From the Jackson [Tennessee] Sun:

Commissioners in Madison County, Tennessee, have withheld support for a plan to build eight new group homes for people with developmental disabilities in residential neighborhoods. In public comments this week, some commissioners said that developers of the residences have not given adequate public notice of their intentions.

Commissioner Billy Spain speculated about whether the group homes would drive down property values in the neighborhoods, and said some constituents are upset about the prospect of having the homes near them. “Secrecy causes fear, whether it should or not,” he said.

Terry Swatley, president of Developmental Disability Management Services, said the developers had fully disclosed their plans, and characterized the opposition as a “not in my backyard” mentality.

… he said the homes usually become well regarded in their neighborhoods and those people housed in the facilities should not pose any danger physically or financially to other homes.

“Our guys are not going to be running around your streets attacking your children,” Swatley said.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 24th, 2008 at 6:47 pm and is filed under group homes, housing, intellectual/developmental disabilities. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.  Email This Post