State wins appeal to Supreme Court over PB halfway house

— A proposed Department of Community Correction halfway-house complex in Pine Bluff does not need to comply with city zoning codes, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

In a 5-2 decision overturning a ruling by a Jefferson County circuit judge, the high court ruled that the state has immunity from lawsuits seeking to enforce city zoning ordinances and that a 2005 law regulating halfway houses does not apply to the state’s own facilities.

The ruling clears the way for the state to begin housing parolees at the complex in western Pine Bluff, despite protests from some city aldermen and residents who fear the offenders would not be adequately supervised and would commit more crimes.

Community Correction Department spokesman Rhonda Sharp said Thursday that the department plans to move forward with the project.

Board of Corrections Chairman Benny Magness said the board will decide at its meeting later this month whether to “change anything or move forward as we planned.”

One thing that is certain, he said, is that the Community Correction Department won’t seek zoning approval for the project.

“I think that’s what the court case was about,” he said.

Matt DeCample, a spokesman for Gov. Mike Beebe, said the governor’s office would “review the decision and discuss with folks from DCC where to go from here.”

Pine Bluff Alderman Thelma Walker, who sponsored a resolution calling on the state to seek zoning approval for the project, said the ruling was “a shock.”

She said she would speak with City Attorney Althea Hadden-Scott about whether the city had any other options to stop the project.

Hadden-Scott said she didn’t know of any such options besides asking the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision. She said she would study the opinion before deciding whether to make such a request.

“I know the citizens that are in that area will be disappointed,” she said.

Pine Bluff Mayor Debe Hollingsworth didn’t return a call seeking comment.

The Community Correction Department’s plans call for housing parolees, including those convicted of violent and sex-related crimes, in four buildings that were formerly dormitories for department employees attending training. The buildings are on the same campus as the Southeast Arkansas Community Correction Center, a minimum-security lockup for women.

While the state has about 30 privately operated halfway houses, many do not accept offenders whose crimes involve violence or sex.

Pine Bluff officials said the property is zoned for single family residential use, and that any change in the use of the property would require approval of the city’s Planning Commission.

The City Council in March unanimously passed a resolution calling for the state to apply for zoning approval for the project. After state officials said they had no plans to do so, the city filed a lawsuit in Jefferson County Circuit Court.

The Community Correction Department argued that it has immunity from such lawsuits under Article 5, Section 20 of the state constitution, which says that the state “shall never be made defendant in any of her courts.”

In his ruling in May, Circuit Judge Robert Wyatt Jr.said the state Legislature had waived that immunity when it passed Act 1378 of 2005.

The law, Arkansas Code 16-93-1603, gave the Board of Corrections and the Community Correction Department the authority to regulate halfway houses.

The law directs the Corrections Board to set minimum standards for halfway houses, including a requirement that they comply with “any local zoning ordinances.”

Writing for the Supreme Court majority, Chief Justice Jim Hannah said the law was not meant to give cities the power to enforce zoning regulations.

“Rather, the purpose of the statute is to set out the authority and obligations of the Board,” Hannah wrote.

Hannah noted that the law directs the Community Correction Department to enforce the Corrections Board’s rules on halfway houses.

“In other words, the legislature specifically provided ... that the entity responsible for the enforcement of compliance with a municipality’s zoning ordinance was not the municipality, but DCC, a state agency,” Hannah wrote.

Justices Donald Corbin, Cliff Hoofman, Courtney Hudson Goodson and Paul Danielson joined in the opinion.

In the dissent, Justice Karen Baker wrote that giving the state immunity would “eviscerate the purpose of the statute.”

“In fact, the majority’s holding provides that not only is it discretionary with the Board whether or not they will comply with local zoning ordinances, but that the Board may also disregard all of 16-93-1603’s requirements, including compliance with state and federal safety codes, fire codes as well as plumbing codes,” Baker wrote. “This is an absurd result that directly conflicts with the legislature’s stated purpose.”

Justice Josephine Linker Hart joined in the dissent.

The Community Correction Department has said the halfway houses would provide living quarters for parolees who would otherwise remain in prison because they have no plan for where they would live when they are released.

As of late last week, state prisons held about 290 such inmates, Sharp said.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 02/08/2013

Upcoming Events