Margie M. Palmer | SDUN Reporter

The Veterans Affairs (VA) Healthcare System of San Diego is seeking to open a Domiciliary Residential Rehabilitation and Treatment Program (DRRTP) facility in Old Town. Would-be neighbors of the project, however, say the location the VA has applied for is inappropriate.

Proponents of the project point heavily to the need for a program that would assist veterans in integrating back into the community. Those in opposition say the idea of opening a DRRTP at 2121 San Diego Ave., just 22 feet away from the K-3 Old Town Academy Charter School, is too risky a venture because it will focus on treating veterans impacted by mild to moderate brain injuries, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and possible substance abuse issues.

Uptown Planners Chairperson Leo Wilson says approximately 50 to 70 Uptown and Midtown residents attended their November meeting to voice concern.

“The neighbors are concerned. People are confused. Uptown Planners really hasn’t been informed [of the proposed project],” Wilson said. “Not to mention that this is an extremely sensitive site because it’s so close to a school. There are a lot of other suitable locations.”

The VA, however, says that the heightened level of anxiety is unnecessary.

“Parents do not need to be concerned about their kids,” said VA San Diego DRRTP Chief Debbie Dominick, LCSW, regarding this facility. “This is to be an all-day learning facility, which will have a group-based environment in which individuals could be going to community college or are enrolled in community colleges with their GI Bill money. The facility will be staffed 24-7 and there will be a curfew so people won’t be coming in and going out haphazardly.”

According to the VA’s Conditional Use Permit application filed on Sept. 30, the DRRTP would have a total of 40 beds and approximately 26 full-time employees with “no less than three staff members any time.” Services offered would include neuropsychological and mental health assessments, cognitive rehabilitation, evidence-based psychotherapy for PTSD, medication management, occupational therapy, seizure stabilization maintenance and vocational and occupational assessment, among others.

“People were concerned initially that this was going to be a homeless shelter but that is not the case,” Dominick said. “We are looking to treat those returning with those symptoms so the veteran will not become homeless.”

Community members, Dominick said, should also be aware that the Old Town building was not the only space the VA applied for.

“There is an entire bidding process that occurs and four sites responded to our bid,” she said. “One building didn’t meet earthquake criteria, another was too small and the third lost its ability to negotiate the lease.”

Dominick said she’s been told that the VA is in “step three of an 11-step process” and expects to receive a final decision from San Diego’s Department of Development Services in January.

Still, Old Town Academy Executive Director Tom Donahue and Board of Directors Chair Chris Celentino said they question why they were not consulted prior to the VA moving forward with permit applications.

“We think this is a great program, that’s not our concern,” Donahue said, “but we do agree with the community that 22 feet from a school is not a good spot for it.”

Celentino said he visited a similar facility in Palo Alto and is trying to arrange for more visits to learn if other DRRTPs are in close proximity to schools.

“Looking at the addresses and pulling them up on Google Maps, I don’t see them as being similar at all,” he said.

Celentino said, “We’ll continue to do our part to evaluate the veracity of the facility based [on] published reports available to the public but I’m not satisfied with the idea that a medical and drug and alcohol treatment facility is being proposed to open 22 feet from a school, regardless of the patient population.”

In a Nov. 7 letter to parents, school officials reminded the parents that a number of public hearings on the matter will take place before it comes to a vote before the City Council.

“We must stand together and continue to show patience,” school officials said in the letter. “Those with contacts with members of the City Council should let us know. Moreover, those with contacts with Congressman Bob Filner, Congresswoman Susan Davis and Congressman Duncan Hunter should continue to cultivate those contacts and let us know about the strength of those contacts.”

Councilmember Kevin Faulconer, whose district includes Old Town, said all sides of the matter are being given careful consideration.

“I will be reviewing this project with our community’s quality of life in mind,” Faulconer said. “I want to encourage all neighbors to participate in the project’s public review process. Veterans are an important part of San Diego and I look forward to looking at all solutions to help get their lives on the right track.”

Dominick continues to stress the VA would be an outstanding neighbor. The approval of the Old Town DRRTP, she said, would be an excellent opportunity for the city to give back to those who have been serving their country for the past 10 years.

“Every one of these people has been honorably discharged and they’ve done nothing wrong,” she said. “So many of our veterans say they don’t feel like they fit in and that people don’t understand them. We keep telling them that if they need help, to ask for it, but now we have grown men and women who have served honorably and are saying ‘I need help,’ and a community that’s saying ‘not here.’”