Kent Council Moves to Support Silver Oaks Seniors

Several resolutions aimed at supporting the city's senior population, specifically those of , were passed unanimously by Kent City Council Wednesday night.

Council's first action, largely symbolic, was to pass a resolution of support for the seniors, of the Horning Road retirement complex.

But the second and third actions passed directed both council members and the city's administration to take a hard look at creating a comprehensive housing plan for Kent — one that would take residents older than 65 into special consideration.

"I think what has happened at Silver Oaks has shown a real need for senior housing … and I would like to really flush out some ideas about how we can do that," Councilwoman Tracy Wallach said. "What processes can we go through to encourage additional senior housing here? I’d like to see what we can come up with."

Dozens of seniors, many of whom live at the complex, attended council's meeting Wednesday to ask for their support. They also delivered two petitions to council.

One, a "moral" petition, was signed only by residents of the complex. It has about 100 signatures and was given to the current and prospective owners, the Tell Real Estate Trust and Capstone Development Corp. Tell is planning to sell out to Capstone, which plans to create apartments for students at .

The other petition, circulated throughout Kent, has almost 1,000 signatures from supporters in the community.

Councilman Robin Turner called the past few weeks since the seniors were given eviction letters "a learning process for a lot of us as to the importance of seniors in the community."

He acknowledged for the Silver Oaks seniors.

"We can’t speak to the legalities of it, but we can speak to the moralities of it," Turner said. "There is something special about that community and what is transpiring there, and basically ripping the community apart should be something that all of us … relate to and respond to."

The resolution is not a legally binding document. Instead, it's more of a public statement by council in support of the residents.

Council did agree to put the idea of a comprehensive housing plan in a future committee meeting for further discussion. And a third action passed by council directed city administrators to "take steps to encourage the respectful treatment of the Silver Oaks" residents.

Councilwoman Heidi Shaffer, who asked for the third action, said she wanted to see city staff continue to work with the residents.

"If there is anything else that we can do to ensure that they are treated with respect and dignity, I would like us to continue to do that," she said.

The packed council chambers created a standing-room-only crowd and forced some people to listen from the hall outside the meeting. Seniors and supporters showed up 90 minutes before the meeting started at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, and a bus shuttled several residents to the meeting from the complex.

Some residents prayed outside city hall. Others listened as a supporter played a violin solemnly, or they watched as Cleveland TV news crews interviewed some of those who gathered.

Arlyne Habeeb, director of community outreach services for the Community Action Council of Portage County, has been . A Kent resident of 24 years, Habeeb said she's served on several citizen committees over the years — many of which encouraged the protection of the city's neighborhoods.

She cited several planning documents, including the Kent Bicentennial Plan, that feature language designed to improve and maintain quality of life in the city's neighborhoods.

"In these documents that (past and present) city council(s) approved, I’m asking you to go back and revisit them and make a decision in favor and in honor of the things that you said," Habeeb said. "With Silver Oaks no longer being a complex for senior citizens, what do we have left?"

Some who spoke to council Wednesday, including the Rev. Melissa Carvill-Ziemer of the , said they understood the property owner's right to sell or manage the complex as they see fit.

"But I do contest the way they have done that," Carvill-Ziemer said. "The scope of your power may be limited," she told council, "but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist."

In particular, Carvill-Ziemer said she didn't think it was fair the seniors were given two months to find a new home.

"Especially when the options for affordable, safe … quality housing for seniors in our community are limited," she said.

Anne Moneypenny, a longtime Kent realtor and property manager, said recently she's found a growing need in Kent and Portage County for senior citizen and family housing. Her late husband, Rillis, worked with former Silver Oaks Place owners to convert the complex from student housing into a retirement community in 1986.

"They have brought to light a problem that we have, not only in Kent but in Portage County," Moneypenny said. "There is no affordable housing for our senior citizens. Where are they moving to?"

She pointed to surrounding communities including Akron, Brimfield, Stow, Streetsboro, Parma, Solon, Tallmadge and Twinsburg as places where the seniors are fleeing to.

"Right now Kent and Portage County need affordable senior housing," Moneypenny said.