BOISE, Idaho —
Interfaith Sanctuary (IFS) is asking the City Council to overturn the Boise Planning and Zoning Commission's denial of a conditional use permit application to use the former Salvation Army building on West State Street as a shelter.
Testimony began Monday and continued Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. All hearings were live-streamed on KTVB.COM and the KTVB YouTube channel.
On Thursday, Boise City Council heard from city officials, including Boise Police and Fire Chiefs, both of which answered questions regarding how IFS's proposed location would impact the city's first response resources and unit availability.
“There is a difference between a security plan for the facility and a police response safety plan,” said Boise Police Chief Ryan Lee. “I think when we’re talking about what is our plan to respond to a significant incident, part of that is, what does the security plan of the facility look like to minimize the demand for police services. Things such as on-site security, deescalating training for staff, and a variety of other things, will help them mitigate the need to call the police. Our response plan would likely meet much of the same protocol for responding to any densely housed population for a critical event.”
Boise Fire Chief Mark Niemeyer was asked what the fire department's 'Plan B' would be if the city council upheld Planning and Zoning's denial of the conditional use permit.
“Let’s be blunt, our Plan B is still to respond to people’s needs when they call us,” Cheif Niemeyer said. “I think our biggest challenge, and there are some solutions out there that are coming, are what we call public service responses. It’s the welfare checks, it’s the lift assists, it’s non-critical emergencies. For us, for years we have not had resources at our fingertips that we could direct people to, and I think we now have an abundance of resources available to contact to get those individuals the resources they need outside of the 911 system.”
The hearing will reconvene on Monday at 4 p.m.
View Thursday's hearing on KTVB's Youtube page.
On Wednesday, testimony against IFS’s proposed shelter location continued to revolve around its impact on the surrounding community and the toll it would take on first responders.
“The needs of a large, low-barrier shelter are not compatible with the needs of a predominantly family-orientated residential neighborhood,” said one community member who lives near the proposed shelter location. “The needs are simply too different. The use being proposed for this location is not inharmony with the character of the residential neighborhood.”
“The efforts of Interfaith towards the homeless is commendable, they are doing a great job there,” said John Foster, who has 35 years of experience in law enforcement. “Where they are not meeting their mark, is not holding their guests accountable, both within the shelter and in the community.”
Bea Black, CEO of WCA and who served on the Shelter Better Task Force, said that the proposed shelter would be an asset for her clients.
“For WCA clients, I hope that we see the shelter approved, as it will provide expanded temporary housing options for those who find themselves homeless due to domestic abuse and violence,” Black said. “With the wait lists that we have, it would be wonderful if someone trying to leave an abusive home knew there was a place that they could go in the proposed shelter. There are 96 beds that are going to be allocated for families and they are envisioned to be in a separate wing.”
Supporters also mentioned the rising living costs within the city.
“Boise has gone from one of the most livable cities to one of the most unaffordable cities. Rent and housing prices are increasing exponentially, and people are being forced onto the streets or into their cars at no fault of their own,” said Patricia Mckernon, a resident of a senior graduated income apartment in Eagle. “Interfaith sanctuary is needed more than ever, they are not just a warehouse for people, they provide programming that includes schooling, case management, mental health counseling, in otherwards, everything they can possibly do to help get people back on their feet and into their own homes.”
View Wednesday's hearing in the viewer below or through this link.
Some of the testimony against the appeal centered around what potential shelter neighbors said was a lack of a security and safety plan from IFS, and concerns that IFS would not be able to adequately address potential impacts, including drug use, crime, public safety resources, and safety for pedestrians and cyclists, including those staying at the shelter.
"The State Street corridor is too dangerous for the most vulnerable population we have," Shane Harris said.
Several also said a large congregate shelter, with the potential to host about 200 people, would not only be wrong for homes and businesses in the neighborhood, it would be wrong for people experiencing homelessness, too.
"Even Interfaith Sanctuary has agreed that the benefits of non-congregate shelter have better outcomes. However, IFS stubbornly plunges ahead with an inflexible plan for congregate shelter, and without a safety plan for the nearby residents, neighborhoods and businesses," said Deborah Frank.
"Those involved who think their plan will not impact Collister negatively should experiment with their own neighborhoods first," said MJ Kerby, who lives near State and Pierce Park. "There are successful programs in cities. It's time the cities reached out to each other, sharing what does and doesn't work. They would save time, money, and help more people. That discussion is for another meeting. Making the same mistakes over and over is not the answer."
Neysa Jensen, a member of the Boise/Ada County Homeless Coalition said the coalition's membership voted unanimously to support a conditional use permit for IFS, acknowledging the "need and urgency for this move."
"Let's focus on mitigating the harm to the most vulnerable first," Jensen said.
Interfaith Sanctuary executive director Jodi Peterson-Stigers has said timing is a major concern in securing a new space for an emergency shelter. The owner of the current site has "assured, as long as we stick with this process, he'll hang in there with us." However, Peterson-Stigers said, IFS is at "great risk" if they can't relocate to State Street and have to start the process over.
Elinor Chehey, secretary for Interfaith Housing Services Board of Directors, said the current River Street IFS facility is one-third the size of the State Street location. The former Salvation Army building would provide space for a small medical clinic and a senior dorm, she said
"If you lose the services of Interfaith Sanctuary, you wind up with people who are homeless on the streets and without any services provided to them. That's a much more unmanageable and difficult situation than the one you might have -- might -- with a shelter on State Street," said George Harad, who lives in the Boise foothills and is a well-known member of the business community.
Another person who testified in favor of the shelter's permit has lived near the current IFS site on River Street, with her teenage daughter, for the past two years.
"I have not seen one needle, condom, human waste or the like in my walkabouts. Nothing has been stolen from my garage or my front porch, despite opportunities to do so," said Jennifer Thornfeldt, who lives in a condo between the Corpus Christi House and the Boise Rescue Mission's River of Life shelter, and, she said, about 500 feet from the current IFS shelter. Thornfeldt also said neither she nor her daughter have been harassed.
One person who testified suggested that there's not enough evidence one way or another, at this time, regarding how the shelter would affect residential property values. Jody Graham, a real estate appraiser who does not live near the proposed shelter site, did not state if she was in favor or opposed to the IFS appeal.
"I tried to compare real estate sales in the neighborhood from the immediate neighborhood and out," Graham said, speaking on real estate sales since IFS acquired the State Street property in early 2021. "We know that stigma diminishes the farther away you get, and that stigma diminishes with time. I was unable to verify any stigma damage to those properties that have sold recently, but again, we're in such a hot market it would take a study to do that."
View Tuesday's hearing in the viewer below or through this link.
On Monday, the first five hours of the hearing were filled with questions from the city council members to IFS regarding their security plan and mitigation efforts of any potential negative impacts on the surrounding community.
“The issue wasn't there must be a security plan, it was there must be evidence that adverse impacts would be mitigated, and an example is a security plan,” said Councilmember Patrick Bageant.
IFS stated that Planning and Zoning’s denial was based on anecdotal information and not factual evidence.
“We have kept our homeless community safe supported and moving forward with housing and recovery,” said Peterson-Stigers. “We cannot go backward and lose the solutions that were created to lift up care and services for our neighbors without homes.”
On Monday, as the council heard again on Tuesday, neighbors raised concerns about the impact and the size of the proposed State Street shelter.
“While there is no finding on facility size because of Boise code,” said Katy Decker of the Veterans Park Neighborhood Association. “The increment intensity of use will still create impacts offsite. This shelter does not provide adequate space that the population deserves.”
The challenge here is people coming together to agree on something that so many are divided on.
One thing that a council member asked, and that a lot of people were wondering, is why did IFS buy the building before seeking a permit?
The board member said Monday that it was the only building they could afford at the time, and that had the right zoning requirements, he said it was a now or never situation.
The main takeaway from Monday is that there are a lot of people in the community who are passionate about IFS’s desired move, and the city does not want to take that lightly.
View Monday's hearing via this link or in the viewer below.
The City Council will hear more public testimony Wednesday, April 20, and, if necessary, Thursday, April 21, and Monday, April 25.
In-person attendance is limited. Verbal testimony will only be permitted from parties of record -- those who have already submitted written or verbal testimony to the Planning and Zoning Commission -- starting with those attending the meeting in-person, followed by those participating remotely.
People who qualify to testify during the hearings will have to check in first.
Those planning to testify in person will need to check in at the first-floor lobby of Boise City Hall and receive a wristband. People will not be able to testify in person if they do not have a wristband.
For virtual testimony, people will need to check in on Zoom and wait to be called on when the session moves to virtual testimony.
The full reserved hearing schedule is outlined below with intended wrap times.
- Monday, April 18: 4:00 - 9:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, April 19: 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. (45-minute lunch break included)
- Wednesday, April 20: 4:00 - 9:00 p.m.
- Thursday, April 21: 4:00 - 9:00 p.m.
- Monday, April 25: 4:00 - 9:00 p.m.
The hearing process will start with presentations from staff, the applicant-appellant, and neighborhood associations. After the presentation, there will be a Q&A session from Council members, public testimony from parties of record, rebuttal, further questions, and then deliberations.
No session will go past the listed end time and can end earlier if no one is signed up and waiting to testify.
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