ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, December 24, 1996 TAG: 9612240068
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: YOUNGSTOWN, ARIZ.
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
AN ORDINANCE requires each household to have at least one resident 55 or older, and people 18 or younger can stay no longer than three months.
It may take a village to raise a child, but the folk in this retirement community say they finished rearing their kids long ago, thank you.
That's why they are enforcing a rarely used ban on children and evicting a teen-ager who moved in with his grandparents a year ago, allegedly to escape abuse at home.
Sixteen-year-old Chaz Cope has until Jan. 19 to get out.
``If you let one child in, then you have to let all of them in,'' said Gary Locke, owner of the 111th Avenue Barber Shop. ``We are a retirement community. That's what we're here for.''
Youngtown was founded in 1958 as a retirement community by Ben Schleifer, whose reason for naming the place Youngtown has been lost to time. An ordinance in the Phoenix suburb of 2,500 requires each household to have at least one resident 55 or older, and people 18 or younger can stay no longer than three months.
Chaz said he moved in with his grandparents to escape physical and mental abuse from his stepfather in Mesa, 35 miles away. His grandparents, Jerry and LynnRae Naab, refused to divulge the stepfather's name.
The Naabs voluntarily told city officials about Chaz and asked for an exemption to let him stay until he turns 18. The couple were granted a series of 90-day permits, but each time officials urged them to find a home for the boy outside Youngtown.
On Thursday, the Town Council voted 6-0 to order the boy out.
``I think we should have gotten Brownie points for being honest about me being in Youngtown,'' Chaz said. ``What is the council teaching me? That it's better to lie and cheat.''
Many Youngtown residents sympathize with Chaz and believe he should be allowed to stay. But others say at this stage in their lives they simply don't want children around.
``Your neighbors must come first,'' neighbor Kenneth Cason, who has complained about Chaz's early-morning basketball practice, told LynnRae Naab at a packed council meeting. ``They're trying to tell you, `I need my rest.'''
Youngtown, which boasts the nation's first American Association of Retired Persons chapter, has paid a price for its position.
Callers to Phoenix radio shows have vilified Youngtown residents as grumpy old fogeys. An editorial cartoon in The Arizona Republic with the caption ``O little minds of Youngtown'' depicted a manger scene and three humpbacked senior citizens, one shaking a cane and shouting: ``Get that bratty kid outta here!''
``I can imagine what people back East are saying: `I don't want to live out there. They're too grumpy,''' said Clifford Velzy, who left Niagara Falls, N.Y., six years ago and now zips past the orange and grapefruit trees of Youngtown in a Harley-Davidson golf cart. ``I think it's a wonderful town. People are nice.''
Most everyone concedes Chaz has not been any trouble. He works part time at a Pizza Hut and rides his skateboard with friends outside of Youngtown. He's been so upset about the prospect of leaving his grandparents that he recently dropped out of school, his grandmother said.
``He's a likeable kid,'' said neighbor Billy Davis. ``We've taken him along with our family on picnics. He's a real nice boy. I think this is a bum deal.''
The Naabs face a $100-a-day fine and 10 days in jail for each day Chaz stays past the deadline.
``If we have to rent an apartment somewhere, we'll do it,'' the boy's grandfather said. ``If we have to move, we'll move. We're a family, and we'll stick together. We're just trying to figure out a way to go.''
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP Chaz Cope is shown with his grandparents, Jerry andby CNBLynnRae Naab, at their home in Youngtown, Ariz., recently. color