Stepping Stones Foundation Stepping On Neighbors Toes

Boy can Holly Hill Florida residents relate to this attitude from 12 steppers! Stepping Stones was the home of Bill Wilson. Neighbors are complaining about traffic and driving down property values in their residential neighborhood. Typical 12 stepper speak, their attorney states “It is the perception of neighbors that activity has expanded” in recent years. Right, it is just a figment of their imagination. The place only brings as much traffic as a single family home they say.

If this is true than why do they need to expand parking?

I hope the local officials listen to the neighbors concerns, unlike the City of Holly Hill Fl. They tried to say it was a figment of our imagination too.We had AA and NA take up entire parking for our park to the point where they were parking illegally.

There might be signs of hope for residents when a local official stated ‘Summarizing the conflicting perspectives, board member John P. Sullivan said, “God bless your work but the site is much more used, with a museum-like atmosphere in a neighborhood that can’t sustain it.”

We did a petition too in Holly Hill over AA/NA negatively impacting our nieghborhood.. Diane S. Briganti, a 28-year resident of Oak Road directly across from Stepping Stones is trying to maintain peace and quiet in her area, and of course 12 steppers are giving her a hard time.The Stepping Stones Foundation should be ashamed of themselves.

What about following their traditions and avoiding controversy? But they hired a lawyer?

I guess the REAL Bill W. antics and who he really was will be coming more to the forefront with The Stepping Stones Foundation trying to get it on the National Historic Register. What a slap in the face to all who have been harmed by Alcoholics Anonymous. 13 stepping is still rampant in AA, along with a host of other crimes against children and families. I hope they realize who they are really putting on a pedestal, and it isn’t pretty.

Bill Wilson's Home

Stepping Stones to Rework Protocol for Katonah Site
Bedford planners focus on number of visitors and vehicles, impact on neighborhood.
By Jeff Canning February 22, 2012

The Stepping Stones Foundation, which is seeking a special-use permit to build a parking lot while neighbors of the Katonah site press for resolution of concerns about traffic and noise, will rework the draft of a protocol governing its activities after a page-by-page review with the Bedford Planning Board Tuesday night.

Issues aired during the review, which consumed more than half of the 3.5-hour board meeting, included the number and size of vehicles, number of trips, number of people admitted to the Oak Road site, deliveries, times for tours, the best way to limit the impact of events on the residential neighborhood (especially those concentrated on weekends in warm-weather months) and the possibility that some activities may have outgrown the 8-acre property.

Stepping Stones is the historic home of Bill and Lois Wilson, respective co-founders of Alcoholics Anonymous and the Al-Anon Family Groups. It is on the state and national registers of historic places and since 1990 has been operated by the Stepping Stones Foundation. The federal government is considering designation of the site as a National Historic Landmark.

snip

Foundation Executive Director Annah Perch and attorney Whitney Singleton, representing Stepping Stones during the review, said the site does not attract a “tremendous amount” of traffic except on certain occasions. In the course of a year it involves fewer car trips than a single-family home, they said. Shuttle buses carry passengers from off-site parking areas for large events.

Courtney-Batson said, “It is the perception of neighbors that activity has expanded” in recent years.

Diane S. Briganti, a 28-year resident of Oak Road directly across from Stepping Stones, who has called for tighter limits on the number of vehicles and visitors, suggested that some activities had grown too large for the neighborhood and should be held off-site.

http://bedford.patch.com/articles/stepping-stones-to-rework-protocol-for-katonah-site

Another related article-

http://www.lohud.com/article/20120217/NEWS02/302170034/Bedford-home-Alcoholics-Anonymous-pioneers-may-get-landmark-status-view-14-photos