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Poland council discusses multiple renters in Evergreen house
By Bruce Walton
POLAND
Residents gathered at village council’s meeting Tuesday night to voice their concern about the multiple renters in an Evergreen Drive residence.
Village officials became aware of the situation at the site, which was being rented as a group home without village approval, about a month ago.
Village Solicitor Anthony D’Apolito investigated and discovered the residents are disabled and thus are protected under the federal Fair Housing Act. That law, which prohibits refusal to sell or rent a dwelling to any person because of race, color, religion, sex, disability or national origin, overrides the village residential zoning ordinances, which restrict the area to single-family dwellings.
Dave Gabriel, 49, of Evergreen Drive said he is mostly concerned that the home is operating without notice to the village, and about its effect on property values in the neighborhood.
Gabriel said several homes in the neighborhood are for sale and residents are worried about their resale value and who may buy them.
D’Apolito said it’s too early to tell if property values are falling, but he can’t say they won’t.
He urged any concerned citizens to attend the next meeting at the Mahoning County Board of Developmental Disabilities at 6 p.m. June 20 to get better information and answers to their questions. Gabriel said he plans to attend the meeting.
“Right now, all the Village of Poland can do is to keep learning about how these homes operate, how they’ve affected other communities, good and bad, and what we can do to comply with the law and respond to the concerns of our current residents,” D’Apolito said.
He said he understands why residents are concerned, and said his job is to investigate the facts and give his legal counsel, and he intends to do just that.
The residents’ concerns are definitely “something that we’re going to have to look into and address,” he said.