We the residents of Olympia Fields petition our Village Planning and Zoning Commission to NOT RECOMMEND APPROVAL for rezoning All Nations Assembly Church Inc., (a.k.a. Tolentine Center), from R-1 One Family Residence to MD-1 Medical District and a Special Use, to operate as a 120-bed Drug/Alcohol Addiction Treatment Facility.  We need Olympia Fields residents to sign this petition for direct delivery to our Village Planning and Zoning Commissioners.

While we understand drug/alcohol addiction treatment facilities are a necessary and important public health service, we have grave concerns that an addiction treatment facility located at Tolentine Center is NOT ACCEPTABLE for the following reasons:

• Extremely close proximity to:  Rich STEM (formerly Rich Central) High School (directly across the street), and a short distance from Bicentennial Park and the 207th & Governors Hwy public park and playground, resulting in detrimental exposure and safety issues for our kids.
• Negative Impact on Olympia Fields Property Values, Property Taxes and Economic Development:  Realtor studies show that home values are reduced by up to 17 percent when they are located near treatment centers that are designed to treat opiate addiction.  Besides the potential negative impact to all property values in our Village, some Subdivisions (i.e., Arcadia, The Trails, Hawthorne Hills) are likely to be impacted significantly more than others due to their close proximity to Tolentine Center, (see Treatment Centers Can Put Damper on Home Prices ).  Also, during a Planning and Zoning Commission Public Hearing last year for a similar proposal, one of our Village Economic Development Planning Commissioners stated that an addiction treatment facility was not compatible with Olympia Fields' Economic Development Strategies and Plans.

• Overall safety and retention of the family-friendly character of our neighborhoods:  Rutgers University’s Center of Alcohol Studies published a study on crime associated with drug treatment facilities in the 2016 Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. Their study statistically demonstrates that increased VIOLENT CRIME is associated with drug treatment centers, including "a high likelihood of violence occurring closer to each venue, and violence decreased as you moved away from the venue.” (page 15).  This is especially disturbing to residents of those Subdivisions (i.e., Arcadia, The Trails, Hawthorne Hills ) closest to Tolentine Center.
• Lack of experience operating a drug/alcohol treatment facility:  The proposed Tolentine Center addiction treatment facility will be operated by Recovery & Rehabilitation, LLC, DBA in Illinois as RoseHeart Renewal Center.  This is an out-of-state company registered in Delaware. Per an Internet search for Recovery & Rehabilitation, LLC, Delaware Secretary of State Business Registration Records show this company has been in business for only 1 year and 2 months.  No additional information or website for this company was found when doing a Google Internet search.  During the October 20, 2020 Planning and Zoning Commission Zoom Virtual Public Hearing, RoseHeart Renewal Center's CEO stated the Tolentine Center addiction treatment facility would be this company's first experience at operating this type of medical facility.  During the November 10, 2020 and December 8, 2020 Zoom Virtual Public Hearings, RoseHeart Renewal Center's representatives continued to verbally answer quesstions and make general references to the State of Illinois Administrative Code, instead of providing the Planning and Zoning Commission with written comprehensive planning and operational details that would specifically address the concerns, issues, and questions submitted by our residents and Planning and Zoning Commissioners. 

In addition to signing this petition, we ask that as many Olympia Fields residents as possible attend the next Tolentine Center addiction treatment facility Zoom Virtual Public Hearing, scheduled for:  

   Hearing Date:  Tuesday, January 19, 2021 

   Hearing Time:  7:00 P. M.

   To Attend By:

   (1). Internet:  January 19, 2021 Tolentine Center Alcohol/Drug Rehab Public Hearing   Passcode:  391101   

  (2). Telephone:  (312) 626-6799,  Webinar ID: 956 2624 3376, Passcode: 391101