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11-14-05 Council Meeting Minutes
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11-14-05 Council Meeting Minutes
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City Council - City Clerk
City Counci - Date
11/14/2005
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REGULAR MEETINGNOVEMBER 14, 2005 <br />is the corridor on West Washington Street simply is not a distinctly Single-Family <br />section. There is a great deal of zoning diversity, with a large multi family zone just a <br />few doors away and with several multi-use buildings. The beautiful exterior and garden <br />added to the residential character and value of the corridor. By any standard, the home <br />located at 1126 is one of the most aesthetically pleasing properties in the area. The <br />Catholic Worker was designed to create a home like environment and 1126 West <br />Washington is just that a home not some big shelter. There are a large number of empty <br />houses, buildings and lots (8 houses, and 3 lots right near the 1126 property) and upwards <br />of 50 empty houses in the vicinity. Many other properties have rapid turnover of tenants. <br />In this context, the Catholic Worker Home provides the much-needed stability in the <br />area. The presence and commitment to good values is a deterrent to crime. For example, <br />the large abandoned house right across the street from 1126 might well have become a <br />crack house were it not for the Catholic Worker Home oversight and presence nearby. <br />The Catholic Worker Home has the support of more than 100 of its closest neighbors, <br />especially from the couple and the family who are in fact the two closest neighbors. <br />Most of those who oppose live several blocks away, and almost none in that group has <br />actually spent time at the Catholic Worker Home to see what life is really like. <br />Accordance with City Plan, the Catholic Worker Home’s proposal serves the Plan’s goals <br />of neighborhoods that offer diverse housing choices that promote philanthropy and <br />volunteerism. Further, the ideas of the New Urbanism suggest that vibrant urban <br />community need zoning diversity, not monolithic codes that lack flexibility. There would <br />be no issued of setting precedence. The rezoning process is case by case. By supporting <br />the rezoning, it brings no obligation to support other rezoning cases. The Catholic <br />Worker Home is willing to set commitments and abide by them fully. If the Catholic <br />Worker Home were to sell, it would rezone the home back to single-family zoning. <br />Other commitments that the Catholic Worker Home is willing to agree to are to keep the <br />number of guest and staff to the recommended number. In the end, the Catholic Worker <br />Home is willing to make commitments in writing and would like to work together as <br />good neighbors. <br />This being the time heretofore set for the Public Hearing on the above bill, proponents <br />and opponents were given an opportunity to be heard. <br />Mr. James Ludwig, 925 W. Washington Street, South Bend, Indiana, stated that he took <br />the time to get to know the people at Catholic Worker Home and feels that they are a <br />great asset to the neighborhood. <br />Father Christopher Cox, Pastor, St. Adalberts Catholic Church and St. Casimir’s Catholic <br />Church, 2420 W. Huron Street, South Bend, Indiana stated that there are five main <br />concerns regarding this rezoning. Father Chris stated that first, there is clearly mixed use <br />zoning in the neighborhood with the Hansel Center and the Natatorium and a roofing <br />business all in the same block. Second, the Catholic Worker Home is committed to a <br />strong work ethic. Thirdly, the St. Augustine Parish that is just down the street from the <br />Catholic Worker Home houses the Christ Child Society and provides a soup kitchen. <br />Fourth, the west side is home to many Latino families. The Catholic Worker Home has a <br />fluent Spanish speaking staff. And, finally the fifth and most important issue of the <br />Catholic Worker Home is that it is just that a home not an institution. <br />Mr. Gordon Berry, 917 W. Washington Street, South Bend, Indiana, stated that there <br />seems to be a paranoia growing on the near west side of South Bend. Connie Blair <br />exaggerates when she says that the near west side “neighborhood has been ripped apart to <br />a degree that’s incomprehensible” (SB Tribune, 21 Oct 2005) by the controversy over the <br />rezoning of the Catholic Worker House (CWH) at 1126 W. Washington in South Bend. <br />The paranoia stems primarily from people who live far from the CWH, while people who <br />live closer acknowledge that the Catholic Worker House is a source of strength for the <br />neighborhood. Mr. Berry stated that he respects the hard work and calming influence of <br />Jeff Gibney and his South Bend Heritage Foundation for their good work (SB Tribune, <br />12 Oct 2005), I submit that in this case they are looking backwards to an out-of-date (by <br />14 years), outmoded, plan that fails the neighborhood particularly in the 1100 block of <br />West Washington. As a resident of the 900 block of West Washington for 10 years, he <br />has seen the steady deterioration of the 1100 block; 3 empty institutional buildings the <br />empty Natatorium, the empty and greatly deteriorated mortuary, and the empty Hansel <br />11 <br /> <br />
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