CATTARAUGUS, N.Y. — The status of the potential establishment of a sober house in Cattaraugus and whether its founder is violating zoning code was discussed at a village board meeting Monday night.
Nearly two dozen residents attended. Some spoke out against the house, some spoke in favor of it and some — including one who identified as a neighbor across the street — agreed with the idea of a sober house but felt its establishment had not been well executed.
That included public resistance to the admission by Trina Rickard, the house’s founder, that she has already welcomed a couple of women into the house despite it not being fully open by May 1 as she had originally planned.
“She has no certificate of occupancy,” said Gary Brecker, the village’s code enforcement officer. “She was told not to open until she gets approval.”
Rickard said she is backed by the federal government’s Fair Housing Amendments Act to house them there and that not allowing the house to open is discrimination.
“When it comes to discussing ‘who’ … is in there and not ‘what,’ that does become discrimination and it violates our federal rights,” she said.
Brecker said the house, located at 97 Washington St., is in a residential zone that does not permit such an establishment. Proper procedure would need to be followed to get a special use permit through the planning board, he said.
“You can’t scream discrimination to circumvent zoning laws,” Brecker said. “If you do threaten a discrimination suit, you have to prove discrimination. These laws are set up in a step-by-step basis so we are not discriminating.”
A handful of residents in attendance spoke publicly about not necessarily being against the idea, but against how the potential opening has been handled.
“Earn our trust, show us you’re trustworthy and it’ll go a lot further,” said Wirt Smith, one of the trustees. “Let’s do it the right way. It’s a good thing what you want to do — it really is.”
Another resident in attendance — who declined to give his name to media — said he lives in Cattaraugus and worked to establish a similar house in Jamestown. He said he felt “insulted” that Rickard did not follow proper procedure to open the sober house in Cattaraugus.
“I think a lot of people would agree it is needed,” he said. “We’re not necessarily against the idea of it — the way you went about doing it just seems a little sneaky.”
Rickard denied that she was sneaky or that she circumvented the process, noting she had publicly posted updates on Facebook and printed flyers to inform the public of the house — dubbed Nakeema’s Haven — and its mission.
Public opposition to the house included Eric Eddy of Olean, who spoke of a negative experience he had when he leased his house on West Green Street in Olean to Rickard to open a sober house there. Rickard presented paperwork to the village board in defense of the statements
made, but she did not vocalize them publicly at the meeting.
Following the closing of the house in Olean, Rickard earlier this year had attempted to open a similar house on Route 353 between Little Valley and Salamanca, but plans for that location fell through.
Brecker said the sober house’s potential opening is in the hands of the village’s planning board once he receives an application for a special use permit from Rickard.
