Arlington Hts. to scrutinize housing proposal for mentally ill

For Gina Valio and other parents of mentally ill adults, nothing less than a dream ending to a seven-year struggle goes before the Arlington Heights Plan Commission at 7:30 p.m. today.

The dream is a 30-unit complex, Boeger Place Apartments, planned for an acre of vacant land at 120 and 122 East Boeger Road just east of Arlington Heights Road and south of Dundee Road. The residents would be low-income people with persistent mental illness such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

Private organizations are planning this project, but the land must be rezoned from commercial and several code variations are requested.

A May 17 deadline for a low-income housing tax credit, a critical source of funding for this building, means quick Plan Commission approval is needed, said Jessica Berzac, vice president of acquisitions and development for Daveri Development Group.

Valio is among parents who started meeting seven years ago in family kitchens. The parents group, The North/Northwest Suburban Task Force on Supportive Housing for Individuals with Mental Illness, is working with Thresholds, a not-for-profit that will provide services to the residents of the building, and Daveri, a for-profit corporation.

"I have son who is 28 years old who has had mental illness for 10 years," said Valio, still a member of the task force. "This is the best scenario for someone like him. He needs help with things like finding transportation and employment and sometimes needs help with keeping his paperwork for benefits up to date, life skills and getting to counseling on a regular basis."

Valio, who is a chiropractic physician, has taken a second job to afford the rent on her son's Arlington Heights apartment.

The Plan Commission can approve or deny the $9 million project today or postpone a decision, said Charles Witherington-Perkins, director of planning and community development. Eventually the issue would go before the village board.

Village staff has recommended approval of the development with several conditions. These include working out a transportation plan for residents. The staff report also says the developer has verbally agreed that Arlington Heights residents will get preference for apartments and that sex offenders and individuals with felony records will be prohibited from renting.

Some objectors have said the apartments should not be next door to a day care center or near Buffalo Grove High School. They also have said the site lacks public transportation.

Jay D. Forman, vice president of Strategic Development for Thresholds, has responded that mentally ill people are not more likely to commit crimes than anyone else.

Berzac said more than 70 sites were analyzed according to 30 criteria and this one came to the top. "It's a good site; there are no perfect sites," she said.

"There is a tremendous need for this sort of project," said Hugh Brady, co-president of the parents group. "Not having a home of your own is tremendously stressful. When your stress level goes way down, so do your symptoms."

Arlington Heights Village President Arlene Mulder said she has had one e-mail protesting the project and also heard complaints from a speaker at a town-hall meeting.

On Monday, two Buffalo Grove residents, Rob Sherman and Craig Horowitz, asked their village leaders to try to stop the proposal, which would be near the Buffalo Grove border and their subdivision, Mill Creek.

While both praised Thresholds, Sherman said the location contradicts the task force's vision to be near a downtown area and close to public transportation.

Buffalo Grove trustees did not take action. Trustee Lisa Stone, however, did raise concerns about having a facility that close to KinderCare, as well as high schoolers. She felt that a third-party psychiatrist should evaluate the site.

Wheeling Township Elementary District 21 board member Arlen Gould was among the defenders of the proposal, saying at the Buffalo Grove meeting that there is a demand for housing for the mentally ill and that, as the wealthiest country in the world, "it is our obligation to help those most in need of help." Gould also serves on an advisory committee for the The North/Northwest Suburban Task Force on Supportive Housing for Individuals with Mental Illness.

• Staff writer Steve Zalusky contributed to this report.