Rehab Center’s Move Downtown OKd

Despite objections from some residents and downtown business owners, the City Council agreed early Wednesday to allow an alcohol and drug rehabilitation center to move into the downtown historic district.

The discussion, which packed council chambers Tuesday and caused the meeting to go past midnight, followed more than a month of talks among representatives of Primary Purpose rehabilitation center, neighborhood groups, business people and church leaders over the impact the center would have on the neighborhood.

Primary Purpose, which has been in the Oxnard area since 1974, needed to move because its current landlords decided to sell their site on West 5th Street. The center’s executives found a building, formerly a medical office, on South D Street where they could accommodate all their clients and services.

The debate at the council meeting centered on historical preservation and zoning restrictions versus the city’s responsibility to help people in need.

“Many of the people [in the neighborhood] believe in the heritage and history of the city,” said Donna Matson, who owns property near the proposed site. “You tell us to invest [in the neighborhood] . . . and then you dump lots of people with lots of social problems into our neighborhood. . . . We need permanent, productive, community-minded citizens who can help turn this neighborhood around.”

But those who support the relocation said it was important that the city of Oxnard show compassion for people with debilitating addictions.

“I have sat here listening to people’s pocketbooks rule their concerns over humanity and it sickens me,” said John Miller, an Oxnard resident and Primary Purpose graduate. “By not allowing Primary Purpose [to relocate], you are sending a message that it’s OK to run out on the problem people in your community--to hide them in cellars and put them away and say, ‘We don’t want to see them.’ ”

In the end, the council voted unanimously to support relocation.

“I was impressed by the fact that several ministers have stated their support for the facility,” said Mayor Manuel Lopez. “I think the city also has a responsibility to help our fellow people.”

Primary Purpose, a nonprofit agency, houses nearly 50 clients who are alcohol or drug addicts and offers a strict, disciplined approach to overcoming substance dependency, said Marina Ross, the group’s executive director. To allay some residents’ fears, Ross assured the audience that clients are not allowed to loiter or wander around the neighborhood.

The council’s decision was a welcome relief after enduring a month of tense discussions, Ross said.

“We were very pleased with the outcome, especially the unanimous decision,” said Ross, who noted that 60% of the center’s clients are from Oxnard and 90% are county residents. “We were concerned up until the end that we would be denied.”

Ross added that the discussion with neighborhood groups was as important as the permit to relocate. Ross said she will continue to meet with residents regularly to ensure that the center is a good neighbor.

Many of the speakers opposing the relocation said they admired the work done by Primary Purpose. However, saying there were already at least half a dozen social service agencies in their neighborhood, opponents said they were disproportionately carrying the burden for other parts of the city.

“There are other places where Primary Purpose can continue to do the good work that they do,” said Tila Estrada, a neighbor and president of the Oxnard Downtowners, an ad hoc group of business people that voted to oppose the relocation.

Added Mark Bacin: “The Wilson neighborhood has really carried the burden of urban pressures.”

But such supporters as Dollie Wells, who is black, said some of the complaints brought back painful memories of segregation and prejudice. Some of the comments about decreasing property values reminded her of the days when Realtors told white neighbors that because her family was moving into the neighborhood, their property values would decline.

“This breaks my heart,” said Wells, a vice chairwoman of an inter-neighborhood council committee. “. . . We don’t have the right to be prejudiced. Remember, there but for the grace of God, go I.”

In making his decision, Councilman Andres Herrera said it was important to show tolerance and kindness to those who are disenfranchised.

“We do have a very glorious cultural heritage in that area,” Herrera said. “We can’t have a better culture than the culture of understanding and helping our neighbors in need.”