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Shelter plan advances, more info sought

Posted on January 27, 2011 by Staff

Chapel Hill’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board approved the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service’s plans for a new men’s shelter Tuesday night, as the plans work their way through the town’s advisory boards ahead of a public hearing before the Chapel Hill Town Council scheduled for March 21.

The shelter plans, which were approved by the town’s planning board earlier this month, were also scheduled for review by the town’s Community Design Commission Wednesday night after The Citizen’s press time.

Meanwhile, the town last Wednesday heard comments on shelter guidelines from planning board members, advocates for the homeless and those opposed to the proposed new men’s shelter site near the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Homestead Road.

The approval process for the new shelter and the guidelines are moving on different tracks, but shelter opponents have used the discussion of the guidelines to highlight their concerns about the potential impact of the IFC’s plan.

The guidelines, developed through the town’s planning board, call for consideration of the impact on nearby neighborhoods as well as the proximity of social services.

Residents near the proposed men’s shelter said the new guidelines were not specific enough and do not spell out policies on sex offenders and proximity to parks, schools and other shelters. Opponents have argued that the proposed shelter would be close to the IFC’s Project Homestart, which houses women and children transitioning from homelessness, and Freedom House, a substance-abuse recovery program, and that building it would unfairly burden other residents in the area.

The council asked town planners to review the proposed guidelines and provide better crime statistics and the extent of the homeless population and its needs.

To underscore the need for a new home for its Community House, the IFC is hosting a tour on Feb. 6 of the current community kitchen and men’s shelter in the old Chapel Hill municipal building at 100 W. Rosemary St. The event runs from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.

– Kirk Ross

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