Avon Lake Church To Provide Low Income Housing In Lakewood?

[Lynn Farris]

Jim,

I know you are one of the nicest and big hearted people in the world. If you know the people that are moving in and they are "bad" people then we should be concerned. If they are people that have had problems and need some help - is it a bad thing?

I spoke with Ken the other night and he pointed out that when children come to Lakewood from the inner city, we need to tell them that now you have arrived in Lakewood - where you now have hope. You have good schools, good library, it is a good city. Our expectations from you is that you behave according to Lakewood Societial norms.

I don't know if they are placing people in Cleveland, Lakewood, Avon Lake or what. I hope if they are doing it in Lakewood it is because we have been screaming about vacant rentals and we are a safe place where people do have hope.

I'm confused about this costing us more. Welfare, Unemployment even food stamps don't come out of Lakewood's budget. We wouldn't recognize any income tax if these people aren't working - but they are working on getting a job. Do you believe that we will need more police to watch them? Again, if you know the people moving in are problems and not law abiding - then I agree that is a problem. If these are nice church attending people who need some help because they lost a job, that just isn't true that they need more polcie.

[Dee Krupp]

Partying till 2 am?

Yes, this happens on a regular basis in the building next door.

I don't have a problem with the parties...but when it impedes on my peace and quiet, as well as my neighbors, that's when I have a problem.

I've called LPD numerous times about it. They have come and talked with the offenders...but it still continues.

I would push for them to enforce the Nuisance Law. http://tinyurl.com/3c9snf

There's no reason multiple offenders should continue to disrupt neighborhoods.

[Bryan Schwegler]

I would push for them to enforce the Nuisance Law. http://tinyurl.com/3c9snf

There's no reason multiple offenders should continue to disrupt neighborhoods.

I agree. Seems like a good question for the Mayor to answer on the enforcement of this law...

[Jim O'Bryan]

I would agree but if we go to the Harry Potter thread we can see David Lay point out.

"Talk about pandemonium! ...
Jennie got her book shortly after 2am..."

It would seem that pandemonium until 2am in other neighborhoods is OK.

Seriously if it is a problem it needs to be reported.


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[ryan costa]

That is very generous of Avon Lake based philanthropies. However, Lorain county is lower on diversity than Cuyahoga. I would recommend subsidizing rent in Elyria and Lorain.

If there are so many empty rental units in Lakewood, market theory would suggest the price of rent would continually go down, and these apartments would fill up.

If there is something inhibiting this, say, owners having borrowed money on their houses recent Market Value and now having substantial monthly payments, the solution would be to market the homes in different ways.

The problem is furniture. The furniture market is heavily skewed towards the mcmansion and cookie cutter apartment complex market. Furniture is hella huge. It makes living space less livable: it is more difficult to fit so many people in the house then. With smaller furniture it would be easier to rent to multiple income large or extended families who are too busy working to cause much trouble.

[Jim DeVito]

[john crino]

"This is a church that is doing this - and I would assume that these are parisioners, so I doubt that you have people drinking or using drugs or doing other anti-social behavior.""


Just because this is a church doesn't mean they have 100% good intentions and are devoid of the above mentioned behavior.
Church's are money making businesses,so lets not just assume they are
doing purely altruistic work.

[dl meckes]

John is correct.

The Lutheran Housing Ministry, for instance, has all sorts of placements and programs. Some of them are really well run and some of them have the capability for chaos-making. Their programs have nothing to do with parishoners but for the fact that the parishoners support a wider mission of finding housing and programs for people.

They get their funding from a variety of sources.

I don't mean to single out the Lutheran Housing Ministry (in a bad way). They are a good example of a group that offers all sorts of programs, like re-entry housing services and the job they do is generally excellent.

But they aren't placing church members here and there.

[David Lay]

I would agree but if we go to the Harry Potter thread we can see David Lay point out.

"Talk about pandemonium! ...
Jennie got her book shortly after 2am..."

It would seem that pandemonium until 2am in other neighborhoods is OK.

Seriously if it is a problem it needs to be reported.

Uh, Jim, this was at Crocker Park. Hardly a residential area.

[Jim O'Bryan]

I would agree but if we go to the Harry Potter thread we can see David Lay point out.

"Talk about pandemonium! ...
Jennie got her book shortly after 2am..."

It would seem that pandemonium until 2am in other neighborhoods is OK.

Seriously if it is a problem it needs to be reported.

Uh, Jim, this was at Crocker Park. Hardly a residential area.

David

I thought it was mixed use with apartments above the stores.

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[David Lay]

Personally, I think they designed CP with retail in mind, and the apartments as an afterthought.

That said, Borders is a pretty good distance away from the apartments.

[Lynn Farris]

[Jim O'Bryan]

Lynn

I am not here to defend Jim's comment but I am just curious. Where did you get white only from his message? I was actually excited by the comments of the landlord. To me it made sense.

Fair housing at what cost? i could be legally wrong on this. But if I had a tenant that paid his rent every month, kept the place clean. I would welcome their input on who is living next to them. That is a tenant worth hanging on to. So I do not ask and bring David Lay's pot smoking two in the morning partying neighbors, and lose Jim and the other three residents?

This has nothing to do with this family, as you point out we do not even know them.

Lynn I have no doubt the church means well. Even though other religious groups do it for money on such a level it is almost reminds me of the slave trade to me. When you dig in and find that the massive movers of human bodies around the world are actually turning profits by doing it.

If this church was truly filled with compassion, why would they send this impoverished family where they will have to spend $12 going to church in gas? Why did they not find them a home to buy, and float the loan in their neighborhood? Why not Habitat for Humanity.

I remember St. Peter's bringing in a Vietnamese family shortly after the war. They were placed in the row house on Edwards, near the church so that the church could continue to give them the support they needed moving here. They were not dumped in another community because rent was lower.

Lynn like it or not many of these things will require closer scrutiny from a point of, can WE as a city afford it. We can certainly continue to bring in poor all day long, but at some point do not complain when taxes go up. Some one has to pay for the services they use as well.

You know me and I know you we both suffer like Gary from huge hearts. But this is an easy one to work through. Can you live in Lakewood if no one else pays taxes? Can you live in the city if only one person does not pay taxes? Somewhere in between that is the tipping point where the city no longer functions.

Maybe I missed it, have we finished helping the poor and needy in Lakewood? I could have sworn that Mike at Christian Services was just speaking of needing more help? I mean if we have finished here, then let;s find some more to help. If not...

I am only half way through the book, but I think you should read "Slaughter of Cities" it is an eye opener.

FWIW

PS - I want to make sure that everyone knows Lynn has never mentioned closing off sections of Lakewood as a gated community to me.



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[Jim O'Bryan]

Personally, I think they designed CP with retail in mind, and the apartments as an afterthought.

That said, Borders is a pretty good distance away from the apartments.

David

Come on we know how loud those Potter fans get.

CP was designed as a mixed use "city."

No after thought, planned.


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[Dee Martinez]

Lynn

I am not here to defend Jim's comment but I am just curious. Where did you get white only from his message? I was actually excited by the comments of the landlord. To me it made sense.

I think Ms Farris made a completely valid point. Even though his intentions may have been perfectly sincere and honorable, the actions of the landlord seem only slightly on this side of legal. Is it so inconceivable that the other tenants would veto a new one because they "talked funny" or "I couldn't understand what they were saying?"

This could conceivably raise some eyebrows. There ARE laws against discrimination and I dont think the landlord can hide behind the fact that the other tenants didnt want them. Official "tenants associations" can screen (the famous Seinfeld episode covered that) but the criteria have to be specifically laid out. Litigious or no we are a nation of laws.
Again, I speak from the perspective of someone with a surname that immediately marks you for "special handling", even if my Cornish pasties are far superior to my arroz con pollo.