Latest news RSS Feed
Print Story
E-mail StoryNeighbors upset that group home wants to grow
| Monday, Jul 10 2006 9:50 PM
Last Updated: Monday, Jul 10 2006 9:54 PM
Six is company, but is eight a crowd?
Our readers recommend:
Loading Stories
A group home in southwest Bakersfield is bringing its request to increase the number of teenage residents today to the city Board of Zoning Adjustment.
Some neighbors, initially upset that the house in the residential neighborhood turned out to be a group home, are now worried that adding two more troubled teenagers is a recipe for suburban disaster.
The group home, on the 4300 block of Oceanwood Street, now houses six male teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 with adult supervision. All have been placed in foster care or adjudicated delinquent by Juvenile Court.
As recommended for approval by city staff, the home would be expanded to eight beds and two staff members per shift.
Lawrence and Judith Heckmann have lived in the 4200 block of Oceanwood Street for 18 years, their letter to the city said. Their neighborhood has become worse in the past year because of the group home, they said, with fighting, foul language and other disruptions.
Sandrini Elementary School is adjacent to the property.
Reginald Gridiron, who said he owns and works at the group home, said the police have never been summoned for disruptions. Complaints about the home, he said, are news to him.
"The purpose (of the group home) is not to make money," Gridiron said. "It's to serve."
City staff inspected the home in mid-June and reported that it was well-maintained. The Building and Code Enforcement division had no records of complaint, either, city staff said.