BEAVERDALE, Iowa — Some Beaverdale residents are pushing back on an initiative to transform one office space in Beaverdale into a group home for girls.
In an Aug. 2 Des Moines Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting, members approved a request from child welfare nonprofit Ellipsis to buy out the building at 5525 Meredith Drive in an effort to provide more housing for young women who are aging out of the foster system. They voted 5-0 with one abstention.
"For a really long time, we have wanted to figure out how we can serve girls more on a continuum," Ellipsis CEO Chris Koepplin said. "Right now, we can provide shelter to girls, we can provide supervised apartment living to girls, but we can't provide this foster group care sort of level of care."
After spending significant time looking for the right space, Koepplin and the Ellipsis team decided on the Beaverdale office building, as it was in a safe neighborhood and provided access to local businesses in town.
"Our kids that are really trying to transition to independent living. [They] need to have some job opportunities, and be close enough to public transportation to get to the places that they need to be in the community," Koepplin said.
Directly behind the property sits Meredith Village Townhomes. Some residents of the community attended the board's meeting earlier this month, voicing their opposition in a public hearing.
"My concern this afternoon is primarily one of security," resident Tom Scherer said.
Fellow resident Tom Lapointe cited traffic safety concerns on Meredith Drive, like a lack of sidewalks and a 35 mph speed limit.
"I think there's a number of other groups that are underserved in our community as well ... that said, I don't need them all in my backyard," added resident Will Morton.
Ellipsis has responded to some of the concerns by sitting down with many of the townhome residents, providing solutions and speaking of the underserved community that they're trying to protect.
"The messaging around who our kids are and the fact that they're going to grow up to be our neighbors, and our friends, and our coworkers, and our employees, you know, is really important," Koepplin said. "That's what we try to tell them."