Salt Lake City’s need for homeless shelter beds isn’t going away anytime soon, prompting members of the City Council to extend a slate of temporary winter beds into the summer months.
On Tuesday, the Salt Lake City Council passed a series of ordinances aimed at allowing four homeless resource centers to operate with expanded capacities, with all votes being unanimous except for a notable absence from Council Member Alejandro Puy.
Each winter, state law permits homeless shelters to expand their total bed count, but those provisions typically end around April.
Andrew Johnston, Director of Homeless Policy and Outreach for the mayor’s office, informed council members during a work session that many shelters possess conditional use permits that limit them to a predetermined number of beds.
“With the increased need in that shelter option, and the identification that the state has some funding but needs local authorization to allow providers to have expanded access to shelter beds during the summertime, we have the opportunity in the city to do temporary land use resolutions to allow those providers to continue services over the summer,” Johnston explained.
Council Member Darin Mano voiced his support for the ordinances during the work session, indicating that he would also favor transitioning to a permanent land use designation for the shelters.
The resolutions approved will enable four shelters — the Geraldine E. King Resource Center, the Gail Miller Resource Center, the Youth Homeless Resource Center, and the St. Vincent de Paul Center — to increase their summer shelter capacities for a six-month period.
The St. Vincent de Paul Center, located at 437 W. 200 South in downtown Salt Lake City, typically serves as a dining hall in the winter months.
However, it also has a conditional use permit that allows for overnight shelter space during winter.
The ordinance passed on Tuesday allows the center to continue functioning as a shelter immediately through October.
The King and Miller resource centers, located at 131 E. 700 South in Central City and 242 Paramount Avenue in Ballpark respectively, usually operate during summer with an authorized capacity of 200 individuals each and are permitted to increase their bed counts to 250 during winter.
The ordinances passed on Tuesday will allow both locations to maintain their 250-bed capacities year-round.
Johnston noted that the Youth Homeless Resource Center, situated at 888 S. 400 West in Granary, is currently undergoing building upgrades as part of its conditional use permit, which allowed it to increase its bed count from 30 to 50.
The permit for this center is set to expire in mid-June, which is when the newly passed ordinance will take effect, enabling the center to continue accommodating 50 beds.
The council passed the four ordinances with minimal discussion during both the work session and the formal meeting.
Interestingly, council members did not address the city’s ongoing public safety plan or the looming decision regarding the location of a new emergency shelter.
In recent months, Salt Lake City officials have estimated a shortfall of between 1,000 and 1,600 emergency shelter beds to effectively serve the local homeless population.
image source from：https://buildingsaltlake.com/salt-lake-city-council-votes-to-keep-expanded-number-of-homeless-shelter-beds-through-the-summer/
