Watch a full replay of this meeting on the Excelsior Citizen YouTube Channel.
Excelsior Springs, Mo. (July 22, 2025) — In a special session Tuesday night at the Community Center, the Excelsior Springs City Council heard moving testimony from both supporters and opponents of an Oxford House sober living home. The home has been operating for at least ten months in an R-1 single-family residential neighborhood.
The property is located at 21 Dawn Avenue and referred to as “Vicinity” on the Oxford House website, and is currently home to six adult women and two children. The residence is leased to Oxford House, Inc., a national nonprofit organization that operates over 3,500 peer-managed sober living homes across the nation. The property is owned by Faith Community Properties, LLC, owned by Brian Lautenschlager, who owns at least one other Oxford House in Liberty, MO, under a separate LLC.
According to testimony and documents provided during the hearing, the monthly rent for the Vicinity home is set at $3,000, not including utilities. While the lease and all utilities are officially held in the name of Oxford House, Inc., the full cost of these bills is divided evenly among the residents. Each house operates its own bank account, and residents collectively manage finances through weekly meetings, budgeting, and are held accountable through physical checkbook balancing and receipt documentation.
At issue is whether Oxford House can present a strong enough case to justify an exception to the city’s zoning rules and continue operating the home. According to local code 400.030, the R-1 residential district defines a “family” as either related individuals or no more than four unrelated people living together. The Oxford House model in Excelsior Springs allows up to eight unrelated women to live in the home, exceeding that limit. Daniel Hahn, a representative of Oxford House, noted during his presentation that this number does not include up to three children who may also reside in the home with their mothers.
Oxford House has petitioned the city for a reasonable accommodation under the Federal Fair Housing Act, a 1968 civil rights law that prohibits housing discrimination based on disability status. In 1988, Congress amended the law to include protections for individuals recovering from addiction. The law requires local governments to make reasonable zoning accommodations when necessary to provide equal housing opportunities for people with disabilities.
However, in the 1993 case St. Joseph v. Preferred Family Healthcare, the Missouri Court of Appeals upheld a city’s right to limit the number of unrelated individuals living in a group home within a single-family residential district. The court ruled that state zoning law did not require cities to allow group homes for individuals recovering from substance abuse to exceed occupancy limits set for unrelated residents. The decision also found no violation of the Rehabilitation Act, Fair Housing Act, or Equal Protection Clause, noting that the city’s ordinances applied equally to all residents and that group homes could still operate within those limits or in other zoning districts.
The public hearing that began Tuesday night is part of a legal and procedural process to determine whether the requested accommodation is reasonable under federal, state, and local law, and whether the City of Excelsior Springs could face legal liability if the request is denied.
What Is Oxford House?
Founded in 1975, Oxford House strives to provide a long-term and stable housing option for individuals in recovery. The homes are not treatment centers and do not include staff. Instead, residents manage finances, responsibilities, and house rules democratically. They are required to remain sober, encouraged to attend support programs, and vote on who is allowed to join or remain in the house. Hahn emphasized that relapse results in immediate expulsion from the homes.
“The three requirements for an Oxford House are that the house must operate democratically by the members, it must be financially self-supporting, and the third requirement is that if someone returns to using, they immediately lose their membership,” Hahn said. “It works.”
The Vicinity home opened in October of 2024, following extensive renovations that began after a 2022 fire rendered the structure uninhabitable. According to the applicant, the property is now a six-bedroom, three-bathroom residence intended to house up to eight adult women and three children as part of the Oxford House sober living model. The landlord purchased the home for $75,000 and invested nearly $95,000 in rehabilitation work, bringing the total investment to approximately $170,000.
Daniel Hahn, representing Oxford House, told the council that all construction work had been permitted, inspected, and approved by the city. Community Development Director Mallory Brown confirmed that permits had been applied for and issued, though it remains unclear whether the home’s intended use as a group residence was fully disclosed during the permitting process.
Neighbors Voice Mixed Reactions
More than two dozen residents and city officials attended the July 22 hearing at the Excelsior Springs Community Center. Some speakers offered strong endorsements of the Oxford House model, while a majority of speakers raised concerns about zoning compliance and integrity, transparency, and neighborhood impact.
Supporters included former residents, family members, and recovery advocates.
“My sister will tell you today, if it wasn’t for Oxford House, I would still be right here raising my nephew,” said Mande Paul, a medical worker living in Excelsior Springs whose sister rebuilt her life after joining an Oxford House in Kansas. “Now she has a job, she’s had a home, she’s been stable, she has her child.”
In an exclusive interview with the Citizen, former Oxford House resident Corey Crawford described his experience. “Oxford House gave me the stability and the foundation I needed to build a new life, a life that I cherish and have right now,” Crawford said. He is now seven years sober and continues to use the same financial and organizational habits he learned in the program, including having weekly meetings with his family and assigning chores.
Crawford described a system of shared leadership, with each house electing residents to roles like president, treasurer, and chore coordinator. Weekly house meetings are held to pay bills, review finances, assign chores, and issue fines when necessary. Rent and utility costs are divided among residents, and all payments are documented by check with oversight from the chapter level. “Everyone has a say in the house, even someone who’s just walked in and was accepted,” he said.
Aaron Welland, a resident of Independence, Missouri, spoke emotionally at the Tuesday meeting about his transformation through Oxford House after 28 years of drug use and repeated incarceration. “Oxford House took this one off the street and made it into somebody,” he told the council. Now 46, Welland said the peer-run structure gave him his first experience with stable housing, employment, and financial responsibility. He is currently the treasurer of his Oxford House and said he drives a new car to work daily. He urged the council to view the model as a community asset.
Opponents of the request raised concerns about the home’s compatibility with the residential character of the neighborhood, its alleged illegal operation, a lack of transparency during the renovation process, and potential safety issues. Many emphasized that their objections were not directed at the residents or their recovery journeys, but rather stemmed from concerns about neighborhood safety, zoning integrity, and whether proper procedures were followed.
Michelle Anaya, a realtor who lives across the street from the Vicinity Oxford House, delivered one of the evening’s most detailed objections, to which she received an eruption of applause. She argued that the home represents a clear departure from the city’s R-1 zoning restrictions, citing safety concerns. She noted that her experience as a realtor aligned with fears of decreased property value.
“This proposal is fundamentally incompatible with the established zoning framework and would undermine the character, safety, and stability of the surrounding single-family neighborhood made up of only 16 houses,” Anaya continued, “This process has been handled with very little transparency, and it did not go through the proper planning and zoning.”
Shanda Carr, who lives next door to the Oxford House, said she and other neighbors were not notified that the home would be an Oxford House until it was already operational.
“It feels like a jail next door. It just does,” Carr said.
She expressed concern over safety, traffic, and the emotional loss of a home that once belonged to a neighbor who died in a house fire. “It’s not what we expected,” she added.
Another nearby property owner, Brick Johnson, testified in opposition to the request. Johnson, who owns two properties that back up to the Oxford House, told the council that individuals he does not recognize, both men and women, have frequently walked or driven through his yard. He expressed concern about a lack of neighborly interaction, stating that residents of the Vicinity home have not made efforts to engage with those living nearby, which has led to negative encounters that have shaped his perception of the situation.
Several speakers questioned whether the additional bathrooms and bedrooms meet residential building code, in light of the previous fire in the residence, and whether the home is, in fact, up to the city’s code. A common theme among opponents and neighbors was that the Oxford House does not reflect the long-standing neighborhood culture of friendliness, openness, and respect, and that their alleged illegal operation should be appropriately addressed by the city with legal ramifications within its authority.
What Happens Next
The City Council did not vote on the matter Tuesday night. Instead, it voted to continue the public hearing to Tuesday, August 12, at 6:00 p.m. in meeting rooms A/B at the Community Center. City staff said the continuation of the hearing will allow time to review the large volume of documentation submitted Tuesday night and make a well-informed decision on whether the request complies with federal, state, and local requirements.
In the meantime, the Oxford House remains occupied and operational. With tensions running high among nearby residents, the upcoming hearing is expected to bring further debate as the City Council weighs the home’s place within the neighborhood.
If you appreciate the value our local journalism brings to the community, please consider making a recurring contribution to the Excelsior Citizen!
