Winter Springs officials discuss group homes in city

WINTER SPRINGS - When Commissioner Joanne Krebs missed Monday's commission meeting, her absence set the stage for a 30-word sentence to spark 10 minutes of debate.

At issue with commissioners was a line in the city's draft Evaluation and Appraisal Report, which audits the city's comprehensive plan for areas that can be improved.   One of the city's goals of providing elderly housing and medical care had a provision saying that the city would encourage state-licensed group homes to locate in existing neighborhoods.

Commissioner Donald Gilmore started the discussion, saying that group homes with as many as six people living in them could change the character of the neighborhood, by adding as many as six cars coming in and out of the home, nurses coming and going and the like.

Commissioner Robert Miller agreed with him.

"I would probably put my house up for sale and move.   It does change the nature of the neighborhood," Miller said. "Residential neighborhoods need that defense."

Commissioner Sally McGinnis, who used to work putting group homes together up north, called the discussion inflammatory and eventually said Gilmore was being obstinate.   McGinnis said that in many cases the homes are embedded in neighborhoods for months before neighbors find out about them - usually from open houses.

"They would be all around you and you wouldn't even know it," McGinnis said. "You're making assumptions that are dangerous, inflammatory and wrong."

Gilmore wanted to add more language to the report that would qualify the use of group homes in existing neighborhoods "subject to strict design compatibility guidelines to protect the neighborhood character."

However, city attorney Anthony Garganese warned the commission that he didn't think they would be able to legally impose those regulations.   As the commission discussed the issues, Garganese was looking up the statutes that govern the licensing of group homes on his laptop.

Still, Gilmore motioned to change the language on the report, and when the vote came down Gilmore and Miller were for it and Sally McGinnis against it. Commissioner Rick Brown, who had largely stayed silent for the discussion, took a deep breath.

"No," Brown said, tying the vote and leaving it up to Mayor John Bush.

"Anthony, you said you didn't think this thing was legal?" Bush asked.

"I don't believe it's legal," Garganese said.

"Then no," Bush said, voting down the language change. "Why are we going to pass a motion that's not legal?"

Immediately after the measure was defeated, Gilmore made another motion, this time to remove the word encourage from the document.

"You are being obstinate," McGinnis said.

At one point, Miller suggested they add the word encourage to the rest of the document, pointing out that this was the only provision that used that language.   Finally, the motion was made to just remove the 30-word sentence from the document altogether.