San Francisco neighborhood up in arms over proposed sex offender clinic
A San Francisco neighborhood is in an uproar over the plan to open a sex offender treatment clinic.
The original opening date was February 1st, which was then pushed to February 9th. Now it's unclear whether it can open at all at a proposed site at 100 Church in the Duboce Triangle neighborhood.
Monday night, there was an emotional community meeting about the clinic.
Sharper Future, the private operator of the proposed clinic, met with neighbors to answer questions. It's a meeting that neighbors say is long overdue.
"Don't expect us to drink your Kool-Aid when it's poison," said Jeannette Dupais-Walker.
The 61-year-old grandmother who's raising her two young grandsons is outraged. She's among the overflow crowd that packed into the meeting held at California Pacific Medical Center's Davies campus.
Neighbors say Sharper Future was set to open the treatment clinic for paroled sex offenders without community input and did not communicate their plans until now.
"You haven't even gone out to talk to anyone," said one neighbor to company officials.
Once neighbors found out about plans for the clinic, they asked for a delay to try to keep it from opening, saying that there are schools and childcare centers close by; some within the 250- foot buffer zone set by the California Department of Corrections.
"This is something that came up recently we didn't know about," said Mary-Perry Miller with Sharper Future.
The company says the parole department measured the buffer zone and that it was only a few days ago that Sharper Future became aware that its proposed location may be too close to two childcare centers.
"They didn't know the locations of two daycare centers within 250-feet at the place you're operating my question is why didn't you tell them and why should we trust you now," said a man in the audience.
Sharper Future says the clinic will serve 78 sex offenders and operate three days a week.
"The sex offenders that we're treating are not the monsters that comes up in your mind...some guy jumping out of the bushes somewhere," said Miller
"This shouldn't be forced down our throats and I feel like it’s being forced down our throats," said Dupais-Walker.
Sharper Future has agreed to not move the clinic into the Church Street location if it is determined that there are two childcare centers within the 250 foot buffer zone.
The next step is for state officials to come out to the site and take measurements. There was no date given as to when that will take place.
Neighbors who oppose the clinic can also go to a Board of Appeals hearing on February 17 to try to stop it from opening.