This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Politics & Government

Residents Form Community Group in Opposition to Greenlea Group Home

Supervisors continue to push for mediation between representatives of the Fairweather Lodge and its neighbors.

Moon Township residents on Wednesday told of safety and other concerns related to the newly opened Fairweather Lodge, a shared residence for people who are recovering from mental illness.

“They sit there, and they have nothing,” said one woman who spoke at the board of supervisors meeting but declined to give her name.

Neighbors said they have seen residents walking in the dark and the rain from the residence at 162 Greenlea Drive to the grocery store because they have no transportation. Residents moved into the home last week after weeks of community controversy and opposition to its opening.

Find out what's happening in Robinson-Moonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“They sit on the porch and smoke their cigarettes because they have nothing,” added the woman, who broke into tears. “They have neighbors who won’t reach out to them because they’re not supervised and we haven’t been educated about them.”

Citing concerns for children living near the lodge, some residents formed a community group — the Moon Advocates for Community Safety — in recent weeks.  They said they were upset that representatives of the lodge, the first of its kind in Allegheny County, haven't reached out to their new neighbors to discuss potential safety concerns and other issues.

Find out what's happening in Robinson-Moonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“The first thing you should want to do is shake everyone’s hands and be a good neighbor,” Supervisor Frank Sinatra said. “I just don’t see how we got to this. It just baffles my mind.”

In past months, some residents sought to persuade township officials to revoke an occupancy permit granted for the home, which is located in an area where zoning regulations permit a group home. Township officials said they could not do so, and of the occupancy permit.

The supervisors have agreed to pay $5,000 for mediation sessions between the neighbors and Transitional Services Inc., the Homestead-based company that operates the lodge. On Wednesday, supervisors also agreed to provide a meeting space and guaranteed the attendance of at least one supervisor.

No representatives from the lodge spoke at the supervisors' meeting.

Scheduling conflicts over the past month have prevented the two sides from meeting, with residents seeking to meet in the evening after work hours and representatives of the lodge preferring to meet during the day.

“We’re old enough to remember the Vietnam peace talks,” township Solicitor Blaine Lucas said, “People didn’t start talking because they couldn’t even agree on the shape of the table.”

Lodge officials also insist that its lawyer be present at the mediation and have requested that the township pay for those services, township officials said.

The supervisors said they would continue their efforts to establish a time and terms for the parties to meet for mediation.

“We’re neighbors now. We need to talk neighbor-to-neighbor without a lawyer there,” said Nelson Kletzli Jr., who lives with his family near the lodge.

Supervisor Tim McLaughlin expressed frustration over the matter.

“We can’t step on [the lodge’s] toes, but why can they come in here and step on our whole foot?” he asked. “What are we here for if we can’t protect our residents?”

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?