YSA Group Home Being Built on Kramer Street NE

Here are excerpts of a report by the Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6A Economic Development and Zoning Committee, from its meeting on Tuesday.

The committee heard a presentation by Leticia Lacomba, acting administrator of the Youth Services Administration (YSA), on the construction of a group home at 1626 Kramer St. NE. Ms. Lacomba was accompanied by three other DHS employees.

According to Ms. Lacomba, construction is under way on a three-bedroom group home at 1626 Kramer St. NE for up to six girls ages 13 to 17. The girls would be committed to the supervision of YSA by the court system and would be supervised by on-site staff.

YSA will write a Request for Proposals to obtain bids from a company or nonprofit to operate the facility, with a target date for selection in early 2004. (Toward the end of the meeting, Ms. Lacomba also offered that one or two residents of the area could participate in the RFP review process to choose the facility operator.)

Approximately 15 residents of the area near the YSA facility attended the meeting. These residents expressed concerns about the facility based on 1) the number of other group homes and treatment facilities in the immediate area, 2) the proximity of the group home to Miner Elementary School, the Rosedale swimming pool and other facilities used by young children, 3) the placement of a facility for rehabilitation in an area with ongoing crime problems, 4) sending additional YSA-supervised youths to Eliot JHS which already serves YSA-supervised youths from Oak Hill Detention Facility, 5) the effect of the facility on surrounding property values, and 6) the lack of effective public outreach and communication to inform community members and the police of the placement of the facility. A concern was also expressed about entrusting the facility to a "for-profit" operator given the past poor performance of certain for-profit operators.

Residents asked about the site selection process for this facility. Bill Stewart of DHS responded that YSA works from a list of distressed properties and attempts to improve these properties by building new facilities. Residents pointed out that this was previously a vacant lot, and that they were hoping to see new residential development.

When asked about what steps had been taken to inform the community about this project prior to construction, Robert Warren of DHS stated that there had been a meeting with unspecified Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners on March 14, 2001, in the Deputy Mayor's Office. Mr. Warren was unable to provide further details or cite other outreach and communication.

The committee asked for YSA to provide the following information prior to the Sept. 11 ANC 6A meeting: 1) copies of the building permits, 2) a clarification on whether the facility can be built as a matter-of-right or requires a special exception, 3) a list of community based residential facilities in the surrounding area, including any YSA facilities that are planned for construction, and 4) details on how the community was notified of the placement and construction of this facility.

The committee recommends that ANC 6A take the following steps: 1) request any information from YSA that is still missing by September 11, 2003; 2) request a determination from the Zoning Administrator on whether the facility requires a special exception; and 3) request that YSA form a community advisory panel to be involved in the selection of the facility operator and ongoing facility oversight. §