Vineyard Church is across from Rose Hill Cemetery and surrounded on all other sides by residential neighborhoods. The property sits on 13-plus acres, and the plan calls for a border fence, a potential expanded detention pond, elimination of an existing structure and parking spaces, constructing a serenity garden, and eliminating two of the three curb cuts.
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“I’m certainly disappointed,” said Scott Gehring, Sojourner Recovery Services chief executive officer. “I hoped for a more positive result. All of our existing facilities are within two miles of this property, so we’re not trying to bring something to the neighborhood that’s not already here. We’re literally trying to help the people that live here.”
The zoning board voted 4-0 on Wednesday to deny the application for Community Health Alliance, though it was recommended for approval by the Butler County Planning Commission. The next step is to present the plan before the Fairfield Twp. Board of Trustees, which has the final say.
About 200 people attended Wednesday’s hearing, and it was a near-even split between supporters of Sojourner’s request and opposition. Many of those opposed were concerned about a decrease in property values and potential increase in traffic, but some were also concerned those receiving rehabilitation treatment could be criminals.
Anyone at the in-patient facility is free to drop out of the program, but they’re not permitted to re-enter it, said Gehring. He said 95 percent of the people who undergo treatment want to be there, as they volunteer to attend, and the remaining 5 percent are court-ordered.
Nancy Miracle lives on Osage Drive next to the property and has ALS, and asked commissioners to “let me have my peace and quiet.”
James McCaan, of Millikin Road, a former addict, said he “needed the program” Sojourner offered, and there are several members of his church “in the sobriety community” who need that same support he received.
Jarrod Powers, of Shandra Court, also said he needed Sojourner.
“I’m not discrediting the concerns, but these people are in recovery,” he said.
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Zoning Commission Chair Peter Bohrfren said based on his research, he found more than 1,200 calls for service at Sojourner owned or operated facilities over the past three years, though it did not differentiate between in-patient and out-patient facilities. Still, he said, “I have a really hard time to say this is right for our community.”
Commission board member Dee Dee Ollis said she doesn’t believe the plan fits within the vision of the township.
The Fairfield Twp. Board of Trustees must hold its public hearing within 30 days of the board’s receipt of the zoning board’s decision. Trustees meet Wednesday, and it’s expected the board may need to hold a special off-site meeting due to the public interest. Wednesday’s meeting was held at the Community Christian Church on Millikin Road.
If the trustees deny the request, Gehring said his group will continue to look at other options within the county, though they have not yet pursued those options.
Gehring said if Community Health Alliance is approved, officials would invest between $6 million and $8 million between the purchase, renovation and redevelopment of the Vineyard Church property, which its owners have said has been on the market for the better part of five years with no interest.
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