By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer
CHAPEL HILL – Upon hearing conflicting reports regarding a committee formed to develop a Good Neighbor Plan for the new homeless shelter, the Chapel Hill Town Council on Monday asked the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service to consider allowing audio recording of meetings and to add four neighbors of the project site to the committee.
In May, the council approved plans for the IFC’s Community House Men’s Shelter, which call for a two-story, 16,250-square-foot facility with 52 beds and 17 emergency cots for use on “white-flag†nights during inclement weather, on 1.8 acres at 1315 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. The council then required that the IFC develop a Good Neighbor Plan for council approval.
To develop the plan, the IFC assembled a 19-member committee representing surrounding neighborhoods, homeless persons, congregations and property owners close to the proposed project, which began meeting in July.
Mark Peters, who represents A Better Site – a group opposed to the project – said that while his group had been invited to participate, he chose not to do so because the committee refused to allow recording of the meetings and because the committee was stacked with shelter supporters.
“This is not a diverse set of opinions because there’s only one person [on the committee] on public record who’s opposed to the shelter,†Peters said. However, with the recommendation of the council to the IFC to add neighbors to the committee and to consider allowing recording, Peters said he would attend the meetings.
Chris Moran, executive director of IFC, said IFC staff had worked very hard to bring A Better Site to the table.
“This process has been about many things, but particularly about bringing together an array of neighbors and neighborhood groups together,†he said. “This process is not, however, about debating, nor about determining a better site.â€
Opponents of the plan – many who live near the site – argued that the new facility increases an already unfair burden on their neighborhood. IFC’s Project Homestart, a transitional shelter for women and children, and Freedom House, a substance-abuse recovery center, are both located close to the site.
Council member Donna Bell urged the IFC and meeting facilitators to make sure that committee members have a clear understanding of meeting processes and to keep a clear record of meetings.
Meeting facilitator Andy Sachs of the Dispute Settlement Center said some committee members were concerned that if meetings were recorded members would feel less inclined to share unpopular ideas or participate in the conversation.
Council member Gene Pease said the IFC should take its time in developing the plan.
“I would hope that you could have gotten broader representation from neighborhoods,†he said.
The new shelter – which IFC officials hope to break ground on next summer – will enable the IFC to move its men’s shelter out of the town’s old municipal building on the corner of Rosemary and North Columbia streets, which it has used as a temporary location for more than 25 years.
The plan will outline the community house program; safety, health and security rules for shelter residents; control of loitering and littering; crime-prevention strategies; community education; mediation and dispute resolution; and more.