{"id":61961,"date":"2026-01-30T17:01:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T22:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=61961"},"modified":"2026-01-30T17:01:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T22:01:16","slug":"talbot-house-appeals-for-lakeland-homeless-shelter-on-memorial-boulevard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2026\/01\/30\/talbot-house-appeals-for-lakeland-homeless-shelter-on-memorial-boulevard\/","title":{"rendered":"Talbot House appeals for Lakeland homeless shelter on Memorial Boulevard"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Talbot House Ministries<\/a> will plead its case for a new Memorial Boulevard homeless shelter to Lakeland officials this spring, after its relocation plans were denied based on strong community objections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CFTB Realty LLC, the property owner of 1005 E. Memorial Blvd., has appealed the Planning and Zoning Board’s Dec. 16 denial of land and zoning use changes required to build a homeless shelter at East Memorial Boulevard and North Ingraham Avenue. They have requested that Talbot House’s relocation proposal be decided by city commissioners.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Jan. 15 appeal, written by attorney Timothy Campbell, cites several reasons city commissioners should overturn the Planning and Zoning Board’s denial, including a potential civil rights violation under the Fair Housing Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“..[T]he Planning and Zoning Board members stated their votes were based upon the introduction and service of homeless individuals on the subject property and the opposition of many property owners and residents in the vicinity of the subject property to the allowance of a social services facility that services the homeless population at the subject property in the vicinity of their homes and businesses,” the appeal reads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Campbell requested the public hearing be held after March 16 to allow CFTB Realty and Talbot House time to coordinate with a team of experts on the issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talbot House’s proposal to relocate<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talbot House, a nonprofit operator of the city’s largest homeless shelter, first proposed to relocate its emergency shelter and supportive services to East Memorial Boulevard in July 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 3.45 acres offered by CFTB Realty Inc, a real estate arm of the nonprofit Community Foundation of Tampa Bay, was purchased through an anonymous donation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talbot House has proposed building a 72,000-square-foot facility on the former Florida Department of Citrus site. Individuals seeking shelter would enter a courtyard on the west side of the property to access an emergency overnight shelter, with up to 250 residential beds and 30 beds for individuals with disabilities, compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There would also be 30 beds set aside for medical guests, as Talbot House collaboratives with Lakeland Regional Health, and up to 80 beds for emergency overflow cots during cold weather conditions. In total, the facility would have a maximum of 390 beds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the emergency shelter, the facility would contain a 3,500-square-foot employment solutions center at the east side of the building \u2014 closest to Skate World \u2015 where it would provide help with job hunting and career training classes. The back of he building would have a 2,500-square-foot donation center where food, clothing and other materials could be dropped off, brought inside and sorted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talbot House is seeking to operate a health care clinic at the East Memorial Boulevard site as an accessory use, providing medical treatment for both its residents and members of the community without health care insurance. The public would be able to access the clinic through a separate doorway from shelter guests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

City staff in the Community and Economic Development Department recommended approval of the proposed East Memorial Boulevard shelter, saying it was consistent with several other city goals, objectives and policies in Lakeland’s land development code related to housing and future land use elements, according to Ashley McGuire, a senior planner for Lakeland. Under the city’s proposed conditions, Talbot House would close its existing emergency shelter at 814 N. Kentucky Ave. after relocating, though this would not affect the Troxel Transitional Apartment Housing or group home Talbot House Ministries operates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Public outcry leads to Planning Board denial<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talbot House’s proposed relocation to East Memorial Boulevard faced harsh backlash from the local community at its first July 15 hearing before the city’s Planning and Zoning Board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pastor Dwayne McDown, executive pastor of Lakes Church<\/a>, and Chanel Bellot, owner of Skate World<\/a>, were among the community members who spoke against having a homeless shelter built on the property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“While Lakes Church and Lakes Church Academy are supportive of the work of Talbot House, the proposed new location simply presents a significant safety concern for both constituents served by Talbot House and the constituents of the surrounding community,” McDown said at the July 15 hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

City staff reported receiving an additional 13 telephone calls and 13 emails in opposition of the project following the July 15 hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lakeland’s Planning and Zoning Board members said overwhelming community opposition was the primary reason for voting 4-1 against the land use and zoning changes required to move forward with construction of the homeless shelter. Member Bessie Reina was the sole vote in favor of the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We as a volunteer board have an obligation to look at things beyond just the guidelines and take a look at what the impact to existing surrounding areas may be,” Planning Board member Terry Dennis said. “I do think there are some impacts that will affect the churches, the schools and other areas that are surrounding it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Campbell said Talbot House’s existing facility on North Kentucky Avenue is measurably closer to local schools, businesses and single-family homes than the East Memorial facility would be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I feel like in this instance we are moving what’s become an issue in one location of the city a mile or two away to another area of the city,” Planning Board Chair Jeri Thom said. “The problem needs to be addressed head on, I agree, but I don’t think this is the right location.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Campbell’s appeal cites that the Planning Board’s denial letter did not give any written reason for the denial, including a required citation to applicable Florida statutes, and did not rely on substantial evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What’s next?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talbot House’s proposed plan to relocate to Memorial Boulevard will be heard by the city commissioners at a future commission hearing. A date has yet to be publicly announced but all city commission meetings are open to the public, generally held at 9 a.m. on the first and third Mondays of the month at City Hall, 228 S. Massachusetts Ave.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Talbot House Ministries will plead its case for a new Memorial Boulevard homeless shelter to Lakeland officials this spring, after its relocation plans were denied based on strong community objections. CFTB… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":61962,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"12","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvaTAud3AuY29tXC9sYWtlbGFuZGdhemV0dGUuaW5mb1wvbmV3c1wvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNlwvMDFcL1NjcmVlbnNob3QtMjAyNi0wMS0zMFQxNjU4MzEuNzEyLndlYnA_Zml0PTUyNyUyQzI3OSZzc2w9MSIsInR4dCI6IlRhbGJvdCBIb3VzZSBhcHBlYWxzIGZvciBMYWtlbGFuZCBob21lbGVzcyBzaGVsdGVyIG9uIE1lbW9yaWFsIEJvdWxldmFyZCIsInRlbXBsYXRlIjoiaGlnaHdheSIsImZvbnQiOiIiLCJibG9nX2lkIjoxNjMwNDA2NjF9.Y83P7O1cPTS6Z89sEQ5-J4u91Xy3ARIxEKqsibk7AoYMQ"},"version":2,"attached_media":[{"id":61962,"url":"http:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-30T165831.712.webp","type":"image\/png"}]},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[12,14],"tags":[13428],"class_list":["post-61961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","category-news","tag-talbot-house-appeals-for-lakeland-homeless-shelter-on-memorial-boulevard"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61961"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61961\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61963,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61961\/revisions\/61963"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}