Proposal to move crisis center into neighborhood prompts rezoning talks

Mental health advocates are asking the city of St. Paul to allow them to transform a former convent from a spiritual healing center to a crisis center for adults with mental illness.

But neighbors around the house, located on LaCrosse Avenue not far from White Bear Avenue in east St. Paul, say the move would violate spot zoning laws.

People Incorporated is in the process of buying the property from Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration for around $700,000 to relocate the Diane Ahrens Crisis Center, which is now located in St. Paul's Midway neighborhood. The nonprofit says the 16-bedroom, 1960s-era home with a private courtyard better meets its needs.

A number of neighbors say a final "yes" vote would violate ordinances that prohibit rezoning small parcels inconsistent with the surrounding area.

But mental health advocates said at a Wednesday hearing the concern is really about people, not property use.

Ramsey County Commissioner Jim McDonough, who represents the east side of St. Paul, urged the St. Paul City Council not to hide behind the zoning discussion.

"Don't fool yourselves; this is about individuals who want to live in our community, be treated with the respect and dignity that we all want to be treated with," he said. "They need the support, they need this transitional care to help stabilize their lives, to help them recover and stop this revolving door."

The Diane Ahrens Crisis Residence is a short-term facility with average stays of two to five days and serves adults suffering from depression, bipolar disorder and anxiety. St. Paul's zoning committee recommended approval of the rezoning as well as a conditional use permit to allow a human services community residential facility to relocate to LaCrosse Avenue.

Chuck Repke, a member of the District 2 Community Council, said churches and schools are allowed to build in single family settings. But when it's time to convert them into other uses, city code requires a petition signed by at least two-thirds of the neighbors within 100 feet.

"The church or school can't just do what they want with a large building," he said. "The city has a policy for what they do with buildings like this."

People Incorporated received a variance to the petition requirement during the application process. The nonprofit has more than 40 locations across the seven-county metro area with homes in suburbs like Burnsville, New Hope, Apple Valley and Richfield.

CEO Jill Wiedemann-West said she went door-to-door to reach out to neighbors for an unofficial petition but was only able to garner one signature. She emphasized the need for mental health patients to live in integrated communities as opposed to isolated settings.

"These are not bad people trying to get good, these are sick people trying to get well," Wiedemann-West said. "They're the individuals that we live with and work with every day."

But Repke said that house is not the only option. He pointed out several pieces of land in St. Paul that would be zoned properly for the Diane Ahrens Crisis Residence and said putting it in the neighborhood is not consistent with the way the neighborhood is zoned now.

City planners see the area as mixed-use, because it has a beauty salon, two schools, medical clinics and banks. There is a stretch of White Bear Avenue directly south of the former convent that allows group home uses for up to 16 residents.

Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration established the convent in 1962 and typically housed five to six nuns. The building hasn't been used for at least a year.

The City Council scheduled the final vote for next week. Council president Russ Stark said it's not about liking or disliking the people who would utilize the facility, it's about zoning.

"I'm struck that this particular rezoning is consistent with the other uses in the surrounding area and it's not a major change to what's been there before," he said. "Just because only five people happened to be living there isn't the significant thing. It's already been a 16-bedroom facility."