We sympathize with Charmaine McGowan. She runs what she calls a Christian sober living facility and rehabilitation program for women called A Healing Place in a house at 4 Crestwood Drive.

However, her facility should not be located where it is, which is in a neighborhood zoned only for single-family homes, and city officials should shut down that facility immediately.

McGowan moved the women’s home from its previous location on Washington Street into the Crestwood location in July 2016. The problem is the Crestwood house is located in a neighborhood zoned only for single-family residential use.

The city’s board of mayor and aldermen held a public hearing Tuesday to gather comments on an Oct. 4 decision by the city’s zoning board of appeals to deny a request by McGowan for a special exception to operate the program at the Crestwood Drive house.

McGowan wants to continue to operate the program that houses six women, three children and a house manager at the Crestwood Drive location until she can make other arrangements.

However, Wren Way, who is an attorney for the neighborhood, said McGowan should not be allowed to continue to operate in the neighborhood and should be penalized for locating and continuing operation in the neighborhood.

We hate to be harsh, but Way is correct.

McGowan, perhaps with the best of intentions, set up shop in an area where such isn’t allowed. She’s known for months that she is in violation of city zoning laws.

We applaud her efforts, but they are misguided if they violate our city’s laws and cause concern among her neighbors. Clearly, the facility on Crestwood Drive does both.

City officials should order the group home to be closed immediately, and McGowan should immediately seek another, more appropriate location for it.

Homeowners in the neighborhood zoned only for single-family houses have every expectation that the city will enforce its zoning laws and protect their property values while doing so.