SPECIAL-USE PERMIT PROVIDES SAFEGUARDS

The need for a proposed halfway house in Cape Girardeau to provide residential treatment programs for Missouri inmates who are about to be released must be weighed against the community's concern about public safety. The Cape Girardeau City Council is right to proceed cautiously in this matter. In the end, the best outcome would be having such a facility in a setting that is good for the treatment program but does no harm to the city's sense of security and well-being.

At issue is a proposal by the Gibson Recovery Center, located at 1112 Linden, to offer treatment at its facility for prisoners with alcohol and drug-abuse problems. The center has provided these services to paying customers for years and is regarded as a good program by folks involved in such treatment programs. The center's current residential program is for men, but it provides outpatient treatment for men and women.

The proposed facility for about-to-be-released prison inmates would be the first of its kind in Southeast Missouri, and currently the Cape Girardeau site is the only one under consideration.

Among the issues the City Council must resolve is how existing zoning laws apply to this situation. On next Monday's agenda will be a proposal to expand the areas in which such a facility could be located. At the same time, the zoning changes would give the city more control over other aspects of the facility, such as keeping adults and juveniles separate.

The key to the council's deliberations and to any application for such a facility is the fact that a special-use permit is required. As we have said in the past regarding other issues such as mobile homes, special-use permits are valuable tools that allow the City Council to decide on a case-by-case basis what is best for the city based on a particular set of circumstances.

Concerns about having a treatment facility for inmates near residences and other facilities that provide day care, for example, are legitimate. At the same time, the Gibson center would like to provide the proposed services for inmates at its existing site. The process for issuing a special-use permit allows for these concerns to be thoroughly aired as council members deliberate the request.

It will be up to the Gibson center and other backers of the proposed halfway house first to convince the City Council that the program is needed and that Cape Girardeau is the best location. Then the decision can be made as to whether this is the sort of facility the city wants.