A group of Southeast Broad Street residents are suing the city of Murfreesboro and a rehabilitation company claiming the former home of County Attorney Jim Cope was turned into a treatment facility - in violation of the city's zoning ordinance - that will hurt their neighborhood and property values.
Southeast Broad residents Margaret Todd and John Hawk, represented by attorney David Kious, filed the lawsuit in August against the city, JourneyPure LLC of Delaware, Brentwood-based JourneyPure Management Corp. and property owner Jui-Lien Chou Ho of Lubbock, Texas. Kious declined to comment on the suit, which was filed in Chancery Court but could shift to Circuit Court.
The Murfreesboro Post reports neighbors claim that Chou Ho entered a rental or commercial agreement with JourneyPure, owned by Kevin Lee and Samuel MacMaster of Brentwood, for occupation and commercial use of the property for an "addiction treatment center" named Voyage, a residential center dedicated to serving young women with co-occurring disorders, in violation of Murfreesboro's Zoning Ordinance and other restrictions.
Neighbors argue that Murfreesboro Building and Codes Department issued a building permit July 1, 2014 even though city officials should have known the property's intended use violated the Murfreesboro Zoning Ordinance. No special use permit was granted, the suit claims.
