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Center Point withdraws request By Emily Boswell What started as a Zoning Board of Adjustments and Appeals meeting Tuesday turned into a town-hall meeting when representatives from Center Point, Inc. withdrew their application for a zoning variance and instead informed the board and residents in attendance they would be proceeding under a different section of the zoning ordinance. Rivera advised the board Center Point planned to still move forward under section 3.5 of the zoning ordinance, but would instead seek designation as an “Institutions of Religious, Charitable or Philanthropic nature,” rather than “Rehabilitation Care Facility (Halfway House)”. “What you saw last night was a very strategic game of chess,” Rivera said Wednesday. “I was sort of actually having fun knowing the move I was going to play at the end. I sort of built it up and then woosh … .” The new designation Center Point is seeking has not been defined in the zoning ordinance code, so it is subject to the reasonable persons rule. According to Community Planner John Elsden, City Manager Jim Dunaway and City Attorney Ted Hejl will determine if Center Point’s request is appropriate for their intentions for the former Taylor Care Center. Wednesday, Rivera said his company was waiting for an opinion letter from the city attorney and would proceed after it was issued. “Rehabilitation Care Facility is not the appropriate designation to be asking to be approved under,” Center Point spokesperson Jose Rivera said. “We believe “Institution of religious, philanthropic or charitable nature better describes us. At this point, the need for a public hearing will be placed in the hands of the city manager.” As of press time Thursday, no word on whether the letter had been issued or its decision was available. “As soon as that comes out, we’ll be guided as to which direction to go,” Rivera said Wednesday. “That is why I said during the meeting that we should have been on the front side of this. We weren’t really sure which way we were going with the zoning folks. We didn’t know what we were doing. Unfortunately, we weren’t properly advised by the city fathers and so therefore, we walked into a trap.” Center Point applied for a variance to the B-1 zoning ordinance regulating rehabilitation care facilities (halfway houses) Aug. 8, asking for the number of allowed persons in the facility be changed from nine to 88. The application further stated that the definition of the current zoning of the building was appropriate for Center Point’s intended use, and without the variance approval Center Point could not operate at the facility. Center Point contends they will open a veteran’s trauma assistance center, though they have not begun negotiations or finalized a contract with the proper military officials. At the meeting Tuesday, Rivera pointed out that the company chose Taylor deliberately because of its proximity to Fort Hood. When asked about other larger cities within the same distance or even closer to Ft. Hood, including Temple, Rivera said the company didn’t want to “be on top of Ft. Hood,” and that the facility became “suddenly available.” “This really was a case of some rabble rousers stirring up folks about issues,” Rivera said of the community resistance to their facility. “If I had known about these particular rabble rousers I would have forced a community meeting and said ‘Hey folks here is what we are doing.’” After informing the board of Center Point’s application withdrawal, Rivera and Center Point’s Executive Vice President Laura Lambe stayed to answer questions from the approximately 40 residents in attendance after several audience members stated it wasn’t fair of the company to not hear their concerns. Lambe explained the reason the company is pursuing this military treatment center is because of the limited resources available to veterans. “There is no residential facility at all in this county,” she said. “And very frequently, we’ve found that there is a reluctance to talk with other military personnel.” Rivera likened veterans discussing sexual trauma with superiors to making a misstep in your career. “It’s a career killer,” Rivera said. “You complain to the military about being sexually abused and your career is over.” Rivera answered several questions from the audience, most of which had been addressed by the board, including Center Point’s plan B and C in the event the VTAC falls through. There is no set plan for second and third options if the veteran’s center doesn’t materialize, but Rivera said the company was considering a domestic violence program or “something else that serves the needs of the community.” Because Center Point owns the building and isn’t tied down with a monthly payment, the opportunity is endless. “From our perspective, once we get it up and running, we will be looking for different kinds of alternatives if we can’t get the (department of defense) thing,” Rivera said. “We are going to do something that really makes sense in that community.”
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