ORANGE : Plan for Drug-Baby Facility Falls Apart

A plan to open a group home for drug-addicted babies fell apart this week when the city and the nonprofit agency involved could not agree on who would be responsible for any potential cleanup of hazardous waste.

When the plan to renovate an 1895 Victorian Queen Anne cottage as a shelter for six needy babies and toddlers was approved in May, 1990, it was hailed as a perfect partnership between the city, a community organization and a citizens preservation group. The cottage was moved to a city-owned lot at Pixley Street and Almond Avenue that had most recently been used by the Water Department as an equipment storage yard.

But after more than 18 months of negotiations, this week nonprofit agency COPES (Child or Parental Emergency Services), withdrew its request to use the cottage. The parties had reached an impasse over “environmental indemnification,” or who would pay for a waste cleanup if it were ever determined that the soil or property was contaminated.

Wendy J. Mickelson, vice president of the COPES board, told the council: “It had been our dream and our hope that we could have a drug-baby facility in the Queen Anne house.”

However, William Arnopp, executive director of the organization, said that if a cleanup were ever needed, it “would probably bankrupt us.” City redevelopment officials said the agency could not waive a requirement that made COPES liable for cleanup. There is no known hazardous waste at the site, but the provision for the cleanup is a legal requirement.

The nonprofit organization runs three other homes for abused and neglected children. City and COPES representatives said they hope that the organization would find a new building at another location in the city to open a facility. COPES has already raised $120,000 toward the home’s renovation, including $50,000 in Community Block Grant funds and has received $100,000 from the city Redevelopment Agency.

The Victorian cottage with its pitched gable roof and angled bay windows sits boarded up and on cinder blocks. It will most likely be made available for $1 to any buyer who will pay to move the structure, officials said.

If no buyer is found, the building will be demolished.