Culver City : Group Home Funds OKd

The Redevelopment Agency approved funding this week for the Westside Opportunity Workshop to buy a home for the developmentally disabled.

The agency granted up to $397,500 for the group to buy a four-bedroom house in the 10900 block of Barman Avenue for six disabled adults and two house parents.

The funding was first approved last month, but the plan was reheard Monday night because the city mailed public hearing notices to the wrong block of residents.

At the two-hour hearing, residents expressed concerns about what they said was an already high concentration of group homes in the area. They also said they were concerned that it could cause property values to drop and that there was insufficient control over future use of the home.

In response, agency officials added several stipulations: The home will be exclusively for developmentally or physically disabled people; at least one neighborhood resident will participate in selecting occupants of the home; the house will be inspected quarterly for the first year and twice a year thereafter, and the owner or use of the home cannot be changed without agency permission.

The group expects to be licensed by the state within four months of the close of escrow; the home will be occupied within two months of licensing.

There are now eight group homes in Culver City. The Barman home is the second to receive funding from the agency.