Neighbors along and near the 3600 block of Brookfield’s Sunnyside Avenue are perplexed about the presence of a former Airbnb rental home that recently became a “shared residence” where people in recovery from substance abuse support each other.
Known as an Oxford House, the property at 3626 Sunnyside Ave. is currently occupied by six people, according to Fernando, the de facto leader of the home, known as a core member. He declined to provide his last name.
It’s all a cause for concern for Rosa Ramos, who lives near the Oxford House and has a high school-aged child, one of about 18 children reportedly in the immediate vicinity.
“We live in a community where we know our neighbors and what sort of people are living in the house next to us,” Ramos said. “Now we’re faced with a situation where we have strangers, battling demons through addiction.
“I don’t know if they are criminals. I don’t know if they are mentally ill. I don’t know when they are coming or going, or (what happens if) they get kicked out of the house. Where are they from?”
Another resident, Nick Boyko, lives across the street and has three children. His concerns mirror Ramos’.
“It’s really that they were able to come in unannounced and unapproved,” he said. “If this is going to be a revolving door, I have no way of knowing who’s there.”
Self-supported homes
According to the Oxford House website, residences are self-run and self-supported homes for those in recovery from a substance abuse disorder. There is no house manager or outside authority, and members share house responsibilities. As long as members stay drug- and alcohol-free, are not disruptive and pay their share of house expenses, they can stay as long as they like.
Homes are located across the country, with 32 in the Chicago area alone, including three in Burbank and one in Justice.
Upon arrival at the Brookfield Oxford House on Thursday, a reporter was met at the door by a resident named Richie, who noted, “I just got here.” He introduced Fernando, who declined comment and referred the reporter to a local Oxford House spokesperson, who did not return calls for comment.
But Martin Arteaga, president of Green Building Partners Inc., which owns the property, said Thursday he believes strongly in the nonprofit Oxford House mission.
“It’s something I understand people perhaps may have a concern,” Arteaga said. “We’re not bringing in a bunch of pedophiles. These are human beings. These are people who are living in a supportive community. There have been many success stories through Oxford.”
He said that while he owns the house, he leases it to an individual, not Oxford House per se. That could not be independently verified due to unanswered calls to the Oxford House spokesperson.
Village unaware of move
Arteaga confirmed he ran an Airbnb rental out of the property for several years, before the village of Brookfield shut it down in September. That was troubling to him.
“They put a violation on my door, stating I was out of zoning code, and lo and behold, they dragged me through the building court,” he said. “They made me remove it. Now we have the Oxford House. I wish I still had the Airbnb.”
According to Tim Wiberg, Brookfield’s village manager, “Airbnb’s in Brookfield are prohibited. Short-term rentals are not permissible.” He added an updated version of the village zoning code approved Oct. 12 did not change that rule.
A cursory review of Airbnb’s website, however, showed two such properties in the village – one home and one apartment.
“We have a local administrative hearing process we hold at village hall,” Wiberg said. “That’s where we adjudicate local violations.”
He also said the village was unaware that the Oxford House was coming in, which it did last week. But significantly, it couldn’t have known.
“We had no advance knowledge of it,” he said, “and they are not obligated to tell us. Oxford doesn’t own the homes; they have a relationship with the property (owner). Those are transactions no municipality would be involved in.”
Why?
“When you think about it, whether you own an apartment building or rent your house, they don’t report to the village,” he said. “The owner vets out and decides who to lease to. The village does not get involved in those types of decisions.”
What’s more, Wiberg said “there are various federal and state housing laws that don’t allow a municipality to dictate who lives there.
“Where a municipality gets involved, we react to the actions of the people who are staying there,” he said. “Common examples are noise complaints, unkempt properties, leaving garbage out, or certainly if a crime is committed.”
“It’s a bad idea”
That’s what worries Ramos, who attended a village planning and zoning commission meeting Oct. 22 with plans to discuss the Oxford House situation and was referred to the following Monday’s village board meeting, where she spoke.
She felt the prevailing message from the board was, “‘We hear your concerns, we’re going to follow all federal and municipal laws and we’re going to look into it.’”
Village President Michael Garvey confirmed that Friday. He said, “I informed the residents that we will follow all federal, state, county and local ordinances in the neighborhood.”
Ramos said she has nothing against the Oxford House residents, but said, “it’s a bad idea. This Martin person needs to sell the house and get out.
“Why do we have to be on guard? Why do we have to be reactive? There needs to be some regulation of people using their property.”
Added Boyko, who has lived in his home most of his life: “I’m all for people trying to improve their lives and get better, but I don’t think this is the place.”
Arteaga countered those thoughts with some of his own.
“I hope the people of Brookfield and the community understand, we all have our own desires of what we want our community to be, but it doesn’t mean these people can’t be in the community,” he said. “This is America. They are a protected class, so they have the legal right to exist.”
Does he worry that there could be an incident of some sort involving an Oxford House resident?
“I don’t interfere or get involved with any of the personal matters with my tenants, and it’s not going to be any different here,” he said. “I can’t speak to anyone’s individualistic goals or sins.
“The world is full of sinners. As a Christian man, I’m here to help my brother, my fellow man.”