This correspondence is in response to the excellent letters from Louis
C. Farah and Ted McConkey, the column by Will Rogers, and the Leader
editorial of Feb. 13, which were in regard to the drug and alcohol rehab
center at 437 Grinnell St. in Burbank.
While I am in agreement with the thesis of the Leader editorial that
recovering alcoholics and addicts need to be mainstreamed, there is
absolutely no way that I would ever knowingly purchase a home next door
to a rehab center. So much for the argument on property values. There has
to be a better way of locating "halfway" houses in "halfway" types of
areas, rather than locating them in our neighborhoods.
Although I am not greatly concerned about recovering alcoholics, the
same is not true for those suffering from drug addiction. As noted in
your editorial, only about one in 10 stay clean for a full year. Another
sad but very real fact is that residential burglaries are one of the
prime methods for financing an insatiable craving for drugs. My own home
has been so violated.
A few other thoughts occurred to me on this issue. First, this
situation is not unique to Burbank. About a year ago, I recall reading
about something similar and more foreboding occurring in Malibu. Due to
its prestige, and the resultant ability of operators to charge top
dollar, Malibu had become a favorite site for locating rehab centers. If
my recollection is correct, there were about six of these facilities
operating in Malibu, and the residents were justifiably up in arms.
My second thought on this is regarding the column by Will Rogers in
which he derided the Grinnell Street residents for standing up to this
inappropriate facility in their neighborhood. I seem to remember, a year
or so ago, that Will was in the forefront to stop the construction of a
backyard granny flat when it was proposed for his own neighborhood. o7
(Editor's note: Rogers actually voiced concerns about the city's lack of
enforcement with regard to such dwellings.)f7
Let me throw this question out to all readers of the Leader: Which
would you rather have in your neighborhood, a granny flat or a drug rehab
unit? Another question for readers is in reference to Will Rogers: Am I
spelling hypocrite correctly?
As Ted McConkey stated in his letter, the time is now for Burbank
residents to voice their opinion on this matter to our council and to our
state legislators before we end up with a situation such as that which
occurred in Malibu.
RON VANDERFORD
Burbank
