Foes of Units for Disabled Unfazed

Essentially dismissed by city leaders as the meanest people in town, residents along an Anaheim street remained largely unapologetic Thursday for suggesting that a housing project for the mentally ill would bring undesirables to their community.

Members of the Anaheim City Council said they were taken aback and even revolted by the language residents used in objecting to a low-cost-housing project in the form of a 33-unit complex and counseling center for mentally disabled people, including some who were once homeless.

One councilwoman said she was ashamed by the apparent meanness of the comments. A councilman fought back tears. And the mayor said he was tempted to approve the project just to spite the opponents.

If it was meant as a public dressing-down, residents on Dwyer Drive remained mostly unrepentant, though several did agree that residents probably went too far in describing the potential residents of the proposed complex as “undesirables,” “child molesters” and “crazy” people.

Fran Wiseman said she was “appalled” by the behavior of some of her Dwyer Drive neighbors, even though she opposes the project because of its density.

“I don’t think who’s going to live there is the issue,” said Wiseman, 43, while taking a break from yardwork. “I realize these people have to live someplace.”

Still, she said, the neighborhood had changed “horrendously” because of added density. “It’s all apartment living around here,” she said. “This used to be all avocado trees and orange groves. Now it’s all apartments, triplexes and duplexes.”

But others on the U-shaped street, once known as “Doctor’s Row” because of all the physicians who lived there, were pleased that their neighbors spoke so passionately against the proposed development.

“It’s not going to do a thing for our neighborhood,” said Lisa Lussier. “There could possibly be child molesters housed there. And that place is too close to neighborhoods and schools.”

One of the more outspoken speakers Tuesday night was Robert Cueva, another resident of Dwyer Drive, a mix of million-dollar Tudor and contemporary-style homes several blocks from the proposed project. Cueva said he didn’t appreciate being chastised by Anaheim council members for his comments.

“I heard one of the councilmen was about to cry,” Cueva said. “I’d like to see him take these drug abusers and parolees into his home. These are not normal homeless people. Their brains are cooked.”

Project proponents said that although some of the residents would be former homeless people, there was no suggestion that any were former prison inmates or substance abusers.

Residents of the neighborhood, called Westmont, said a letter from real estate agent Paul Kott alerted them to the city’s plans for the vacant lot at Wilshire Avenue and Pearl Street. Kott, whose office is a few hundred yards from the site, wrote in his letter that “parolees, child molesters and mentally ill” could soon live nearby.

The project was proposed in a neighborhood of mostly faded apartment buildings and small pastel homes. Though only a few blocks from Dwyer Drive, the area stands in contrast to that street’s affluence. Many nearby residents didn’t know about the controversy the project stirred at Tuesday’s council meeting but held few objections to such a facility being built nearly in their backyards.

“I see the point that people say it will decrease property value, but it’s very sad that we’re going to deprive these people of a place to stay,” said Elisa Cancino, who lives one block from the site. “We’ve had our share of different people in this neighborhood.”

Hai Nguyen, 66, owns a fourplex just steps from the vacant lot. The retired chemist said he didn’t object to the project but was more worried about neighborhood disturbances than lower property values. A couple of years ago, a man living in transitional housing nearby would run down the street screaming and causing grief for neighbors, Nguyen said.

“You felt uneasy,” he said.

Lifetime Anaheim resident Rose Hildebrand said that when she heard about opponents’ strong remarks in the City Council chambers Tuesday, she felt embarrassed for her community.

“That’s upsetting to hear,” she said. “What if their family member was mentally ill? ... The reason why they say those things is because they can’t cope with those types of problems.”

Ben Phillips, regional director for lower-cost-housing developer Mercy Housing, which is not involved in the proposal, said outreach was integral in getting neighborhood support for low-cost-housing projects. Because of that, he said, there was minimal opposition to such a complex for those with AIDS and HIV in West Anaheim, despite being behind a junior high school.

Sally Lang, senior project manager at Jamboree Housing Corp., the developer of the currently proposed project, said that in hindsight, the company should have included the community more in devising its plans.

Jamboree officials had decided against outreach after city staffers assured them proper notice was enough to process the proposal, she said.

“Whenever affordable housing is involved, it’s beneficial to educate the community,” Lang said.

“We’ll definitely learn a lesson from this.”

The council directed Jamboree the developer to come up with a plan for the site that predominantly serves low-income families and not sole occupants with mental disabilities. City officials said they would try to find a different place in town for the proposal serving the mentally disabled.