THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 22, 1995 TAG: 9506220528
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TERRI WILLIAMS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
The City Council has denied a request to rezone an area to allow for a shelter housing eight children ages of 4 to 10.
The council voted 5-2 Wednesday against the request for the Hall Place facility.
Mayor S. Chris Jones and City Councilman Thomas G. Underwood voted in favor of the request.
Karyn and Dana Cook of Holland wanted to rezone 197 S. Main in Hall Place, at the southern edge of downtown, for a children's shelter to be called Lambs Nest. Lambs Nest would have worked with the Department of Social Services as a clearinghouse for abused children.
The Cooks once lived in Hall Place but later rented the South Main house after they moved to the country.
During the public hearing, Karyn Cook said she was disheartened that the neighbors were against to the plan.
``We just didn't know people would be opposed to helping little children,'' said Cook. ``This house sits smack dab in the middle of life in the area. We just want to be good stewards of the Lord.''
However, neighbors protested, arguing that Hall Place's urban, congested community wasn't a good place for abused children. Last month, the Planning Commission voted against the move after hearing their opposition.
After the vote, Karyn Cook said her fight to help abused children wouldn't end with the council defeat.
``We trusted in the wisdom of council and we'll proceed on,'' said Karyn Cook. Cook, along with her church, Cypress Chapel Christian, plans to look for another location.
The members of the Hall Place Community Association also said they'll work with the Cooks to find a home for the children.
During the public comment hearing, the president of the Hall Place Community Association, Wendy Hill, said, ``Let's all get together and help the Cooks find a place.''
Yet Hall Place residents didn't want it in their back yards.
There were, they said, a host of reasons. Neighbors worried that if the Cooks' request for zoning were approved, it would open the floodgates for similar ones. There were the questions about the appropriateness of bringing abused children to the tiny community, where they might not be adequately served. Also, neighbors, who have prided themselves for revitalizing the once-decaying area, said a shelter would only lend to an environment of unruly children.
``We have serious concerns this will open the doors for others to come in and zone,'' said Hill. ``We must stress that we have our hands full in curbing blight.''
Mayor Jones said he hopes a shelter can be found.
``I certainly hope there will be a place. What they need is love, attention and caring,'' he said. by CNB