Children in our community deserve to be protected.
Placing a revolving door of 16 recently incarcerated men in the immediate vicinity of children is a risky and terrible decision. Men commit approximately 80% of violent crimes and over 90% of sexual crimes, according to the FBI’s crime data.
The NIMBY (not in my backyard) message just does not apply to a commonsense decision to protect innocent and naive children. Society shouldn’t place a concentrated number of problematic male felons in the direct path of a high concentration of middle-schoolers. Take a random survey and adults will say it is a terrible idea.
[Transitional Housing is in the works]
Yet, the CBJ Planning Commission recently approved the facility at 6205 Glacier Highway for 16 men who will likely be felons. Nothing except an average business license is required. There are zero state or locally mandated safeguards or guidance for the facility. No information is required to be collected nor reported.
The transitional facility is zoned in the “rooms for rent” category 1.610, and is allowed in all CBJ zoning codes except industrial. Most of the local neighborhood children will walk 10 to 40 feet from the facility on their way to and from Dzantik’i Heeni Middle School in the school zone. A similar facility could threaten your children in the future.
Please call your Planning Commission and Assembly members and tell them to protect our children and grant the appeal to their recent permit approval. Please tell them they made a horrible mistake.
Keri Weldon and Ron Weethee,
Juneau
• Columns, My Turns and Letters to the Editor represent the view of the author, not the view of the Juneau Empire. Have something to say? Here’s how to submit a My Turn or letter.