Posted: 4/23/2008 at 11:17 AM
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VIRGINIA BEACH
Despite neighborhood opposition, the City Council on Tuesday night approved the city's first privately funded home for mentally disabled adults.
The council, with little discussion, approved plans for Assisi House Inc. to build a home for eight adults on property next to Church of the Ascension off Princess Anne Road. The Catholic Diocese of Richmond donated the land.
Councilwoman Reba McClanan was the only dissenting vote. McClanan said that she supported the intent of the project but wished that the Assisi House board had done more to ease neighborhood concerns about the size and location of the building.
Advocates for the project argued that the Assisi House would fill a need in a city where 270 mentally disabled people are on a waiting list for federal and state money for housing.
The Assisi House would not rely on public money. Residents will have to pay an initial $6,000 fee and about $2,000 a month in rent to offset the cost of services such as 24-hour supervision and transportation.
Terry Jenkins, the retired former director of Virginia Beach's human services division, said elderly parents aren't always able to take care of their disabled children and need a place like the Assisi House.
"Adult children with mental retardation living with elderly parents in the city are living on proverbial thin ice," Jenkins said.
The project has also gained the support of former City Councilman Peter Schmidt, who has a daughter with Down syndrome, and Councilman Harry Diezel's wife, Ginny.
Some Kempsville residents asked Diezel to recuse himself from the vote even though it isn't legally a conflict of interest. The state's laws deal solely with whether an official has a financial interest in an issue.
"If it's a conflict, it's in your mind and I'm sorry," Diezel told opponents before voting on the project. He noted that the board had made improvements to the building plan, including additional landscaping.
While sympathetic to the group's goal, people who live next to the proposed site said the Assisi House will be twice the size of their homes and won't fit into the neighborhood. They had urged the group's board to build two homes or move the building closer to the church.
They also expressed frustration with the noise and traffic generated by some events at the church's hall.
"This request is another step to degrade our existing neighborhood," resident William Bailey said.
Deirdre Fernandes, (757) 222-5121, deirdre.fernandes@pilotonline.com
He basically called the residents liars when he brushed aside the noise, underage drinking, sexual activity and crime taking place at the Catholic Church parking lot calling it “unsubstantiated”. I can’t support him and I will not.
The residents were run over by the media, wealthy developers and liberal tree huggers in political effort to build a $200,000 a year income for the local church. I’m leaning toward throw the bums out and I know the Rosecroft Street folks are not going to support the current city council member’s run for re-election. I expected it to pass but I never expected the residents to be called bigots and liars by the council members, the media and church members. Why would you want to put your handicapped child (some in the 50’s) in a neighborhood with us when you say we are those things?
The bums on city council ignored the peoples desires. I think we should ignore them. "VOTE THE BUMS OUT" Who knows, someone may be better. What do we have to lose? Diezel agrees with everything across the council table....he is not the Fire Chief anymore.
Congratulations to the political machine that pushed this through over the objections of the residents. The council has spoken... I wish you luck. I think you'll need it.
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