College Park city council voted to deny a reasonable accommodation request that would have allowed up to eight unrelated people to live in a sober living home in a residential neighborhood.
The request by Halcyon House sought permission to house eight residents at 2041 English Lane, where current zoning limits occupancy to three unrelated people. Halcyon House also operates homes in Sandy Springs, Roswell and Atlanta’s Grant Park neighborhood.
An initial public hearing on Halcyon House’s request was held in August. College Park city council denied the request following a second public hearing on Oct. 5.
Council members Joe Carn and Jamelle McKenzie voted in favor of denying the request, while council members Tracey Arnold and Roderick Gay abstained.
Before the vote, numerous residents expressed opposition to the sober living home, citing concerns about safety, traffic and parking.
Residents also criticized Halcyon House owner Kai Thorpe and his representatives for not arranging a community meeting to hear their concerns about the proposed home.
Resident Daniel Moore, who moved to College Park with his family four years ago, said they are happy living in the city but wanted more information about the sober living home before he could feel comfortable with it in his neighborhood.
“I believe in God’s way to be able to heal,” he said. “However, I want to have a safety conversation. I don’t know the parameters of the people that would be living in this home. I don’t know how they’re vetted. I want to know that I can walk my daughter to school [and] my wife is safe jogging around.”
City Attorney Winston Denmark advised council members to focus on whether Halcyon House had demonstrated that increasing occupancy from three to eight unrelated residents was reasonable and necessary under the law, rather than on residents’ objections to people recovering from addiction living in the neighborhood.
“I do not see where Halcyon has supported enough evidence to say we should accommodate up to eight people,” McKenzie said following the public hearing.
Neither Halcyon House owner Kai Thorpe nor attorneys representing the organization attended the October hearing. Attorney Ian Neubauer, counsel for Halcyon House, said Friday that he and fellow attorney Andrew Tine were surprised with the city’s decision to hold a second public hearing. He said they had presented the information supporting the accommodation request during the August hearing and had nothing further to add.
Halcyon House has pursued three legal actions against College Park. In one case, Fulton County Superior Court overturned a city cease-and-desist order. In another, the court overturned council’s December 2025 denial of the reasonable accommodation request because the city had failed to provide proper notice and a public hearing.
A separate federal lawsuit alleging housing discrimination remains pending, according to Neubauer. The city has filed a motion to dismiss that case.
