We all make mistakes, and the Dover City Council just made a big one in mid-December!
After much careful thought and planning — that’s the only way it does things, and, as a special adviser and volunteer there, I know — Dover Interfaith Mission for Housing (DIMH) planned to move its location to a new and larger facility to even better serve the central Delaware community.
City Council unwisely denied its rezoning request.
Councilman Roy Sudler Jr., attorney John Paradee and others ranted as they presented unsubstantiated and/or misleading objections to the rezoning request.
Mr. Sudler and others claimed that homeless people were a problem, trespassing (walking through) nearby properties. There are hundreds of homeless people in Kent County, and no proof was offered that the trespassers were DIMH residents.
The fact is that DIMH is not a scourge on the area, as Mr. Sudler and others implied; it is a tremendous asset. Jeanine Kleimo, the DIMH chair, has all the statistics to back up the statement that an investment in DIMH yields a tenfold return. As one of the best shelters in America, it not only provides a roof and bed and food, but it turns thousands of homeless people into employed, productive members of the community.
Mr. Paradee, a well-respected land-use/planning/zoning attorney, mentioned “sex offenders” (SOs herein). He is an excellent attorney in his field but clearly knows nothing about SOs. SOs are not permitted to live within 500 feet of a school or day care. Mr. Paradee stated very authoritatively that that distance is measured as the “line of sight,” or the two points of the properties closest to one another. That is not so. In fact, Delaware, like too many other states, has no definition of how the distance is measured; it depends on which official you ask! A former Dover chief of police told me the city police consider it door-to-door — the distance between the main entrance to each property.
But more important than quibbling about distances, Mr. Paradee and others miss the main point: Many SOs never have molested anyone but have been locked up and branded an SO for activities like looking at pictures. They need counseling, not prison and lifelong serious problems caused by being “on the registry.” Also, many molesters are known to their victims — family or acquaintances, not strangers. Furthermore, the recidivism rate for SOs is about 3% to 7% (depends what study you read), compared to the 73% rate for most other criminals.
I suggest that the Delaware legislature define the 500-foot distance as “door-to-door,” so at least that will be clear. They also should provide more funds and resources to help the homeless, thus helping our communities.
I further suggest that Dover City Council come to its senses and not be swept away by hysteria and misinformation.
Ken Abraham
Dover
Former deputy attorney general
