New homeless shelter guidelines to be presented tonight at Town Council

After a year of drafting, a town planning board subcommittee will again present a set of homeless shelter guidelines to the Chapel Hill Town Council tonight.

The two-page list of guidelines lays out undesirable qualities for any proposed shelter. For example, a shelter shouldn’t be within a quarter mile of residential areas, adult entertainment facilities or areas with a concentration of liquor stores.

But these recommendations can be bypassed if the proposed site has more desirable than undesirable traits, the guidelines state.

For example, the planning board lists close proximity to grocery stores and public transportation as attractive qualities.

In addition, the guidelines ask that proposed shelters demonstrate a plan for community involvement, including neighborhood feedback and a security plan for those the shelter turns away.

The guidelines were originally established by the shelter subcommittee in May after town council members presented a petition.

Since then, the guidelines have been refined due to planning board recommendations to make them more specific.

As the council weighs the benefits of these new guidelines, the main area shelter’s possible relocation is under consideration.

The Inter-Faith Council for Social Service’s Community House men’s shelter currently uses a Rosemary Street space owned by the town, but Executive Director Chris Moran said the shelter has been looking for a permanent location for 25 years.

The shelter is currently awaiting approval of a special use permit application to move to a location on Homestead Road. The application is up for council review March 21.

Although this change is happening as new shelter guidelines are debated, Principal Planner Phil Mason said the guidelines are independent of the application.

“They happen to be going through the process at the same time as the application for the special use permit, but they are separate,” he said.

Optimistic about the move despite ongoing debate, Moran said the shelter’s new site is the most isolated possible.

The new shelter’s closest neighbors would be land owned by UNC and the United Church of Chapel Hill, which operates a preschool, Moran said. Richard Edens, co-pastor of United Church, said the congregation passed a resolution in support of the shelter’s new location.

“We have a long history with IFC,” Edens said. “And it was not problematic for those thirty years.”

In the past, some residents near Homestead Road have voiced concerns that the shelter’s proposed location is too close to day cares and parks, as well as to other “at-risk” facilities like a women’s shelter.

Several opponents of the shelter’s relocation declined to comment.

The new location will be a transitional shelter instead of an emergency shelter, Moran said. Men who stay at the shelter will have to apply and will participate in a program to help them achieve independence.

“An individual might start in a dorm room and move up,” he said. “Every move up in the program, you gain more freedom, but you have to show responsibility.”

Moran said the longer-term nature will benefit the homeless community and Chapel Hill at large.

“People don’t want people just out on the streets,” he said.

Moran also said the IFC is optimistic that their application will go through in March, even if the guidelines aren’t approved by then.

“We’re coming close to the end,” he said.

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