POLL: While some say not in my backyard, council says yes to group homes

Prince Albert’s council gave the go-ahead to three group home applications, each getting strong support from the elected representatives.

Members of council unanimously approved the permit application for new group homes at 24 Smiley Drive and at 1115 Wyllie Crescent. Both are geared towards adults with special needs. Council approved Sundance Haven’s request to move to 850 Fifth Street East from its current location at 2010 First Avenue East.

An earlier bid to move to Mahon Drive was rejected by council. At the time, council cited the potential for worsening traffic problems in the area should the home for teenaged girls have moved to that area as its reasoning behind that decision.

Members of council stood up in support of all three applications, including Coun. Lee Atkinson. After the November meeting, at which Sundance Haven’s proposal to move to Mahon Drive was turned down, Atkinson reflected on the fact council endorsed the inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women.

“I think this is part of the solution to give decent homes to kids, to make a difference. And that’s really what it’s all about. This is part of the tools,” he said during the meeting.

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Sundance Haven will house five girls at the location, who are all between 13-18 years of age. The proposal to move the home to Mahon Drive was met with a slew of letters from residents as well as a petition, all aimed at blocking the attempt to relocate to that area.

A small group of residents on Smiley Drive similarly tried to block the opening of a group home for four adults with special needs. Two property owners addressed council on Monday night, asking members to deny the request made by Ashlee Schmidt to operate the home in their neighbourhood.

Schmidt will care for four adults with mild to moderate cognitive impairment at the home.

But neighbour Karen Low said she’s concerned about the effect of the home’s presence in the area on the marketability of surrounding properties.

“Our biggest concern is to sell our property, to market our property for a fair value, and we believe the location of the group home across the street from us will have an impact on the marketability of our product,” she said.

Referring to the home as a “commercial venture,” she said it could affect the availability of parking on the street to residents. She added that there would also be increased traffic by way of visitors, maintenance staff and support workers to the home.

“So, that’s a concern of ours, because naturally the people that we’re marketing the house to are single families,” she said.

Low said she spoke to an unnamed real estate agent, who wrote an email to her saying that having a group home in the area may have an affect depending on how it is operated. Reading from the email, Low said the agent wrote that sometimes the group home isn’t visible at all, but if people know that it is there, he feels it will affect the value of properties, but he could not give her a number.

When pressed by Coun. Charlene Miller to reveal the name of the real estate agent who made this claim, Low refused.

“I guess what they have to say then really doesn’t matter to me,” Miller replied.

Another speaker, Chris Knudsen suggested that in the future, when the City hold lot draws, that it dedicates a certain number of lots to group homes. He recently purchased a lot near the future site of the group home.

“In my mind, the reality is a certain stigma remains attached to any group home in a residential neighbourhood. With that said, I truly believe it’d become a deterrent to sell new homes in this neighbourhood,” he said.

Low and Knudsen’s concerns were countered by Eileen Drenchuk, who spoke on behalf of the home’s application. Drenchuk is the mother of a daughter who she described as mentally disabled.

She described the home that her daughter currently lives in, and said the other residents work five days a week and bowls one day in the evenings. The residents go to appointments and go on outings as a group.

“Where do people expect these people to live?” Drenchuk asked as she spoke to concerns about marketability of properties near group homes. “I think they should get a fair chance as you and I and everybody else sitting here to live in a family oriented home and make it as comfortable [as possible.]”

After listening to the three speakers, Atkinson said he feels there should be inclusion in the community and this is one of those elements. He said the people who live in group homes are a part of the community and should be integrated into the community, not excluded or pushed aside.

“Inevitably, I think we owe it to the citizens who have needs beyond the normal – whether it be a senior that needs a limited amount of care in order to live out their life or an extreme amount of care or have special needs. And I think we have to accommodate those people.”

tjames@panow.com

On Twitter: @thiajames