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Bed and Breakfast may be blocked
Published Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Sgt. Stanford Mendenhall’s bones are as brittle as a man’s twice his age. He takes about 20 different types of medication each day to combat everything from congestive heart failure to full-body seizures.
But he never complains. Mendenhall thanks the Lord for each day he spends with his wife, Linda. Because after returning from a tour of duty in Iraq a few years ago, doctors told him his exposure to depleted uranium would soon claim his life.
In April 2006, Mendenhall purchased a house in Camden so he could spend his last days on Earth with his mother. Then, he received a second lease on life. After attending a mass spiritual healing in France with thousands of other disabled troops, Mendenhall’s health took a turn for the better. He decided it was time to make a difference.
So Mendenhall began converting the house he bought at 213 Clifton St. into a bed and breakfast for disabled veterans and their families. He and his wife envisioned a place where people could come and relax while becoming acclimated to living in the country again. Stanford wanted his fellow veterans to experience the town where he grew up.
“We feel that there is a need for it, and we feel that they could heal here,” Linda said.
The couple contacted the Alabama Bed and Breakfast Association and obtained a business license from the state. All they needed was approval from Camden’s Adjustment Board to open a business in a residential zone.
According to local ordinances, a bed and breakfast qualifies as a special exception to opening a business in a residential zone. Soon, the neighbors that the Mendenhalls had shared drinks with on front porches and waved at across the sleepy, tree-lined street became stiff opposition to the bed and breakfast.
In fact, opposition grew so much that the board held a hearing on March 31 so residents from the neighborhood could voice their concerns.
The Mendenhalls could not attend this hearing due to a previous commitment. The couple did plead their case at another hearing Tuesday night in Camden, and Ken Crosswhite, who lives across the street from the proposed bed and breakfast, spoke on behalf of the opposition.
“My issue with the bed and breakfast is that it’s in a residential neighborhood,” Crosswhite said. “I don’t want the house across the street from where I’m trying to live my life, raise my children and retire to be a business.”
Crosswhite said he was concerned with the increased number of strangers the bed and breakfast would bring to Clifton Street, a place where children still play outside until dark. While the Mendenhalls pledged to perform a criminal background check on each person who stays at the bed and breakfast, Crosswhite said he was still concerned for the safety of the 23 children who live on the block.
The Mendenhalls would allow six people to stay for a maximum of three days at the three-bedroom house.
Crosswhite said if one business is allowed in the neighborhood, it could lead to a slippery slope.
“Then all of a sudden our neighborhood is gone,” he said.
Linda disagreed with this theory.
“It won’t be the first time this house has been used for other than residential purposes,” she said, referring to a chiropractor’s office that was housed there before current zoning regulations.
Buford Gavin, president of the adjustment board, said his first obligation is to the people of the neighborhood. Gavin said he admired the Mendenhall’s willingness to reach out to veterans, but the board must adhere to the ordinance.
“We make our decision based on the use of the property, not the people who are going to use it,” Gavin said.
Lillie Hardy, president of the Alabama Bed and Breakfast Association, said she had never seen a case like this since she took office two years ago.
Normally, she said towns welcome the additional jobs a bed and breakfast brings with open arms. At 19.5 percent in January, Wilcox County had the highest unemployment rates in the state of Alabama according to the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations.
“It’s not some fleabag motel,” Hardy said. “I think a residential area is idea. They fit right in.”
The Mendenhalls said there is another force at work here, too. Stanley, a black man, and Linda, a white woman, said the neighborhood might be looking at more than just the line between residential and commercial.
“I feel that it’s nothing to do with a bed and breakfast,” Stanley said. “I feel it’s racial.”
Mayor Henrietta Blackmon said it is a matter of the law.
“We’re just following our zoning ordinances,” Blackmon said.
The board did not rule on whether or not to allow the Mendenhalls to open the bed and breakfast.
Since some board members could not attend the hearing, Gavin decided to hold another hearing in two weeks where a decision would be rendered.
Wearing a dark blue suit, Stanford stood to the side of the boardroom while board members voiced concerns about opening a business in a residential area. Gavin suggested opening some sort of rehabilitation facility for veterans across town, in a commercial area.
“They’re going down the wrong road,” Stanford said. “It’s not a rehab home, it’s not a hospital. It’s a place where they can come and enjoy the beauty of Camden.”
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Comments
Posted by Trublu (anonymous) on April 15, 2009 at 5:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Seems like those people in Camden just don't want to show appreciation to our veterans and/or to the unemployment situation. They need to take a step back and look at this without looking at color. That's my opinion, guess everybody has one.
Posted by concerned (anonymous) on April 15, 2009 at 6:02 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I think this neighborhood has the right to oppose this concept. It's American freedom at it's best. Additionally, nobody mentions race except the person not getting what they want. I wonder what people would do if the "race card" was lost from their bag of tricks.
Posted by lucy10177 (anonymous) on April 15, 2009 at 7:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
well Camden has and always will be a nowhere town. they don't want anything good there. everytime somone tries to take a step forward, the citizens of this town take 10 steps backward. never gonna change!!!
Posted by takinitez (anonymous) on April 15, 2009 at 1:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The only thing racial here is in Mr. Mendenhall's mind. Neighbors are affected by their surroundings and have a right to be concerned. There are numerous children residing here. I do not blame the parents one bit. By the way, what is this to anyone in Selma?
Posted by bamafan (anonymous) on April 15, 2009 at 4:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It is in the Selma paper!
That's what it has to do with Selma.
People are just voicing their opinions, just as you are.
THANK YOU TO ALL VETS WHOM HAVE SERVE WHAT ONCE WAS A GREAT NATION UNDER GOD, SO THAT MY FAMILY AND I CAN ENJOY OUR FREEDOM!!!!
Posted by keepnitreal (anonymous) on April 15, 2009 at 6:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I grew up in Camden, Al. Yes, there is alot of RACISM there. Sure it's a matter of BLACK & WHITE and not law. The MAYOR'S HUSBAND operates a DOCTOR'S office in a residential zone. If the couple were both white, there wouldn't be a problem. How can Camden grow with hate holding it down. Be mindful of the people you elect into all offices! Mrs. Mendenhall is right!!!
Posted by saveselma (anonymous) on April 15, 2009 at 10:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"Soon, the neighbors that the Mendenhalls had shared drinks with on front porches and waved at across the sleepy, tree-lined street became stiff opposition to the bed and breakfast."
Gee, if folks were so "racist" in Camden, why would they share drinks with this couple??? Seems like the good folks of Camden don't oppose this interacial couple, but instead don't want a bed and breakfast in their neighborhood.
If I found out tomorrow that my neighbors were planning on doing the same thing, I would be the FIRST in line to oppose them.
We live in America, folks.
Stop crying racism when you don't get your way. EVERYTHING ain't about color.
Posted by sdccdees (anonymous) on April 18, 2009 at 9:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Folks....Let's take racism off the table with this issue. It is a matter of Education.... Education.. These veterans have put their lives on the line so that we can live freely as neighbors. The idea that a veteran would not be able to spend some quality days in our town in the comforts of a Bread and Breakfast as residents of our fine community is absurb. The Mendenhall's are to be commended for their efforts. This is the best Humanitarium idea that has come out of Camden since "apple pie".
Obviously, this is not the first time that the town has had to deal with these issues, for an Adjustment Board already exist. I am sure that they will do the "right thing".
LET US ENCOURAGE THE BOARD TO DO JUST THAT. MOREOVER DON'T LET THE MENDENHALL DREAM DIE!!!!!
Posted by MWCM1 (anonymous) on April 21, 2009 at 3:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The people of this neighborhood are concerned that Mrs. Mendenhall is not being honest about the intentions of this bed and breakfast. If you do your research you will find that she has already advertised and rented the B&B before getting approval from the city. The B&B is not advertised as a place for veterans to recover. The only mention of Veterans is a 10% discount with Military ID. Seems like more would be advertised on the website to promote their idea of " ...a place where people could come and relax while becoming acclimated to living in the country again. " The comment that Camden is turning away job opportunities is also a joke. How many jobs do you really think this three bedroom bed and breakfast will create??? You can decide for yourself. Go to : http://www.amazingracebb.com/. Mr. Caleb Johnson should do a little more research and listen to both sides before writing articles to be published in the paper. Seems as if he just showed up at the request of Mrs. Mendenhall and took her word as the truth.
Posted by leesha (anonymous) on April 21, 2009 at 6:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)
MWCM1,
Mr. Johnson was sent to the meeting by me, his editor, and nobody else. He asked questions and presented both sides. That's what a reporter is supposed to do.
Thank you for reading,
Leesha Faulkner
Editor
Posted by abc123 (anonymous) on April 24, 2009 at 2:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Holy cow this article makes me mad. The reporter and the editor both need a good dose of journalism training called RESEARCH. The Mendenhall's do not reside in Camden, never have, and evidentally never will. Mrs. Mendenhall came to Camden determined to buy a home for her husband where he could live out his dying days. Praise God he is healed, but they've never become residents of Camden. When the house was first purchased they lived in New York, you read right, New York City! They recently moved, not to Camden, but to Huntsville! It seems now there is no need for the house and as a B & B it might produce some revenue to pay for itself. The reporter failed to mention there is a boarded up Tom Thumb Store 1 block from the Mendenhall residence that will continue to be boarded up thanks to the adjustment board. A couple of years ago another person was denied permission to open a resturant in a residental district on Broad Street. This decision made by the adjustment board was not a "first time" decision nor was it based on race. The Mendenhall's are asking the people on Clifton Street to "trust" them in having this B & B. Who would trust their most valued possesions, their families, to folks who don't think anymore of Camden than to live in Huntsville? The reporter failed to paint the entire picture for his readers, in fact he only painted with black and white.
Posted by castilleable (anonymous) on April 26, 2009 at 7:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Am I to understand that Mr. Crosswhite may have anyone he chooses over for company with or without concern to the safety of the community? And the Mendenhalls may not have people whom have sacrificed their very bodies and lives for Mr. Crosswhite's freedom, stay at their establishment? Does this community understand that the American soldier must go through rigorous background investigations just to get into the military these days? If anything, they should feel more safe knowing that these people are in their neighborhood. These guest are some of the nicest most understanding people in the world. In order to go into a combat environment, and deal with dislocated civilian women and children in warm and caring manor is not an easy thing to do. But the American Soldier does it every day. Mr. Mendenhall gave all for his country and now he wants to give a little more. Why can't we just show him and his wife a little compassion? Why can't we show the very people who make it safe for us to go to sleep at night a little understanding? I assure you, the visitors at this bed and breakfast will be most respectful. It is my prayer that you please vote in favor of the bed and breakfast.
Pastor J. Castille
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