Proposed Shelter Ordinance Heads to Planning Commission

The Traverse City Housing and Building Committee will present a proposed zoning ordinance governing local emergency homeless shelters and transitional housing – including where such facilities can be located in the city – to the TC Planning Commission on May 6. At that meeting, commissioners could schedule a hearing to gather public input on the proposal as soon as June 3.

A draft of the proposal recommends the following requirements for emergency shelters and transitional housing in city limits:
* The facility is fully enclosed in a building located in an HR, C-1, C-2 or C-3, D-1, D-2, D-3, H-1, H-2 or I district.
* The site is located within a half-mile of a bus stop with connecting sidewalks or bike trails.
* The lot is not located within 1,500 feet of another lot devoted to transitional housing, emergency shelter or a residential care and treatment facility.
* The facility shall have a maximum of 100 beds and/or sleeping pads.
* The building provides 50 square-feet of heated building space per person staying overnight at the facility.
* The operator of the emergency shelter shall provide continuous, on-site supervision by an employee or volunteer during all hours of operation.
* The operator of the facility shall have a written management plan including, as applicable, staffing levels, provisions for staff and volunteer training, neighborhood outreach, length of stay of residents, hours of operation, crime prevention, security, screening of residents to insure compatibility and the mission of service provided at the facility. The management plan shall establish a maximum length of time which clients may be accommodated.
* The operator shall have an effective ongoing housing assistance program on the premises to place the residents into permanent housing and maintain a list of all persons residing at the facility.
* Parking requirements would be determined by the City Planning Director based on the intensity of the operation described in the management plan.

The Housing and Building Committee has been meeting for the last month to draft the proposed zoning ordinance after a request by Safe Harbor of Grand Traverse to convert a city-owned warehouse on Wellington Street generated community-wide debate over where and how homeless facilities should operate in the city. The proposal's first stop is the TC Planning Commission; should the board approve the ordinance, it would then head to the TC City Commission for final approval.