Council update: MLK Day
Sally
A couple of updates from last week's council meeting:
Cap for homeless shelters
First, we amended our regulations to change an outdated (and, in the
past, ignored) cap of 25 residents that was part of the standing
definition of a shelter for the homeless. At the same time, we changed
the requirements so that any application for a homeless shelter, in
any zoning district, must go through a special use permitting process.
That process, by definition, includes the setting of a cap for that
particular facility. The existence of this number 25 was discovered in
the process of work being done in advance of the Inter-Faith Council's
plans to propose a new men's facility at the corner of MLK Boulevard
and Homestead Road. But that process is a separate process from this
procedure to amend the definition of a shelter.
After the meeting, Roscoe Reeve wrote in give us the story of how the
number 25 got into the ordinance. It happened in the early 1980s when
he was chair of the Planning Board. As some of us suspected, the
number was really meant to guide the permitting of shelters in zones
in which shelters were allowed as of right, without a decision by the
Council. (Although that detail wasn't clear in the definition.)
According to Roscoe,
"The cap was proposed by staff in the process of creation of the LUMO,
a very long and complex process of study and meetings. There was never
any discussion or rational for the number 25 as a cap appropriate to a
shelter. The interest of the Board was to create (as Mark and Sally
implied tonight) a number of permitted uses in appropriate zones so
that standards would be clear and that long and expensive
deliberations, such as the SUP process, would not impede needed
public uses (shelter, school, day care, church, etc.). We thought that
if things were appropriate in a zone, as determined by Council's
approval of the tables within the LUMO, arbitrary political passion
would be discouraged, the famous "crap shoot" referred to tonight.
Especially since schools, churches and private charities could ill
afford a lengthy approval process governed by the whims of NIMBY. At
that time there was a Council member who would not vote for the
approval of any development application where the applicant did not
meet personally with him, and in some cases the applicant would have
to agree to a personal request of the Council member as arranged at
that private meeting. And of course we board members were perplexed
when totally complying development proposals were still voted down
because a neighborhood didn't want the development and they raised
hell with the Council. Silly us."
In further discussion with Roscoe, I confirmed that establishing a by-
right process for small shelters was especially important in the early
1980s, before the Supreme Court decision that mandated that group
homes for special needs populations be able to exist in neighborhoods
as a right of use. (Oxford Houses, for example.) By the action we took
last week, Oxford Houses and group homes like it will continue to be
able to be established as easily as they now are, of course, but all
"homeless shelters" in any zoning district will need to go through a
special use permitting process. I believe this is a good outcome. The
special use permit process gives the Council the ability to hear all
the community's concerns and address them specifically for that one
site.
Deer hunting/urban archery
We heard many comments in opposition to our staff's recommendation
that we not pursue an urban archery program to manage the town's
increasing deer population. We agreed to set another hearing at a
later date to consider more information on how such a program might
work. Because the deadline for applying with the state for permission
to have an urban archery program in 2011 is coming up in April, we
authorized the staff to prepare and even submit such an application,
so that we could have that permission if we chose to go forward.
Personally I am not yet satisfied that an urban archery program in
Chapel Hill can be structured so that it is safe. I thought the
staff's response made a lot of sense. But in the interest of gaining
more information and making a better informed decision, I voted for
this action.
MLK event today!
In about 45 minutes I will join the mayor and others at Peace and
Justice Plaza for the annual rally and march to the First Baptist
Church as part of the NAACP's celebration and commemoration of this
day. Today we will be joined by members of the Chapel Hill Police
Department. This is an outcome of a productive conversation that NAACP
president Michelle Laws had with Assistant Chief Chris Blue in the
aftermath of the mistaken identity arrest of Charles Brown last
summer. I understand Assistant Chief Blue will speak at the event.
At the church service, Ashley Osment will receive an award for her
important civil right work especially in education. It will be
wonderful to see Ashley there!
Tim Tyson will be the main speaker at the church service. The rally at
Peace and Justice Plaza starts at 9 a.m., and the church service
starts at 10:30 a.m. Join us if you can.
Cheers,
Sally