Decision expected today in suit against halfway houses

Erica Johnson

Wednesday, July 11, 2001 | 11:10 a.m.

Thirteen Southeast Las Vegas residents are expected today to learn the fate of a lawsuit they filed in U.S. District Court to close three halfway houses for recovering alcoholics and drug addicts in their neighborhood near Flamingo and Sandhill roads.

The neighbors in the Hazelcrest and Oakcrest subdivisions filed the suit April 4, saying the halfway houses, located in the 4100 block of Brighthill Avenue, the 3900 block of Monthill Avenue and the 4200 block of Hazelcrest Drive, threaten the safety of the neighborhood. The three halfway houses are located within a half-mile radius.

The neighbors said deed restrictions specified by the developer when the subdivision was built in 1971 prevent licensed businesses.

But Lorri Ahlm, a recovering addict who opened the houses two years ago with her brother, Phillip Ahlm, and mother, Judy Nelson, said there are about 14 other licensed businesses in the neighborhood, including several homes that care for senior citizens and Alzheimer's patients.

The home's operators filed a suit June 29 to prevent the closing. Steven Polin, a Washington, D.C., attorney who specializes in halfway house litigation, is representing Ahlm.

Ahlm said the same deed restrictions prevent two-story houses and converted garages, which are both prevalent in the area.

"The neighbors just don't want recovering drug addicts and alcoholics living in their neighborhood," said Ahlm, who has lived in the area nearly 20 years. "But the key word is recovering. These people don't know anything about recovery, and I don't think they want to know."

Michael Bohn, the neighbors' attorney, has lived in the neighborhood for 11 years. He said the neighbors' only concern is that Ahlm operate her business properly, legally and safely.

According to the suit filed by Bohn, "the presence of the halfway homes is in violation of covenants, conditions, and restrictions and are posing a threat to the neighborhood by ... subjecting the residents to alcoholics, drug users and felons."

The halfway house residents have not caused problems, he said, but there isn't proper supervision to prevent future trouble.

Bohn said he's aware of the area's senior citizen and Alzheimer's homes, "but those people are not felons or drug addicts," he said."They are not a threat to the neighborhood."

Bohn said the neighbors are suing Ahlm for an undisclosed amount. In addition to legal fees, he said, the neighbors are entitled to any profit Ahlm makes from the business.

John Barniske, a homeowner involved in the suit, lives four doors down from the halfway house Ahlm opened in July 2000. A retired electrician, Barniske has lived in the house with his wife for 21 years.

The halfway houses have caused an increase in traffic, parking problems and a constant rotation of tenants, he said.

Barniske said the neighbors are not discriminating against the people who live there.

"We have nothing against them," he said. "I realize these people have to be brought back into society, but there are too many (halfway houses) clustered in one area. We have our share. That's been our point all along."

Polin said the Fair Housing Act, which classifies alcoholism and drug addiction as disabilities, protects Ahlm's residents.

The FHA, he said, which exempts halfway houses from zoning laws to prevent discrimination, overrides local ordinances.

According to the the suit filed by Polin, the neighbors have made "stereotypical and unfounded statements which demonstrate their discriminatory animus concerning alcoholism and substance abuse."

The Hazelcrest and Oakcrest residents have appealed to state and local officials to seek restrictions on the halfway houses since November 2000.

Ahlm was cited last July by Clark County for operating the business without a license. Ahlm, who said she didn't know she needed one, completed the paperwork and recieved her license two months later.

The county commission has since passed several restrictive ordinances on halfway houses, including one that mandates a 660-foot separation between them.

Because Ahlm now wants to open a fourth halfway house 529 feet from another such facility, she has to obtain a special-use permit.

Jennifer Ammerman of the county planning division said the separation ordinance is to protect halfway house residents, not to satisfy unhappy neighbors. Too many recovering addicts in a concentrated area creates an institutional-like environment that may hinder recovery, she said.

Brad Donahue, a professor of clinical psychology at UNLV, said the separation ordinance sounds like a reasonable solution for all parties involved.

He said he is unaware of evidence that suggests treatment is any more effective if group homes are spread out, but he understands the county's rational.

"The object is to generalize them into a real world situation to practice the skills they've been learning," he said. "If you had a bunch of former substance abusers concentrated in one area, you don't get the feeling of a typical neighborhood."

The commission last week was expected to introduce an ordinance that regulates the number of adult occupants in single-family homes, including halfway houses, Ammerman said.

A second ordinance, one that would require halfway houses to be architecturally consistent with surrounding homes, also was to be introduced.

Both ordinances were held while the commission reviews Ahlm's permit request. The ordinances are expected to be addressed again on Oct. 3.

In addition to the halfway houses, the Ahlms own six other houses in the neighborhood. Ahlm and her mother occupy one; her brother lives in another. The Ahlms rent out the other four.

Fourteen residents currently live in Ahlm's halfway houses, paying $75 to $100 a month for rent.

Ahlm said she has not profited from the business and is working a part-time job at a Henderson motorcycle shop to pay legal fees.

"I got into this because I wanted to give back what was so freely given to me," she said. "But all of this puts a damper on the whole mission."