Hinsdale Sober Living Dispute Continues

HINSDALE, IL — Trinity Sober Living in Hinsdale is barred from bringing any more tenants into its house at 111 N. Grant St. while litigation continues with the village, Hinsdale announced in a news release Tuesday. The village has asked DuPage County Court to order Trinity to cease all commercial use of the property because it does not conform with the neighborhood's single-family zoning.

Trinity is in a zone where no more than three unrelated people can live in a house. Last week, Judge Brian Diamond issued a preliminary injunction stating that only tenants as of that day could remain on the property, the news release said. No new residents would be allowed to move into the house.

The village said the judge's decision avoids the "intensification" of the commercial use of the property. "The village is committed to enforcing its zoning code in an even-handed manner to preserve the character of our residential neighborhoods and to protect residents' property values," the release said.

Michael Owens, Trinity's executive director and founder, said he was disappointed in the judge's ruling, noting he has filed a federal lawsuit under the Fair Housing and Americans With Disabilities acts. "In my opinion, the ruling would prevent a family, with seven or eight kids, from allowing their adult children or college-age children to move back into their house once they left because, according to the village's statement, 'the preliminary injunction avoids intensification of the use of the property,'" Owens said in an emailed statement.

Village President Tom Cauley told the Hinsdalean that the village's effort involved no fair housing violations. He told the newspaper that "if we had 10 nuns living there, we would have a problem under the zoning code."

Owens, a recovering alcoholic himself, said Trinity serves adult men with addictions who work in a variety of jobs and are from towns such as Hinsdale, La Grange, Western Springs and Clarendon Hills.

"It is crucial to their continued recovery that they live in a group setting with others battling the same disability," Owens said. "Therefore, it is a shame that a village, especially Hinsdale, continues to fight us and refuses to compromise when the need for a quality sober living environment is crucial to the success of the long-term recovery of these men in a group setting."

Since Trinity opened its doors, he said, its residents have had no issues with neighbors, police or anyone else in the village.

According to Trinity's website, a double bedroom costs $475 a week and a single goes for $625 a week.