Aiming to meet a growing need, Bowling Green’s Victory Lane Sober Living has won approval for its second women’s group home for recovery/sober living.

Barely two months after getting a conditional-use permit to operate a 20-bed women’s recovery home on College Street, Victory Lane has now been approved for a 10-bed facility at 643 E. 11th Ave. that will serve women recovering from alcohol or drug addiction.

In a 5-0 vote, the Warren County Board of Adjustments approved the CUP application at its Aug. 11 meeting, and Victory Lane founder Brad Sowell said it’s a continuation of his efforts to meet the needs of men and women struggling with addiction.

Sowell, who opened his first Victory Lane group home for men in 2020, said he quickly discovered that such facilities for women were scarce.

“When we started this, there were about 150 men’s beds in town but only about 50 for women,” he said.

Victory Lane, which has opened three men’s group homes, is now addressing the need for women’s homes.

Sowell, an attorney who has had his own struggles with addiction in the past, said the Victory Lane homes help patients struggling with addictions make the transition from an inpatient rehabilitation program into society.

The facilities are designed to help such individuals learn to maintain their sobriety in a supportive environment.

Sowell said Victory Lane group homes accept no violent or sexual offenders. People applying to rent space in the homes must pass regular drug tests and must find employment or be actively seeking employment.

A house manager and assistant manager are on site to enforce the rules, Sowell said.

While the 11th Avenue group home will increase Victory Lane’s capacity for helping females recover from addiction, Sowell said he isn’t finished opening such facilities.

“I’d like to have four or five women’s homes,” said Sowell, who isn’t limiting himself to Bowling Green.

“We don’t want to stop our efforts in Warren County,” he said. “We’re looking at Barren, Simpson and Allen counties. I know the need is there, but we have to find the perfect fit before we invest in those communities.”

Sowell won approval for his CUP, but a couple other applications were denied after neighbors expressed opposition.

An application by the Parachute Adams LLC headed by Adam Shourds and Christopher Whitfield to operate a bed and breakfast at 1648 Chestnut St. was defeated after three nearby residents testified against it.

Shourds said his plan was to rent the property’s 1,000-square-foot lower floor to guests for short stays and said prospective Western Kentucky University students would be “ideal guests” at the property near the WKU campus.

But Chestnut Street residents Kevin Brooks and Hamp Moore both argued that a bed and breakfast business didn’t fit the character of the residential neighborhood.

“We don’t think this is in any way compatible,” Brooks said.

Moore, who has lived on the street for 25 years, said: “If you walk up and down the street, you’ll see no commercial businesses. We live in a single-family, non-commercial neighborhood. We need to be extra vigilant to maintain the character.”

Another Chestnut Street resident, Chuck Clark, warned that allowing one bed and breakfast in the area could have a domino effect.

“A business, no matter how benign, can open the door for others,” he said.

Chestnut Street resident Jim Lindsey testified in support of the CUP application, but it was voted down 5-0.

Also voted down unanimously was the application of Peter J. and Marsha E. Wyzykowski to operate a short-term rental on their property at 1619 Curling Way.

Three nearby residents spoke against putting a short-term rental on the property that is in a residential area near Grider Pond Road.

William Forker, who lives on Grider Pond Road, said: “It’s not appealing to have a commercial business in the neighborhood.”

Among the items approved at the meeting was the application by the Covey Rise LLC headed by Scott Gaines to operate a short-term rental on property zoned for agriculture at 898 Hunts Lane.

Also approved was the application of HGW Investments LLC and Rock Hills Church to operate a religious institution at 401 Emmett Ave., which is zoned light industrial.