Letter to St. Anselm Parents

Dear St. Anselm School Parent:

I lead a neighborhood group opposed to allowing a homeless shelter for 40 men at St. Anselm elementary school's gymnasium for eight weeks this summer. St. Anselm School is located in an R1 residential neighborhood.

Location Is Not Legal

The town Ordinance is very clear that an “emergency shelter” is forbidden in an R1 residential neighborhood, and the town Ordinance and State Law are also very clear that an "emergency shelter" is defined as any shelter housing homeless for less than six months. The shelter planned by REST falls within the definition.  (San Anselmo Ordinance 1098, Municipal Code Title 10, Chapter 12, and Land Use Table 3A.) We have not found any exceptions written into the law.

Smoking Is Not Legal and Leaves Toxic Residue That Cannot Be Cleaned

We also learned by emails sent by REST, that REST will allow smoking. Change Labs Solutions: California Laws Affecting Smoking 2014 states that State and Federal laws forbid smoking in any private or public school and near any playground. Change Labs describes civil and criminal penalties.

The Mayo Clinic website describes that third-hand smoke is extremely toxic, especially to children, because it attaches to physical surroundings near the smoker and resists cleaning or removal.  See copies of REST emails that describe allowing smoking at my blog at http://SanAnselmoR1HomelessShelter.blogspot.com/

Too Many Men and No Security

The town Ordinance limits emergency homeless shelters in San Anselmo commercial and public facilities areas to 17 homeless individuals, not 40. The Ordinance requires on-site security and on-site management, and REST does not plan to have any security.

I would like to organize interested parents to become involved with our group before school is over and the shelter is a fait accompli.

Consider what the Mayo Clinic says about third-hand smoke, or smoking residue that builds up on surfaces over time and resists cleaning. The residue combines with normal pollutants and forms a toxic mix of “third hand smoke which contains cancer-causing substances, posing a potential health hazard to non-smokers who are exposed to it, especially children.” 

We are a group that believes that the needs of the homeless should be met, but not at the expense of the health of children, in violation of local or state law, and in violation of REST’s own policy that states that they would not put a homeless shelter in a residential neighborhood.

We need your help.

Thank you,

 Marsha Hallet