Concerned Bungalow Owners Vs. Catholic Retirement Home March 23rd, 2009
St. Joseph Villa is seeking a zoning change from the city to build a 3-story building for assisted living and Alzheimers patients--residents appeal to City Council to prevent expansion.
by Tom Callan
are too small for wheelchair access.
Nearly 200 residents showed up at the March 10th, City Council meeting to complain about the St. Joseph Villa Retirement Center's possible encroachment into their neighboorhood. Many fear their voice will be ignored by the Salt Lake City Council.
Neighbors on the other side of 5th East accuse the church of bad faith and broken promises. One man on Redondo Avenue, who refused to give his name, says St. Joseph Villa "went back on its word" not to expand. He says they should sell the houses they own on 5th East back to families and individuals. "That is the only thing they can do with any honor or integrity," he says, asking me repeatedly if I have carefully written down his every word.
Pascoalina Dunham lives at the corner of 5th East, directly across from a 3-story LDS Temple, just 2 blocks from the Villa. She avers that all of the people at her Temple are vehemently opposed to the expansion and fears another 3- story building will clog the street with more traffic. "I don't want it. Although this is a busy street, it is still a residential area. It will be even busier. I can't even leave my kids in front of the house to play," she protests, posing for a picture in front of her anti-expansion yard sign.
"Look," she says, pointing down the street at the entrance to St. Joseph Villa. "They can build another building in the parking lot and a garage under ground," she suggests. "I just don't want them to demolish the houses. I am worried about the people. If it was my house, I would be so mad." Dunham says Salt Lake should worry about crime in the area rather than doing favors for the Villa. She says someone recently stole her lawnmower and garden hose.
Upcoming City City Council Vote
On Tuesday, March 24, the Salt Lake City Council is expected to vote on whether to amend the city's master plan, which would be the first step in allowing St. Joseph Villa to seek a zoning change for its own master plan, which includes demolition of 7 houses on 5th East to make way for the $20 million development. The houses are owned by St. Joseph Villa, the only Catholic health care facility in Utah. "People say we purchased them for pennies on the dollar. That's not true," insists Ginger Moulton, director of development at St. Joseph Villa.
The Catholic Church's Postion
Alzheimer patients currently live in what Moulton calls the "1959 building," with cramped, crowded corridors failing to meet state codes. Hallways should be 8 feet wide; they are a narrow 6 feet in the old '59 building. Moulton gave me a tour, where I found many of the 70 residents asleep in their wheelchairs in the middle of the hallways. We peeked into one room and found the door space at the entrance to the private bath room too narrow for a wheelchair.
The building's antiquated sprinkler system needs to be updated to the 1999 safety code by 2013. Of course, the Sisters of Charity, who serve at the villa, are hoping they will have moved into the new building before 2013. The Sisters of Charity came to Utah in 1947.
Some residents don't think they can fight and beat the Catholic home. "No matter what we say, they will expand," worries Paul Wright, who lives on Redondo Avenue. "Why should they be forced to move?" He says he worries about those renting houses on 5th East who could lose their homes if the Villa's zoning change musters enough support on city council
codes from the 1950s
But the proliferation of anti-expansion signs in the neighborhood may not accurately gauge public sentiment. Shea Craig recently moved into his house at the corner of 2003 South, 500 East. I found a big, rectangular "The Villa Expansion-Just Say No" on his front lawn. I nervously poked my head over his backyard fence, notwithstanding two vociferously barking dogs. "I am kind of pretty neutral," he told me; he said a local group gave me the sign, so he put it as a show of sympathy for the community.
But he is not really upset or worried about the St. Joseph blueprint. He says all the bad traffic is not from the St. Joseph Villa and doubts a new retirement home will make much difference on 5th East, although he says some worry that the proposed building will "blot out the sun."
Stressing that they want to "be good neighbors," Moulton says "all options are on the table" One possibility under consideration would be to tear down fewer homes for the new building. What if city council chooses not to amend its master plan at the meeting on March 24? Moulton says the board of directors at St. Joseph Villa will then have to make some tough decisions.
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