The Arkansas Department of Community Corrections has backed off plans to convert four duplexes on DCC property in Pine Bluff into halfway houses for prison inmates who have been paroled but have no families or friends to live with.
DCC spokeswoman Rhonda Sharp said Monday the plan is “on hold indefinitely.”
Sheila Sharp, acting director of DCC, said the PATH (Prison Alternative Transitional Housing) program “needed to be re-evaluated.”
She said she met with a committee of the Arkansas Legislature shortly after being named to the job, and “there were numerous questions,” about that program and others.
“We’ve got more important things to do like get our parole processes in order,” she said.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Early last year, DCC announced plans to convert the duplexes — which had previously been used to house personnel who were undergoing training — into halfway houses for about 30 parolees. They would be expected to work and pay rent, and would not be subject to 24-hour per day supervision, but DCC officials said a parole officer would have an office in one of the buildings.
The halfway houses would be separated from a women’s facility on the property by two sets of fences, and additional lighting and security cameras were also planned.
The plan’s announcement resulted in opposition, particularly from residents on the west side of the city where the halfway houses would be located, who complained to members of the city council about the plans, and particularly the possibility that sex offenders and other violent offenders would be housed there.
Two of the most vocal opponents of the proposal were Earl and Ora Mays. On Monday, Earl Mays said they “were elated and relieved” that DCC had decided not to open the facility.
“Our concern from the beginning was the safety of the community,” Earl Mays said, adding that he was pleased that the Department of Community Corrections had made that safety a priority.
City Attorney Althea Hadden-Scott filed a lawsuit against the state on April 6, 2012, asking a judge to order the DCC to get approval from the city before opening the transitional living facilities.
The city contended that the property where the DCC facility is located is zoned as an R-1 residential district and although the property was grandfathered into the city as a non-conforming use, any attempt to change its use must be approved by the planning commission.
After a hearing on May 7, 2012, Circuit Judge Rob Wyatt Jr., issued an injunction that prohibited DCC from operating the facility until it went before the planning commission or city council, but on Feb. 7, the Arkansas Supreme Court reversed Wyatt’s order and dismissed the case.
The Supreme Court said Wyatt erred when he concluded that the Arkansas General Assembly intended to waive the state’s sovereign immunity from a lawsuit when it adopted rules requiring DCC to set minimum standards for transitional housing, including complying with any local zoning ordinances.
Sheila Sharp said Monday the houses will revert to their former use and house DCC personnel undergoing training at the Pine Bluff facility.
“We’ve got officers who are not being trained and we need to get the training done as quickly as possible,” she said.