Plans for new homeless shelter enter next phase

The Chapel Hill Planning Department formally accepted an application Tuesday afternoon that has divided Chapel Hill residents.

The Inter-Faith Council for Social Service submitted the complete Special Use Permit application to move its shelter from Rosemary Street to northern Chapel Hill.

The Inter-Faith Council had to resubmit the application after the planning board deemed it incomplete on June 21.

The application is the third step of a five-step process.

“Some people might want to see this as a punitive process, but I don’t think it will be,” Inter-Faith Council Executive Director Chris Moran said. “We’re doing everything in our power to make this a great application.”

But some local residents have a problem with the public process thus far.

“We’re now playing catch-up on the public process,” said Lisa Ostrom, a North Forest Hills resident.

“The site has already been chosen. There has been no public process to choose the site. We’re struggling. How do we fit in when half the process is already done?”

A “rigorous” process

The permit process begins when an applicant meets with the Design Comission and Town Council and reviews their concept plan.

Tony Armer, chairman of the United Church of Chapel Hill Board of Trustees, signed the submitted application. The Church’s approval was required as parts of the shelter would affect the church’s land.

Armer said he feels the public was adequately involved.

“I think some people feel they haven’t been listened to if the people they’re talking to don’t agree with them,” he said. “The people were listened to, but the IFC didn’t agree with it.”

Ostrom said residents who oppose the shelter will use the summer — while the Town Council is on recess — to continue spreading awareness, and will be more involved when the council reconvenes in the fall.

n?The public information meetings will be held for residents, boards and commissions to review plans and share thoughts with the council.

n?The third step is the submission of the final plan application, where it is reviewed by the Design Comission on technical levels including lighting, elevations and buffers.

n?The formal application step will involve more public information meetings, and meetings with town staff on the updated version of the application.

n?The final step will be to review the final application for compliance with the Town Council.

“They’re looking at everything, not just the design of the building,” Moran said. “I can’t imagine the process getting any more rigorous than that.”

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.