The proposed rezoning of a Rogers home for a veterans rehabilitation center has some residents living in the neighborhood concerned.
The rezoning before the Rogers City Council tonight asks that an eight-bedroom house at 615 W. Chestnut St. be rezoned from office to residential-office.
Rogers Planning Commission voted in favor of recommending the rezoning to the City Council during a meeting March 3.
The property was foreclosed in recent years and is owned by Community First Bank of Eureka Springs, said Bill Watkins, a Rogers attorney. He was hired by The h.o.u.s.e, inc., a nonprofit corporation out of Webb City, Mo., that wants to purchase the property.
The rezoning is contingent on the nonprofit corporation buying the property, Watkins said. The nonprofit plans to turn the property into a transitional living center for veterans, he said. Veterans would stay at the home voluntarily while going through a 28-day program.
Derrel Smith, Rogers city planner, said office and residential-office are similar zoning designations but office zoning does not allow for a transient residence such as the proposed veterans center.
"I'm not sure if one is an upgrade on the other," Smith said. "I think they are almost interchangeable."
Jane Whitlow, a resident, said she lives a block away from the home.
"I am concerned with property values going down," Whitlow said. "I wish it could be somewhere else not near residential."
Whitlow also said she is one of several single women in the neighborhood. Safety is a concern, she said.
"I am wondering if the men will be able to come and go on their own?" Whitlow said.
Watkins said it is against the rules for the men in the program to leave.
"I think there is a lot of stereotyping here," Watkins said during the rezoning meeting. "The veterans are here because they want to be here. It is not a lockup. If they sneak out, they are out of the program."
Other residential-office property borders the home, Watkins said. He also said the home has been a group home for teens in the past.
"The facility has been a group home since the mid-70s," Watkins said. "I would think having a group home that is populated with people who want to be there, and these veterans want to be there, would be less intrusive on the neighborhood than teenagers."
The property was rezoned from residential-office to office by a company in the early 2000s, Watkins said.
Suzie Post, a resident, said she has lived near the home since the 1980s. She remembers when it was a group home.
"I have been through group homes with the kids," Post said. "They broke into my car. There were a number of police incidents. I wasn't feeling safe in my home. Since it has been 'office' it has been so much better."
Watkins said the veterans would spend little time at the property. They would be bused to Fayetteville where they would receive treatment during the day, he said.
Smith said the house would have to pass inspection, and this could include the installation of a sprinkler.
The organization would not need to go back before a board for any other approvals, if the City Council approves the rezoning today, Smith said.
NW News on 03/10/2015