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REGULAR MEETINGNOVEMBER 14, 2005
<br />Mr. John Hamilton, 913 W. Colfax Avenue, South Bend, Indiana, advised that he moved
<br />into 913 W. Colfax some time ago and has been rehabbing the home ever since. He
<br />stated that the Catholic Worker home
<br />Ms. Noreen Deane-Moran, 716 W. Colfax Avenue, South Bend, Indiana, stated that she
<br />would like to give a bit of history on the relationship with the Catholic Worker House.
<br />During the 2003-2004 year, she began to notice some additional people congregating on
<br />porches in the referenced area. The mild bemusement but nothing else accompanied
<br />these observations. During the summer of 2004, the South Bend Tribune ran a lengthy
<br />article and spread on the Catholic Worker Organization and its recent occupation of
<br />properties in the 1100 block of West Washington. Now, things were beginning to take
<br />more shape in our consciousness. A note from the Redevelopment Office asked what we
<br />felt about the new “homeless shelter” in the neighborhood. In November, as the Catholic
<br />Worker Group was trying to decide whether to request a variance from the City of South
<br />Bend and its zoning laws, they were advised by the City to speak to both South Bend
<br />Heritage Foundation and our Neighborhood Organization. The former told CW that
<br />although our neighborhood might be good for them, “they were not good for our
<br />neighborhood might be good for them, “they were not good for our neighborhood.” The
<br />NWSNO listened carefully to the presentation by four members of the Catholic Worker
<br />and complimented them on the good work, which they were trying to accomplish, but
<br />emphatically asked them to do it in an area legally designed for this. The meeting was a
<br />long one – almost three hours, and members of our group were very explicit that we
<br />wanted the zoning to remain intact and for Catholic Worker to stop violating it. They
<br />claimed they would be with us forever (or at least fifty years). However, we have been
<br />the victim of such promises of stability many times before, and the now abandoned
<br />Catholic Worker house on Notre Dame and Cedar and their departure from usage of that
<br />property, without Board agreement, spoke in a different direction. The Catholic Worker
<br />was asked to scale down and relocate their operation to abide by the law. We did not
<br />expect them to disappear overnight, but that they move in the direction of maintaining the
<br />single-family status of the property in question. In addition to the misuse of the particular
<br />property, we all have long experienced with other property holders, and especially
<br />absentee landlords, using the actions of one group to justify their misplaced property
<br />usage. It is this which began the long fracture of the neighborhood originally and which
<br />has continued to contribute to our fragility. We then asked the Department of Code
<br />Enforcement for clarification of the process of requesting a waiver and the legal status
<br />which results when an application is made. At that time and up to the very present, we
<br />were informed that no such application had been made. At that time also, we were
<br />notified that the Catholic Worker had already been notified of its non-compliance.
<br />December, January and February came, and through Council President Pfeifer the status
<br />of the City and the Catholic Worker remained the same. Code Enforcement at that point
<br />reiterated their notice of non-compliance and issued a $50.00 ticket. As of today, the
<br />Catholic Worker has neither paid this find nor responded to it. It has been said that “it”
<br />has to be someplace. Ms. Moran disagrees, perhaps, this does not have to be any place,
<br />as many of the particular uses of the demonstrated need are not from our City. And, if it
<br />does, in fact, have to be someplace, that place should be in an area legally defined for that
<br />use and one protected and governed by all the codes of the city: zoning, space,
<br />occupancy, density of occupancy, fire, safety and health strictures.This is clearly an
<br />issue of violation of the City’s ordinances and not as a need for care of fragile people.
<br />The latter may be very much an issue for our City, but it is a separate one and warrants a
<br />solution which doesn’t violate other needs and considerations.
<br />Ms. Marjorie Kinzie, 719 W. Washington Street, South Bend, Indiana, stated that her
<br />concern with the Catholic Worker House on West Washington Street and how the City,
<br />the neighborhood, and the Catholic Worker group together could turn a blunder into a
<br />blessing. She stated that she has no problems with the project of Catholic Worker
<br />groups, but naiveté of the particular group on Thomas and West Washington has got
<br />them into problems with the law and with their neighbors. After the gift from the diocese
<br />of St. Stephen’s Rectory on Thomas Street, the West Side must have appeared to be a
<br />propitious place for another house. So they bought one. A decision taken without any
<br />consultation with agencies working in the area bout places which might have needs,
<br />without looking into the history of the neighborhood and what strategies the
<br />neighborhood and the City have been using to stabilize it, without looking at the zoning
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