Housing fight tells a story

It's one thing to have a spiffy downtown here in Raleigh. But we don't want the people who serve our food -- or put out our fires or care for our children -- to live next door.

Shudder.

Let's face it. They may hold the world on their competent shoulders. But working-class people hurt property values.

That's the take-home message from one neighborhood's reaction to subsidized housing planned for the George's Mews apartments at Washington and Glenwood.

Proposed by the nonprofit group CASA -- Community Alternatives for Supportive Abodes -- the project would provide cheap housing (about $400 a month) for people who earn between $21,000 and $31,000 a year.

George's Mews, it should be noted, is already home to plenty of working-class folk and graduate students.

The difference is, under CASA, the building will be renovated -- and eight of its 26 single-bedroom units would be reserved for people with disabilities -- mental illness, substance abuse, developmental disabilities.

The project, backed by $2.14 million in public and private money, has been approved by the city of Raleigh and a county committee.

On Monday, the Wake County commissioners will get their chance to vote. It should be a slam dunk. CASA has a stellar reputation.

But at this point, the neighborhood is so revved up, the folks at CASA are a little nervous.

Neighbors have written to, and called, every politician in town. They've distributed alarming fliers and packed a recent county committee meeting.

So, you can bet they'll be out in force when the commissioners meet.

Philip Poe, who heads the Citizens Advisory Council for the Glenwood-Brooklyn neighborhood, said the group's opposition isn't about affordable housing. It's not even so much about the apartments reserved for people with disabilities, he said.

"It's about policy and procedure," said Poe.

Poe said the neighbors want the city to improve its affordable-housing policy. They also want an earlier alert about proposed projects.

Laudable goals. But also convenient cover.

With a recent 300 percent jump in neighborhood valuations, homeowners say they want to keep their children safe -- from the working poor or the mentally disabled, I'm not sure. They probably want to keep those property values safe, too.

The neighborhood group has also asked CASA to impose restrictive covenants on the use of the property.

Some were easy sells. The neighbors want the CASA apartments kept to one bedroom, for instance.

But under one proposal, the neighbors wanted CASA to wait two years before allowing tenants with disabilities such as mental illness to move in. Again, more time to fight?

"In the end, I think it really comes down to disappointment," said Mary Jean Seyda, CASA operations director.

When the old George's Mews apartment building went up for sale, Seyda said, the neighbors had hoped it might be replaced with high-end condos -- the sort being constructed all over downtown.

That's not what CASA does. That's not what George's Mews has been, or will be -- if the commissioners do the right thing.