Council again denies zoning change for homeless shelter
Opinions went back and forth during a nearly one hour hearing before the Pine Bluff City Council Monday night appealing the denial of a zoning change to allow a homeless shelter to be located at 304 W. 16th Ave. But the third time was not the charm as the council voted six to two to deny the zoning request that would have allowed the four-plex apartment building to be used as a shelter, at the request of the office of Economic and Community Development.
The proposal had already been rejected twice before by the city Planning and Zoning Commission and was before the council on appeal for a third time.
Several people spoke up against the shelter, including Pamela Williams, who told the council that although she herself does not live in the neighborhood, she has family there, and is there frequently for neighborhood events and family gatherings. She said a lot of children live in the neighborhood as well.
“We’re concerned that this can actually bring our neighborhood, which we’re trying to build up, down further,” Williams said.
“Crime is everywhere, don’t get me wrong, but as far as the neighborhood is concerned, we’ve made some progress. We see some things coming up in the neighborhood. People are trying to better the neighborhood.”
Williams said that she is not opposed to such a shelter, but she is opposed to putting it in that location.
“Shelters have their place,” she said. “People need services and I’m all for that, but I feel like as far as they are concerned, there are better planned places that better suit this shelter arrangement.”
Matthew Pate, a detective with the Pine Bluff Police Department and resident of the neighborhood, said his research suggests that such a facility would further endanger a neighborhood already teetering on the brink of instability.
“I believe we have a moral obligation to look after the welfare and provide care for the most vulnerable members of our community,” Pate said. “Nobody should dispute that and if anything the pandemic has clarified that point. That said, this proposal puts the interests of a few people up against that of an entire neighborhood.”
Pate said the neighborhood in question is one of the few near downtown Pine Bluff that is still predominately occupied by homeowners rather than having been turned into rental properties owned by absentee landlords. He said much of the crime that plagues the neighborhood is the result of spillover from bordering neighborhoods.
“We’re not a crime hotspot, but we do border one, and one of the reasons we’ve not tipped over into a crime hotspot is because of the long tenure of our residents,” he said. “Owner occupancy is one of the reasons people come here and why they stay put.”
Although Economic and Community Development has given assurances that the property would be managed by an on-site manager, and that all occupants would have to be vetted through the office, and that the property would be used only to house families with children, Pate said his worry is that as future priorities shift, the importance of those assurances could be jeopardized.
“The inevitable slip that would likely happen must be considered,” he said. “I’m not here for a year. I’m here for the rest of my life.”
Larry Mathews, director of Economic and Community Development, said his department has been trying to expand the city’s available shelter space for several years and that the opportunity to do just that came about due to the coronavirus pandemic that made funds available to operate shelters as a means to mitigate spread of the virus.
“We did our due diligence trying to find a place suitable for families,” Mathews said. “This is not a walk-up shelter. People have to come to our office to be vetted, their information taken, their background checked, and then they will be placed at the shelter.”
Deputy Director Lori Walker stressed that the shelter would be made available for families with children and that the funding for the shelter is intended to operate it for two years. Walker passed out a printed article highlighting a 38-place shelter that was placed in a New York City neighborhood that faced stiff opposition from residents but did not result in a negative impact on the neighborhood.
Council Member Joni Alexander, who lives in the neighborhood herself, took issue with the handout Walker had distributed, saying the data points that defined the neighborhood in question in New York City did not match the data points that define Pine Bluff.
“Let me tell you something about Glendale-Queens, New York,” Alexander said. “They have a median income of $77,371. They have a B+ crime rating because they are 39% below the national average. Pine Bluff, from the same site, has an F crime rating. We are 129% above the national average.
Alexander said she first spoke out about the issue at a public hearing Sept. 29, as did other residents, but instead of considering other alternatives, she said the department had continued trying to force the issue on the neighborhood, which, she said, is not suitable for such a shelter for other reasons in addition to community resistance.
“I’m thankful for my neighborhood and all of my neighbors who spoke so highly of it, but to me, I live in the ’hood,” she said. “Now is this really a place where you want to place a shelter for displaced people? If you don’t, believe me I invite you to come drive by this location but I advise you not to come from the north side when the sun is down.”
Alderman Glen Brown Jr. asked if there had been any neighborhood meetings on the issue and was told no, there had not been time because the timeline to qualify for the grant was so short.
Alderman Win Trafford said his inclination would be to support the proposal but said because of neighborhood opposition he did not believe he should go against that.
Brown suggested perhaps a trial period of six months, but Mathews requested that the matter be voted up or down, saying until his department had a decision from the city, it could not consider any alternatives to the current plan.
“We’re kind of stuck on first base until the council acts,” he said.
Aldermen Bruce Lockett and Donald Hatchett voted in favor of the appeal, while aldermen Alexander, Brown, Trafford, Ivan Whitfield, Lloyd Holcomb Jr. and Steven Mays voted to uphold the Planning and Zoning Commission’s decision denying the zoning change request.