Side Streets: Neighbors relieved that halfway house proposal was rejected

When the Colorado Springs City Council slapped down a prison minister's bid to convert a halfway house for women into a facility for men last week, neighborhoods across the city relaxed.

Not because they fear getting a halfway house in their own backyards. But because of what the fight represented.

At issue was a 2002 agreement between the city planning department and the Ivywild neighborhood south of downtown to allow a Christian ministry to open Liza's Place, a transitional home for women leaving prison.

Neighbors on south Tejon Street accepted Liza's Place only after the city promised - in writing - the house would accept only women.

Folks feared violent men leaving prison would move in - convicted killers, sex offenders and drug addicts. They worried about their safety. And for the children in the area, especially at nearby Ivywild Elementary School.

So city planners placed a "condition of record" on the development plan for the property at 1411 S. Tejon St. requiring it be women-only. And that's the way it stayed, even after the property was sold to Eric Wyatt, a businessman and real estate investor, in 2003.

But Liza's Place outgrew the small, 100-year-old house on Tejon and recently relocated. Prison minister Bennie Belton heard about it and thought he could carry on the tradition.

Only with men.

"This wasn't just something I decided to do," Belton said. "I believe it was a spiritual message from my god. He wanted me to do men."

So he leased the house from Wyatt and asked the city planning staff to drop the "women only" condition so he could open "Restoration House." The staff refused but the Planning Commission agreed, causing neighbors to appeal to the City Council.

At last Tuesday's meeting, the council said a deal is a deal. Doesn't matter if a city attorney thinks the gender-based compromise is "unenforceable."

It's a critical decision because neighborhoods across the Springs have made similar compromises with the city and developers - such as the pine trees behind the Citadel Crossing shopping center. Might they all start unraveling?

"Everybody needs to know that conditions of record have a binding value," said Councilwoman Margaret Radford. "If we allowed this change, all kinds of things could be rolled back. We'd have no credibility."

Belton is discouraged and considering his options.

He's considering moving four ex-cons and a supervisor into the house. The city can't regulate a house where five unrelated adults live, said Heather Rose, the city planner who initially upheld the women-only condition.

A lawsuit challenging the council's decision is possible, though Wyatt said it would cost thousands and take years.

Neighbors are angry they had to fight the issue again and are upset they've been portrayed as uncaring. They say they simply want Wyatt and Belton to follow the rules they agreed to when they bought and leased the house.

"Bring in eight women," said Kathy Nimz, who owns adjacent rental property.

"That's what we agreed to in 2002," she said. "It's the right thing to do."

Tell me about your neighborhood: 636-0193 or bill.vogrin@gazette.com