Residents: Lanterman is Compromising Neighborhood's Safety

Despite reassurances from state and city officials, a group of Diamond Bar homeowners are unhappy with Lanterman Development Center’s plans to relocate residents into homes within the city.

Two residents addressed the City Council on Tuesday night to express concern over the impact of having what they believed to be a group home in the community.

“The residents here are very concerned about our safety and the impact on our property value,” resident Steven Huang told the council. “This is a residential area. And there are small kids playing on the streets.”

This could also affect property values, he said.

For several months, Lanterman officials say they have been trying to correct misinformation that seems to have spread to some homeowners.

Some people seem to think what is coming is a “group home,” and that is a problem, said Keith Penman, executive director of San Gabriel/Pomona Regional Center. It’s a home for people with developmental disabilities, not mental conditions, officials said.

“This is not a home for drug abusers or troubled youngsters,” he said. “These are people who have some level of mental retardation, speech problems. They need 24-hour supervised care.”

The home is on Meadcliff Place and has been completely renovated. It was purchased in November 2011 and renovated to make it a five bedroom home with an open floor plan to accommodate wheelchairs. A track with a lift has been installed in all five bedrooms to allow staff to safely lift residents in and out of bed.

Five residents will be under constant care by trained staff 24/7, said Claire Williamson, executive director with California Mentor, a private company which will be in charge at the home.

Two staffers will sleep at the home, three will work at the home during the day.

Several residents have paid visits to the home, Williamson said. They have been welcomed in and some have toured the small home. Those who have actually come through seem to walk away satisfied, she said.

“The state of California is slowly de-institutionalizing people and they are closing the largest developmental centers,” Penman said.

The relocation of Lanterman’s residents follows the successful closure of Agnews Developmental Center in San Jose, officials said. Many of the residents there were relocated to what the state calls Adult Residential Facilities.

And that worries residents who, despite reassurances, say they are unsure who from the Lanterman facility will move into their neighborhood. Lanterman is an 83-year-old facility sits on 302 acres in Pomona adjacent to Diamond Bar. It offers 24-hour residential care for individuals with developmental disabilities, including cerebral palsy, epilepsy, Down syndrome, autism and other lifelong conditions.

More than 3,000 residents once lived at Lanterman. Now there are less than 300, officials said.

There will be a high level of scrutiny by the operating company, the state and especially the families who have reason to be concerned for their loved ones, said Ernie Cruz, manager of community resources who recently paid a visit to the Diamond Bar home. Many of those residents are vulnerable themselves, he said.

“The families have been blown away when they see the home,” he said.

The California Mentor staff is in the process of finding the right residents for the home. No one has yet signed on to live in the home. They hope to have all the permitting taken care and have residents by October.