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REGULAR MEETINGAUGUST 8, 2005
<br />the residents in the neighborhood for money and food. Ms. Mannix stated that this is
<br />clearly a violation of the zoning ordinance and asked the City to get involved. She
<br />suggested sending a representative to the neighborhood meeting.
<br />Councilmember Kirsits asked Ms. Mannix if she has contacted Code Enforcement.
<br />Ms. Mannix stated that she was not sure if Code Enforcement had responded.
<br />Rachel Thomas-Morgan, 114 South Chapin Street, South Bend, Indiana. Ms. Thomas-
<br />Morgan stated that she has lived in the Neighborhood since 2000. Her parish is St.
<br />Augustine Church. She and her husband and children admire the people who live in the
<br />neighborhood. The neighborhood where the Catholic Worker Home is located has
<br />embraced diversity. It is an area of the City that has overcome challenges before. The
<br />neighborhood should be held as a model for how neighbors respect each other. However,
<br />the issue of the Catholic Worker House located on West Washington Street is clearly a
<br />violation of the zoning ordinance. The homes are zoned for single-family dwellings. The
<br />Catholic Worker has housed up to forty (40) people and is feeding up to sixty (60) people
<br />a night. It is clear that this property is inadequate to accommodate housing and feeding
<br />that many people. The health, welfare and safety of the residents is a major concern of
<br />everyone who lives in the neighborhood. Ms. Thomas-Morgan asked the Council for
<br />their support and pay attention to what is happening at the Catholic Worker Home. She
<br />pleaded for the Council’s serious consideration to take this to a special committee, Rev.
<br />Rouse’s Residential Neighborhood Committee, has been assigned this topic. The
<br />neighbors greatly appreciate the support from their Council representative Charlotte
<br />Pfeifer. As neighbors, we are here to share our concerns about this issue and would be
<br />very happy to provide more information at a later date when asked.
<br />Ms. Noreen Dean-Moran, 716 W. Colfax, South Bend, Indiana. Ms. Dean-Moran stated
<br />that at the Council Meeting on June 27, 2005, she brought up this issue and
<br />Councilmember Rouse was happy and they entertained a long conversation. She has sent
<br />him a lengthy bit of information today, which goes through the whole history of
<br />everything. Actually they have been there 2 ½ to 3 years. Code has told them to get out;
<br />Code gave them a ticket in November of $50.00, but has not continued the additional
<br />monetary fines. They have not paid it. The City has decided to do nothing as far as we
<br />can see. She stated that there are people who have no right to be there, no purpose to be
<br />there, fall under no legal thing and have been allowed to sit there, with the City’s
<br />knowledge for 2 ½ years. She was informed by a City official about a year and a half ago
<br />who said, “how do you like the homeless shelters that are now in my neighborhood.” We
<br />have been accused of trying to care about property values, actually in a neighborhood that
<br />has Section 8, apartment buildings that hold hundreds of families, some that hold eight or
<br />ten. We have alcohol, drug addition, The Fire House, Brian’s House, a similar house to
<br />this that was in the neighborhood, until the boys split the women’s head open. They have
<br />objected to none of this, they are just fine in having diversity, the one kind of diversity
<br />we do not have is some stable single-family and the City is doing everything it can to not
<br />allow that. In an article, Don Fozo said that if this house on the east side would in
<br />anyway endanger property values, it would of course get a no. We have been told not to
<br />care about our property values. Actually most of us, if we could not sell our house, could
<br />not pay the mortgage that is due on it, because the property values are down. Not
<br />necessarily because of this situation, but it allows every slum landlord, she has two on her
<br />street that own in a block and a half twenty-seven properties. They look forward to that.
<br />The City is totally aware of it, maybe our Council people have not been, but Cathy
<br />Brucker actually spoke her mind in the newspaper, by saying she wondered about the
<br />fire, health and so forth. However, her hands are obviously tied in this situation. The
<br />legal department has talked about negotiations, they want to know about cease and desist.
<br />There is only supposed to be two in a household, they have thirteen staff in a household
<br />and sleeping as many as Rachel quoted. It should not happen, she finds it appalling that
<br />the City could cooperate and actually think that this woman probably deserves her right
<br />to have the group home. She is not against these things, the neighbors are not against
<br />group homes, we are not against all kinds of housing, we are however against this, which
<br />is absolutely illegal and being allowed to exist for whatever reason, we cannot seem to
<br />figure out and we are people living there and we have families and some single-family
<br />homes, which the Area Plan solidified last December and worked for fifteen years to
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