Neighbors battle care facilities

Residents of Miami's Shenandoah neighborhood complain that it is being used as a dumping ground for the mentally ill, and they want city commissioners to act.

BY MICHAEL VASQUEZ AND LAURA MORALES
mrvasquez@herald.com

Miami's up-and-coming Shenandoah neighborhood at first glance might seem a homebuyer's dream: a short commute to downtown, manicured lawns, and residents who take an active role in protecting their turf.

All of those attributes, however, don't make 12-year-old Adrian Sanchez Roig any more comfortable walking down Southwest 19th Avenue, a street that houses Family Boarding Home -- one of Shenandoah's numerous assisted living facilities catering to the elderly and mentally ill. Miami is now in a legal fight in the hope of shutting some ALFs down.

Southwest 19th Avenue became too scary for Adrian six years ago. His mother, Rebecca Sanchez Roig, vividly remembers why. ''My son and I were walking down the street,'' she recalled.

Then, the family says, a window at Family Boarding Home flew open.

'A man leaned out, screaming, `I want that boy! Give me that boy!' '' Sanchez Roig continued. ``The next thing I knew, the man ran outside and charged us at full speed. I had to grab my son and run home as fast as I could.''

Neil Chonin, an attorney for Family Boarding Home, dismissed neighborhood horror stories like Sanchez Roig's as ``factually baseless.''

QUESTION OF LEGALITY

The facility and neighbors are in disagreement about a lot of other things -- such as whether Shenandoah's ALFs are operating legally. City commissioners today are expected to make a crucial decision in that dispute -- opting to either continue what could end up being a costly court battle against Family Boarding Home, or instead sign a settlement agreement that would slightly decrease the number of ALF residents at that facility.

That settlement does not go far enough, say many residents in Shenandoah, a tree-lined section of Miami where home prices have soared in recent years.

A 2003 city report analyzed the 19 ALFs in Shenandoah, noting that ''not one facility was found to be in full compliance'' with the laws that govern them. But Chonin says his client boasts a clean record from state regulators who have ultimate authority over ALFs.

''You couldn't ask for a better-run facility,'' Chonin said. Neighborhood residents have long characterized city and state policing of ALFs as lax, and complain that it allowed their community to become a dumping ground for the mentally ill. Earlier this year, when Miami city commissioners took action that effectively forced Family Boarding Home out of business, residents rejoiced.

They may have celebrated too soon.

Family Boarding Home sued, alleging, among other things, that the city had allowed the ALF to operate illegally for so long that it lost the privilege of enforcing patient caps and distance requirements. Those rules limit ALFs in single-family neighborhoods to no more than six patients, and require such facilities to be at least 1,000 feet apart.

Family Boarding Home operates several facilities clustered together in an apparent violation of city guidelines, and serving a total of 72 patients.

ZONING REQUIREMENT

In court, Family Boarding Home also alleged that city rules discriminated against the mentally ill by forcing ALFs to obtain certain zoning approvals not required of other establishments.

The lawsuits -- filed in both federal and state courts, and listing four city commissioners as individual defendants -- have worried some at City Hall, and commissioners today will consider settling all of the suits. The proposed settlement would cut Family Boarding Home's patient load from 72 to 62 -- still far above city code -- and require that the city reimburse the ALF for $25,000 in attorney's fees. City Attorney Jorge Fernández is urging approval of the settlement.

City Commissioner Johnny Winton, while unsure whether he would sign off on the settlement, said Fernandez warned him that being named individually in the suit could mean taking a financial hit if the city loses.

''I've got a lot at risk,'' Winton said, adding that he is prepared to do whatever it takes to erase that risk. ''If it means me standing on my head in front of the commission and apologizing for violating federal law, rest assured, I'll be doing that.'' Sensing the shifting tides, neighbors are incensed, accusing city leaders of bowing to pressure from lawsuits without even making a half-hearted effort to win in court.

''I am going to fight, kick and scream, if I have to, in order not to settle. . . . The residents should have their day in court,'' said City Commissioner Tomás Regalado, who represents Shenandoah. Still, Regalado acknowledged that there is a good chance he will be outvoted.

''I have no idea why we're giving away everything,'' he said. ``I'm trying to understand. I do not understand.''

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