By Gregory Childress
gchildress@heraldsun.com; 419-6645
Chapel Hill -- The Town Council on Monday unanimously approved changes to its Land Use Management Ordinance (LUMO), one of which lifted a 25-person limit for facilities such as shelters.
In addition, the council adopted rules that require such facilities to go through a rigorous special permit process that will give citizens extensive input during a shelter's development.
The decision to lift the 25-person limit was good news for the Inter-Faith Council for Social Services, which is planning a 52-bed shelter off of Homestead Road.
"It was a very long discussion, but in the end the decision was made to remove the 25-person cap, which we're grateful for," said Chris Moran, executive director of the IFC.
Critics of the proposal argued that the council should adopt a comprehensive shelter ordinance instead of simply amending the ordinance.
Mark Peters, representing residents of the Parkside and North Forest Hills neighborhoods, said if the IFC is allowed to site its men's shelter off of Homestead, it would create an overabundance of overnight social services in a concentrated area.
A women's shelter and a drug detoxification facility are already located near the proposed men's shelter.
"The ordinance, basically as it exists today, allows for the over-concentration of these overnight facilities," Peters said.
In addition, Peters said, the town's staff didn't consider crime statistics -- he said the men's shelter downtown has accounted for the second most arrests in Chapel Hill since 2003 -- or the impact the shelter would have on neighborhoods and a nearby park.
Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt reminded speakers that the council was not considering a special use permit on Monday.
He explained that the council was being asked to change the shelter designation from a permitted use, under which it does not have to go before council as long as it is in compliance with town ordinances, or require a special use permit requiring it to be brought before council, where the community would have input.
"I just want to make sure we all know where we are in the process," Kleinschmidt said. "I know there's one looming, quite possibly, but tonight we just have three questions before us."
Will Raymond, who unsuccessfully ran for Town Council, said that in conversations during the campaign, residents seemed to understand the need for facilities to help the town's homeless residents. He said the town has to ensure that the process is transparent and that the impact of such facilities are thoroughly evaluated.
"Going forward there needs to be a more comprehensive approach to this," Raymond said. "There needs to be a process that brings the community together."
