Changes at Crest View Drive house concern neighbors

Talk about it

Residents of the west end of Crest View Drive on Monday night brought a concern about a neighborhood house apparently being converted to a group home to the Hudson City Council.

Jim Cooksey, speaking for the group, said the homeowner had been trying to sell the house for some time, and eventually entered into an agreement with a company that is planning to turn it into a residence for senior citizens.

Cooksey said he had learned that the plan is for the house to serve as the residence for two caregivers and four senior citizens. He said he was told that initially there would be just two wheelchair-bound senior citizens in the home.

The new occupants of the house might not be a problem, he said, but “we’re concerned that it could be used as a precedent for something more objectionable.

Todd Erskine, another neighborhood resident, said the city wasn’t contacted about the change of use of the house.

“We’re asking for a process,” said Erskine, asking the city to stop anyone from moving into the house before officials can review the legal issues.

“It doesn’t fit with our neighborhood,” Erskine said. “It feels like a group home is coming to our neighborhood.

Mayor Dean Knudson said the council couldn’t discuss the issue because it wasn’t on the meeting agenda. He said that he and Community Development Director Dennis Darnold were researching it, however, and would keep neighborhood residents informed about what they were learning.

In other business, the council: