screened for non-violent and non-sexual offenses.

Ann Kehoe, who operates the at 702 Broadway, across from the proposed boarding house, said she needs on-street parking space for commercial use. She questioned adequate parking space for visitors, saying the increased traffic “would affect our business.”

Kacak, who studied engineering and attended seminary school in Turkey, said the idea for a transitional program came from prisoners he has ministered to at Mahanoy State Prison, who find it difficult to return to their communities to find jobs and reintegrate into society.

While Kacak has not yet incorporated as a non-profit in Pennsylvania under the name “Lighthouse,” he said the objective of the faith-based program is to help not only Muslims, but multi-denominational ex-prisoners from across the state.  

Voting to deny the appeal were chairman and vice chairman Gus Loupos and William Fitzpatrick, respectively, and Michael Santanasto. Voting in favor of the appeal were Linda Shay Gardner and James Schantz.

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