Lynwood Charlton wins battle with OMB

(Update)

The Ontario Municipal Board has approved a request to put a girls’ group home on a residential street in Hamilton. The decision was hotly contested by Corktown residents and city council. Elise Copps has reaction.

“We petitioned and we tried our best to make sure that this doesn’t happen.”

Many residents of the corktown neighbourhood fought hard against this decision.

The Ontario Municipal Board has overruled a city by-law allowing the Lynwood Charlton Centre to move its live in facility for girls to Augusta Street.

Reaction from neighbours is mixed.

“Now that the decision has been made, I think everyone. We’ve got a great neighbourhood here I think everyone will embrace it.”

“It seems to me as an outsider that these girls are being used as a chess piece.

“We worked really hard on our properties to make this a desirable neighbourhood and we’re concerned about the effects that it’s going to have.”

But the Executive Director of the centre says there’s no reason for concern.

“We have operated in the Durand neighbourhood for 50 years without issue. And we will come into that neighbourhood, we will meld and we will be a collaborative partner there.”

“Unless council appeals the decision, the girls will be moved out of this city owned facility which requires 1.2 million dollars in repairs.”

Mayor Bob Bratina, who lives in the neighbourhood, has been opposed to the move from the start. He issued this statement in response to the OMB’s decision, saying the “…facility is not suitable for its intended use as a site for the rehabilitation of troubled young people.”

Still, the centre thinks Augusta Street will be a good fit for its girls.

“Our kids are just like everybody else’s kids. The good news is that our kids are very well supervised and very well cared for and we manage things very well.”