Special Exception - 515 S. St. Joseph St. - Michael J. Baxter (Catholic Worker of Michiana, Inc.)

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Justification for Seeking a Special Exception as a Group Residence and a Variance of Parking Space Requirements for the property located at 515 S. St. Joseph St. South Bend, IN 46624 Submitted by Michael J. Baxter (and The Catholic Worker of Michiana, Inc.) P.O Box 4241 South Bend, IN 46634 (574)514-8859 The property in question is zoned MF-1. This petition seeks a special exception so that the house maybe used as a "group residence," and also a variance from parking requirements. Issues related to the special exception are taken up first. Issues related to the variance from the parking requirement are then taken up separately in a concluding paragraph. The house at 515 S. St. Joseph St. has three floors and a basement. On the first floor, there is a kitchen, a full bath, a living room, a dining room, and a parlor. On the second floor, there is one full bath, two large bedrooms, and a kitchenette area. On the third floor, there are two large bedrooms, one small bedroom, and commodious closet space. The basement has one room for a washer and drier, another room for two large furnaces, anther room that was probably used as a pantry, and another room that was originally used to store coal. The previously owner clearly planned to break the house up into two units. Not only are there two kitchen areas, but there is also an outside stairway entrance that opens directly into the kitchenette on the second floor. Use as a group residence will probably involve two or three community members plus six to eight guests, no more than ten or so people altogether. This does not exceed the normal use of this house by two average families, nor does it exceed the space requirements set forth in City of South Bend building code. As for the common life of the people in this house, it will involve coffee and breakfast together; being gone during the day (by 9:00 am) at work, looking for work, seeking social services, or other activities; returning in the late afternoon (at 5:00 pm), supper together, prayer, social time, and retiring by 11:30 pm. Although this will be a house of the Catholic Worker community, it will not be used for providing social services to homeless people. Rather, such service will be provided at the Catholic Worker's drop- in center on 744 Main Street, "Our Lady of the Road." In other words, this house will be simply a residence for a handful of people.