BUENA PARK : VFW Post Considers Moving Out of City

The second-largest Veterans of Foreign Wars post in the county has withdrawn its application to relocate within Buena Park after a minister and several residents lodged protests against the move.

The veterans, who have been in the city since 1962, now say they will look beyond Buena Park’s borders for a new home.

“The place that the city had picked on Melrose (Street) had too many neighbors against it,” said Cmdr. John Hood of VFW Post 8954. Members of a nearby church and neighbors across the street were opposed, he said.

The post has occupied a building in a residential neighborhood at 6410 Homewood Ave. for 30 years, but its practice of allowing outside groups to rent the hall brought on problems. Neighbors complained about raucous behavior, not by the veterans but by the people renting the place for parties and weddings. There was even a drive-by shooting.

Over the last three years, the city has forbidden the post’s renting of its hall to outside parties.

In an effort to find a solution for the group, the city agreed last November to buy the building for $100,000. Hood said, however, that the sum would not be enough to buy another building, forcing the 470-member post to rent a new home. That, in turn, would force the group to rent out the new building on weekends, to make its payments.

After the new location on Melrose Street was found, with the city’s help, the Rev. Wiley Drake, pastor of the Southern Baptist Church of Buena Park, and residents filed complaints, saying they feared that the problems experienced by current neighbors would simply be transplanted to their street.

“They have a history of problems--public urinating, shooting, noise, trash. So we said we didn’t want that close to our church,” Drake said.

The complaints caused the Planning Commission to delay approving the move. That prompted the post ultimately to withdraw its request.

“The city is letting us stay where we are now until we find another place,” Hood said.