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The process of getting some sort of regulation in place for local homeless shelters is off to a rough start.
As a result of the ongoing attempts by Wayside Christian Mission to relocate from East Market Street, first to the old Mercy Academy, then to Broadway, some local advocates have cried out for regulation for shelters. So the Metro Council asked the Metro Planning department to form a task force to come up with ideas.
The city's planning division was charged with organizing the task force of interested parties, and set an initial meeting for this week.
But Dawn Warrick, the planning and design department assistant director charged with overseeing the group, sent a cancellation notice, saying the Friday meeting wouldn't happen because "of possible conflicts of interest posed by recent litigation."
Translation: Homeless advocates who don't want to see regulation don't want the three main proponents of standards for shelters to be on the committee, especially if Wayside is not represented.
Those three have been involved in ongoing litigation over Wayside moving plans -- John Gilderbloom, a U of L professor who's completed a national study on city regulations of homeless shelters; Stephen Porter, who has represented a Highlands neighborhood that fought Wayside's plans to move there, and Chuck Burke, a member of the Original Highlands Neighborhood Association.
Full Disclosure: Burke is CTO here at LouisvilleMojo.
Result: More delay while the politics play out.
According to Gilderbloom, the cancellation is an indication that the homeless advocates in town are asserting their influence.
"Wayside is upset they're not on the committee, and their representatives are retaliating by saying if we're not on it, these three people should be off," he said. "They're saying people who are vocal for regulatory guidelines should not be on this committee."
The obstructionist tactics, and the planning commissions willingness to delay the committee meeting to play politics, will do nothing to speed progress on the homeless issues that face the city.
Gilderbloom, rather than being singled out to be excluded from the group, seems to possess just the sort of expertise needed desperately, having studied the issue in multiple cities. Here's a copy of a portion of an e-mail he wrote to Warrick about the task force, prior to its cancellation:
"I look forward to producing a set of recommendations that will protect and help the homeless in Louisville that is modeled after progressive laws that have been passed by other cities and won the support of homeless persons (some involved in lawsuits against the shelters) in other North American cities. We have numerous ordinances that we can share with the committee along with our survey of 100 North American cities are doing to help the homeless."
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ADD A COMMENT
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chuck
thu nov 05 2009
at 1:42 pm
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The Hotel Louisville location is an extremely good choice. After all, a 300 bed hotel is at least somewhat similar to density and impact as a 300 bed shelter. The commercial zoning makes it a "gimme" as most every other city in the nation restricts large shelters to commercial districts.
However, Wayside doesn't want to go into the Hotel Louisville property. They're suing the city in circuit court to overturn the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BOZA) decision that they not be allowed at the old Mercy Campus. The Mercy building is zoned OR3 (office/residential) and indeed sits right on top of a number of single family homes. The zoning, density and residential nature of the Mercy location makes it a highly inappropriate location.
For purposes of full disclosure, I live in one of those homes.
Best,
- Chuck |
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Strawberry Burns
thu nov 05 2009
at 8:16 pm
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I've been homeless twice in my life. Stayed at the VOA's Tingly House along with my son and my husband, I was pregnant. We made it out when my daughter was 3 months old. While there, we did nothing to cause any problems in that neighborhood. It's located in a bad part of town. I was afraid to be out after dark and our truck was broken into. I contributed to the area by spending money at local businesses. The second time was when I left my husband and lived at the Center for Women for 6 months. I've never been in trouble with the law, I'm not violent, a drunk, a theif, or menace to society. I started back to college while still at the Center. I would walk back and forth from the Center to my classes at JCTC day after day. The Center isn't all that far from the old Holiday Inn in question, and I passed it many times a day. Again, I spent money at area businesses. Explain to me how my presence adversely affected either one of those neighborhoods. Explain to me how my spending money at local businesses harmed their commercial growth or how my presence in them detracted from their business? The real problem is the mentally ill/drunkard homeless that are EVERYWHERE DOWNTOWN ALREADY! The problems people are scared a shelter will bring ARE THERE ALREADY! I would also like to point out how the Center took an eye sore of crack and prostitution like the old San Antonio Inn and turned it into a place that is doing the Louisville community a lot of good. |
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Golfy
sat nov 07 2009
at 8:10 pm
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So let me get this straight, if you put it downtown, it's a great location, no matter what people who live downtown think, and the fact that most quality service jobs start in the Highlands and move east. Most professional jobs are downtown. And if downtowners get nimby about it they are elitist.
Sounds like a pretty fair opinion. Cough cough cough.
It's BS, the Mercy location is the best location for it. |
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