By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer
Plans for the Inter-Faith Council’s Community House, a combination transitional shelter and health care center, will get its first official review Tuesday night.
The Chapel Hill Planning Board is scheduled to hear a presentation at 7 p.m. at Town Hall on a special-use permit for a two-story, 16,250-square-foot building the IFC wants to build on grounds owned by the university at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Homestead Road. The university board of trustees approved a site and design plan for the project at its November meeting.
“We’re ready,†IFC executive director Chris Moran said of the series of presentations and discussion ahead. Moran said that he expects to hear some concerns raised about the purpose for the building and the town’s recently adopted shelter guidelines, but that the advisory boards are tasked with reviewing the design of the facility.
Moran said the new design by local architect Josh Gurlitz has changed as a result of feedback over the past few years from the council and residents.
“We think we’ve got a good design and we expect it will sell itself,†Moran said. “Then hopefully for us, after 25 years of searching, we’ll finally have a permanent home for Community House.
The plans include a 52-bed housing area with clinics and offices on a 1.8-acre site. The shelter also includes emergency housing space for an additional 17 people.
The Planning Board is the first of several advisory boards that will review the project and offer recommendations to the town council ahead of a public hearing scheduled for March 21.
The plans include a 52-bed housing area with clinics and offices on a 1.8-acre site. The shelter also includes emergency housing space for an additional 17 people.
The Planning Board is the first of several advisory boards that will review the project and offer recommendations to the town council ahead of a public hearing scheduled for March 21.
Gene Poveromo, development manager with the Chapel Hill Planning Department, said after the presentations on Tuesday night the Planning Board will take public comments. Once it opens the review, he said, the board has 35 days to forward a set of recommendations to the council.
In addition to the Planning Board meeting, the schedule for advisory board review of the IFC proposal is as follows:
• Jan. 13, Transportation Board;
• Jan. 19, Parks and Recreation Commission;
• Jan. 25, Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board; and
• Jan. 26, Community Design Commission.
The statement “the town’s recently adopted shelter guidelines” is incorrect.
The town council has not adopted any homeless shelter guidelines yet. A very poor set of guidelines has been proposed by the planning board and will be reviewed by the town council on January 10th.
The proposed guidelines would allow SIXTEEN homeless shelters to be built in ONE single square mile. Most communities with written rules require a 1/2 to 2 mile separation between at risk overnight social service facilities.
More information can be found on a website created by neighbors to address the many issues associated with the location of the proposed facility and the backroom deal that led to it: http://www.abettersite.org