ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A pastor whose previous proposal to open a halfway house led to a federal lawsuit had better luck with Allentown zoning officials this time around.
Allentown Zoning Hearing Board voted 2-1 Monday to approve Matthew Catricola’s application to convert a vacant home at 33 S. 15th St. into a halfway house.
Board members Robert Knauer and Samantha McLean voted to approve a special exception, while Scott Unger said he didn't think the proposal satisfied all legal requirements to earn approval.
“If this place is open, unfortunately, we are going to have to switch our children to other places."Marleny Hernandez, assistant director, Love You More Early Learning Center
The 15-person, all-male halfway house would be managed by Living in Victory, according to Catricola, who owns the company and leads the Allentown Victory congregation.
The halfway house would offer “probably the most structured” addiction-recovery program in the Lehigh Valley, he said.
The Christian-oriented recovery program lasts nine months to a year. The halfway house requires participants to attend church or study the Bible, meet weekly with a certified recovery specialist and complete community service, among other tasks.
Those requirements ease as participants move through the system, he said.
At least one employee would be at the halfway house at all hours, according to Catricola.
A dozen residents registered interest in the proposal at Monday’s meeting, with supporters outnumbering objectors 10-2.
Living in Victory now will seek an operating license from the state Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs.
Neighbors split on proposal
The halfway house’s approval could force an early learning center next door to alter its services.
Some parents whose children attend the Love You More ELC have voiced concerns about its proximity to the proposal, according to Assistant Director Marlene Hernandez.
“I want to see their futures fulfilled, and I would hope that I can be a part of that fulfillment for them. I welcome them next door.”Jane Matsinger, pastor of St. James United Church of Christ
“If this place is open, unfortunately, we are going to have to switch our children to other places,” she said. “If you open the back door, we're right in their backyard. We’re separated by about 10 feet of grass.”
But Jane Matsinger, pastor of St. James United Church of Christ, sang the proposal’s praises.
She said she hopes to work with Living in Victory and its participants “to make them feel welcome in the neighborhood and to make them feel important; to make them feel that they are blessed, not judged.”
“Putting it next to the church, in my mind, is one of the best things that anybody could do,” Matsinger said.
“I want to see their futures fulfilled, and I would hope that I can be a part of that fulfillment for them. I welcome them next door.”
Victory's failed lawsuit
Catricola’s Allentown Victory Church opened a recovery home in 2019. But that year it was denied a variance by the city Zoning Hearing Board, which ruled the property was an unpermitted halfway house.
Allentown officials ordered Victory Church to cease its recovery programs and denied its appeals to continue operating under zoning regulations for a large group home.
The organization appealed that ruling; the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit eventually upheld city officials’ decision to close the recovery home on Hamilton Street.
