The Jennings City Council voted 4-1 Tuesday to introduce a measure to reclassify zoning on South Louise Street to allow for a group home living facility in a residential neighborhood despite an earlier rejection by the city’s zoning board.

In a public hearing held prior to the council’s decision, the city’s Planning and Zoning Board voted 6-2 to deny a request from The Way Training Center to rezone the former Jennings Guest House at 203 South Louise Street from A-1 residential to A-6 to allow a group home living facility.

Zoning board members voting against the rezoning were Bo Hearod, Cy Sittig, Mari Cassidy, Terry Duhon, Jody Clary and Dione Sablehaus. Board members Ella Dartez Williams and Paul Dupree voted in favor of the rezoning.

After a nearly two hour contentious discussion, council members Johnny Arrmentor, Anthony LeBlanc, Clifton Lejeune and Carolyn Simon also voted for the rezoning.

Council President Stevie VanHook, who said an overwhelming majority of those attending the hearings supported The Way and its mission, cast the lone vote saying the main issue was the effect on nearby homeowners.

“I think there is complete support for The Way, its programs and its missions….” VanHook said. “There’s absolute full support for that. The issue comes back to the zoning component … .There is a healthy respect for residents and their homes. Their most sacred and biggest investment. They don’t have the abilities to get up and move if they do not like what is introduced into their neighborhoods and that is the real issue.”

VanHook said it has hurt to see the issue divide residents and council members.

Simon, who represents the district where the facility is proposed, said the facility is much needed.

“I can only see good coming out of this,” Simon said. “In this day and age we all should be in the business of restoring faith. People are looking to be revived. To be healthy. To restore their livelihood for a better quality of life.”

“I could only see this as a beacon light, not just for the City of Jennings or the parish, but the entire state of Louisiana,” she continued.

Lejeune said those who are against the zoning are not against what The Way is trying to accomplish.

“I believe there is a lot of fear of the unknown and that is where faith thrives,” he said, adding that he would welcome the facility in his neighborhood.

In order to approve the rezoning change, four of the five council members were needed to vote for the change.

Councilman Johnny Armentor had been asked to rescue his vote due to a conflict of interest, but was able to vote after his son Jarrid Armentor resigned Monday as project director at The Way Training Center. Jarrid Armentor said after the meeting he had resigned to start his own crisis prevention and counseling service after receiving a bachelor degree. He had been with The Way since 2019.

The council is expected to ratify the rezoning issue at its February meeting before the ordinance goes to the mayor. Mayor Henry Guinn will have 10 days after the February meeting to approve the ordinance or veto the measure.

After the meeting, Guinn said he will need to review everything that occurred during the meetings, review documents and consider potential litigation and ethics violations before issuing a ruling to approve the zoning change or veto the measure. A four out of five vote of the council would be needed to overturn a veto.

“One of the things I am tasked with is making sure the city grows orderly,” he said. “You’ve got a lot of opposition. You’ve got a lot of people before and all that has to be weighed and sent to the executive office.”

City Attorney Derek Bisig said the public still has 30 days to make comments by contacting City Hall or council members.

The Way Training Center Director Gerard Morgan said a buy-sale agreement is pending with Acadia Cares to purchase the vacant nursing home and turn it into a residential facility to provide housing and training to help restore the lives of those with life-controlling issues, including drug or alcohol addictions, depression, anger issues and gambling problem.

“The property has been vacant since 2012, but The Way Training Center hopes to redevelop the facility into a long-term Christian discipleship training program, to train and equip people with life-controlling issues to function normally in society,” Morgan said.

He said residents would be screened and no sex offenders, violent criminals or those struggling with severe mental health issues would be allowed. Drugs, alcohol and tobacco are also banned from the facility.

He said the training center, which was launched as an outreach of the Northside Assembly of God in Crowley in 2018, is an education and training center and not a rehab or addiction center. It uses a Christian discipleship training program to train and equip people and empower them to become an asset to their community.  Over 100 men have graduated from the program since 2023, he said.

Morgan said the nursing home is ideal for the facility because it already has rooms, restrooms, showers, a kitchen, recreational area and office space.

The nonprofit group currently operates a 70-bed all male facility in Crowley, but is looking to launch a new center for women to assist unwed mothers, women struggling with life controlling addictions and homeless women and children, he said. No final decision has been made on where the women’s facility will be located.

“Once the facility can be rezoned, then purchased, work can begin immediately to renovate and bring the facility up to proper safety code,” Morgan said. “Not only will the renovations beautify the neighborhood, it will spark hope in the community.”

The zoning issue has drawn both support and opposition from local residents, many who addressed the zoning board and city council.

Members received separate petitions – one containing 94 signatures of people opposing the rezoning and another 216 signatures supporting the project.

Carter Fontenot, who lives on South Louise Street, said he opposed rezoning of the property for a rehab/training facility. The facility is not fit for a neighborhood, he said.

“I am in no way against the mission of The Way and I do believe Mr. (Gerard) Morgan’s intentions are sincere and of good nature,” Fontenot said.

As a sheriff’s deputy Fontenot said he has seen people be thrown out of the facility with no resources to return home, commit crimes on the property or leave the facility. He expressed concerns for desperate individuals who are forced out of the facility and are a long way from home with no resources committing crimes.

“All I am asking is to not subject the residents of this neighborhood to these unnecessary risks and understand that no one in our neighborhood wants this facility in the immediate area,” he said.

Another resident who lives adjacent to the property said she has “no fears of these people.”

“I would feel safer with them there than having that building torn down and having a bunch of crack houses put up there and God knows who’s going to be living in it,” she said.

Stephen Evans of Bryan Street said drug addicts are already in the community and 100 percent of them are not getting the help they need.

“We need this facility to at least start something,” Evans said.

Tim Guinn, a resident of East Plaquemine Street, said the proposed rezoning would be “spot zoning” and could harm the consistency of the neighborhood.

“We have 94 people who signed not to do this right around the neighborhood,” he said. “They vote here. They live here. They pay taxes here. They take care of all of their places. Give them an opportunity to not have an inundation of commercial businesses. A-6 is one step from commercial. You can do a lot of things with A-6.”

Zoning board member and former Jennings mayor Terry Duhon said he is not against The Way or its mission, but does not think it belongs in a residential area. Duhon offered to help the group find another location.

“I don’t want people thinking that our neighborhood is heartless and we don’t care about what happens, but we are concerned about losing our residential identity,” Duhon said. “Whenever we make a decision whether to rezone this or not, you have to take all those things in consideration. It’s not just what you might feel in your heart. You have to look at future affects you are going to have down the road, so we have to be careful with this stuff.”

Amber Byrd, whose mother and brother are recovering addicts, said facilities like The Way Training Center can provide hope for people in the community who want the help.

Celia Joe Black, of East Plaquemine Street, reminded those in attendance that the issue is not whether to rehab addicts or help people, but whether to rezone the property to allow for what she said is a “life changing” facility.

“We all need to get on the same page and do it in a way that is going to benefit the most people,” Black said. “I personally don’t know how many names are on the list opposing this, but I know there are hundreds on a list that want it. This is about do we want to rezone it or do we want to not rezone it.”

Former Tulane University football player Logan Hamilton said The Way Training Center helped him restore his life, get his family back and freed him from addiction. He urged the city to help The Way continue to change lives.