Lynchburg city council rejects senior housing

Lynchburg City Council rebuffed plans for a low-income senior housing development Tuesday. It was the second rejection for the project.

Ronald Overstreet, co-owner of the development site on Old Graves Mill Road, described council’s decision as “extremely disturbing” and said he planned to file a discrimination complaint with the federal government.

“It’s not over yet,” he said. “I’m not going to accept what the city has done.”

Overstreet and his family want to sell their property on Old Graves Mill Road — next door to Kroger — to a nonprofit foundation for development as a 50-unit apartment complex for low-income seniors.

The John H. Wellons Foundation, which specializes in housing for the elderly, agreed to buy the land if it could secure federal aid for the project. Neighbors have expressed ardent opposition, citing concerns about added traffic and the prospect of bringing low-income people into the area.

The type of funding the foundation hopes to get requires a letter of support from the city. On Tuesday, council narrowly voted down a motion to write such a letter, reaffirming the decision it made when this project first came up in April.

The first vote was decided by a 5-2 margin, but one member, Councilman Turner Perrow, later changed his position and asked that the issue be brought back for consideration.

The Overstreet family and Wellons foundation hoped to pick up a crucial fourth vote in time for Tuesday’s meeting, but no other members were persuaded to switch sides.

“I didn’t hear any new information today,” said Councilman Michael Gillette.

Gillette, Mayor Joan Foster, Councilman Scott Garrett and Councilman Jeff Helgeson voted against the project.

Perrow, Vice Mayor Bert Dodson and Councilman Ceasor Johnson supported the project.

The motion’s defeat was met with shock and distress by those involved in the project.

“I can’t believe it,” said Susan Atkins, a real estate broker representing the Overstreet family. “… I’m just at a loss as to why the city doesn’t want our elderly to have this project. I could just cry for our senior citizens.”

A representative for the Wellons foundation said they would likely drop this project now — a reversal from their position following the first rejection when they said they would work to gain community support or find a new location.

The representative added that all final decisions must be made by foundation administrators.

Several people involved with the project said they could not understand council’s continued opposition to this development.

Ronald Overstreet has spoken several times about his family’s passion for this project, noting they could sell the property to a private developer but believed strongly in the Wellons mission.

Overstreet said he knew his father, who left this property to his children in his will, would be proud of this project. The family even asked Wellons to name the development after their father.

“Frankly, I can’t understand why the leaders of our city can’t see what a benefit this will be to our seniors and to our community,” he said.

Overstreet added he planned go to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and file a complaint against the city for discriminating against the elderly.