Group home rejected by Weyburn neighbourhood, city council

The outcry from people living in one of Weyburn’s nicest neighbourhoods has managed to stop a new group home plan in its tracks.

The Saskatchewan Housing Authority Corporation and the Weyburn Group Homes Society were planning on building a new group home on DeLaet Drive in the Creeks neighbourhood.

A discretionary use permit came before Weyburn’s city council on Monday. The city administration recommended it be approved with a few conditions — things like that the house be well-maintained, be built in the style of the neighbourhood, and have off-street parking.

However, the application was voted down by council.

It appears many of the residents on the street were against the home being built there.

Coun. Brad Wheeler said he lives in that area and spoke to the residents’ concerns at Monday’s meeting.

“All the people that built there built there under the understanding that it wasn’t an exclusive neighbourhood, but it was the closest thing to Weyburn — there’s architectural controls,” he said. “And most of them built their lifetime homes or moved into their retirement homes there.”

Wheeler said the average homeowner in the area paid around $700,000 for their house, and if there had been talk of a group home going in when the residents were making their plans, they may have built elsewhere.

“I know it’s not politically correct to say there’s a stigma attached to (group homes), but there is — you have to be honest with yourself,” he said. “I feel bad that that’s the case, but (area residents) have invested a lot of money into their dream homes, their retirement homes, and to have the provincial government come in and pick a lot directly across from them, I don’t think that was the best choice.”

Wednesday afternoon, Wheeler released a formal apology for his comments at the meeting.

“I failed miserably at relaying a message on behalf of the residents of the Creeks and for that I apologize to my neighbours.”

He said in the letter that he listened to what he said at the meeting, and recognizes why people are upset with him.

“The statements I made are not the sentiments of the residents in the Creeks development, nor do they reflect mine. I spoke against my better judgment and sincerely wish I hadn’t.”

During the meeting, Wheeler also said there were concerns about property values going down and the quantity of parking and traffic in the area. There was also a concern that the mandate and level of care at the home could change.

The group home would have had up to four residents with either physical or mental disabilities, with two to three staff members there on a rotating basis to provide 24-hour supervision and care.

Letters from the residents

Letters sent to Weyburn’s city council from residents outlined concerns, some saying they want the neighbourhood to continue as a single-family residential area. While others said they aren’t opposed to a group home being built, they don’t want it directly across the street or right beside their own home.

A couple of the letter-writers also brought up the idea that the home could impact their safety.

One letter signed “Residents of The Creeks Subdivision” said: “If the proposed development is voted through, essentially the right to decide where to raise your family to be healthy and safe is taken away and fear of the unknown comes to mind.”

Wheeler said he thinks it’s unfair to force this on the residents already there, and suggested a different lot could be used that isn’t already developed so that people moving in could make the choice to live next to a group home.

“This particular lot, it just doesn’t fit,” he said. “It kind of dashes the dreams and hopes of the people that live there currently.”

Coun. Winston Bailey agreed with Wheeler, saying he thinks it could be bad for one of the city’s nicest areas.

“To put a nice home, but put it there, I think would be detrimental to the rest of the development in there,” Bailey said.

A couple of residents and one councillor asked for more time for a decision to be made, but that was rejected. Ultimately, council voted to reject the discretionary use application for the group home.

Weyburn’s mayor

Mayor Marcel Roy voted against the application, saying it’s because it’s what the residents seem to want.

“Because it’s discretionary use and this is what the process is, then I myself feel that we should be following what the residents wish,” Roy said.

Roy defended that decision on Wednesday after negative reactions poured in from across the province.

Roy acknowledged some things were said by councillors in the meeting that he believes don’t reflect the council’s values.

“The intention of our decision at that time, at council on Monday, was not to offend any groups or individuals within our community but to respect the existing process,” he said.

Roy called the response from residents in that neighbourhood “tremendous pushback” and said council was respecting what the neighbourhood wanted.

When asked about the concerns that were brought up, Roy said it’s not for council to judge the concerns — he said that should be between the residents and the developer.

Roy pointed out that no one from the developer was at Monday’s council meeting.

According to Roy, council strives to be inclusive and accessible housing is an important priority.

A group home will still be built

The Weyburn Group Home Society would have run the group home. Colin Folk is the executive director of the organization.

Folk said he was a little bit shocked when he heard the application was denied. He explained the society is operating at capacity right now, and there is a need for a new home.

The organization will be meeting with the city and city council at some point soon, and Folk said he’ll try to address any concerns that will be presented. Folk said none of the concerns that were brought up at Monday’s council meeting had been brought to him directly.

Folk said that since he’s been with the society, the organization has never had anything but day-to-day issues with the homes.

He added that, as a whole, Weyburn has been great to the organization, and he’s received a lot of support from the community at large on this issue.

The society is still working on getting a new home built in Weyburn; it’s just unclear now where it might go.