San Anselmo neighbors object to plan to house homeless overnight at St. Anselm’s School
A plan for a two-month summer pilot program at St. Anselm School
in San Anselmo to house the homeless overnight has run into opposition
from some neighbors of the school.
“I think it is going to be an attractive nuisance. I don’t want it across the street from me,” said Marsha Hallett, who lives adjacent to St. Anselm School.
Hallett has submitted a letter to San Anselmo Town Attorney Rob Epstein asserting that the planned use of the school violates a town law governing emergency shelters, and about 40 San Anselmo residents have added their signatures to the letter. Hallett also objects to the fact that men sheltered at the school will be allowed to smoke while supervised outside the school from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
“I have concerns,” said Andrea Tsingo, another neighbor of the school who signed Hallett’s letter. “I absolutely want to support individuals who have needs. My questions marks are, is this the right place to put it and are all the necessary precautions being taken?”
Paul Mellion, president of the Sohner Court Condominium Owners Association, said he is worried about the safety of the women living at Sohner Court.
“I feel like I’m capable of handling myself, but there are a number of single, older women there and that’s my concern.”
“I think it is going to be an attractive nuisance. I don’t want it across the street from me,” said Marsha Hallett, who lives adjacent to St. Anselm School.
Hallett has submitted a letter to San Anselmo Town Attorney Rob Epstein asserting that the planned use of the school violates a town law governing emergency shelters, and about 40 San Anselmo residents have added their signatures to the letter. Hallett also objects to the fact that men sheltered at the school will be allowed to smoke while supervised outside the school from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
“I have concerns,” said Andrea Tsingo, another neighbor of the school who signed Hallett’s letter. “I absolutely want to support individuals who have needs. My questions marks are, is this the right place to put it and are all the necessary precautions being taken?”
Paul Mellion, president of the Sohner Court Condominium Owners Association, said he is worried about the safety of the women living at Sohner Court.
“I feel like I’m capable of handling myself, but there are a number of single, older women there and that’s my concern.”
“They’re just a block from St. Anselm’s,” Stutsman said. “It was virtually trouble free, and we’re anticipating that will be the case with St. Anselm’s too.”
Churches and synagogues participating in the winter shelter program take turns sheltering homeless men; homeless women are housed at the county’s Health and Wellness Campus in San Rafael. During the winter, First Presbyterian Church provided a place for homeless men to sleep sometimes as frequently as three times a week, Stutsman said.
Under state housing law, all cities and towns are required to zone certain areas to permit the creation of “emergency shelter.” The law defines emergency shelter as “housing with minimal supportive services for homeless persons that is limited to occupancy of six months or less by a homeless person.”
Hallett says that since the summer pilot program at St. Anselm School would only last two months then it should be required to abide by San Anselmo town laws governing such “emergency shelter.”
“What it is saying is that the permanent shelters, which would operate year round, are not designed to accommodate an individual for more than six months,” Stutsman said. “You can’t just move in.”
“Basically, the municipal code covers permanent shelters,” Stutsman said. “This is a temporary shelter. It is intended for eight weeks.”
Epstein said the town’s laws regulating emergency shelter apply only to limited commercial, general commercial and public facility zones — where the creation of emergency shelter is permitted.
Since St. Anselm School is located in a residential zone, Epstein said the laws governing emergency shelter don’t apply. He said the town views the summer pilot program as a legitimate accessory use of the school. As result, he said the school requires no special permit from the town to operate a temporary shelter there.
The summer pilot program will be operated the same way as the winter shelter program, said Suzanne Walker, associate director of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Marin. St. Vincent de Paul, which manages the winter shelter program, will oversee the pilot program.
A maximum of 40 homeless men will be bused to the school at 6 p.m. and transported from the school at 6 a.m. the next morning.
“They’ll
be supervised the whole time; there will be no walk ins or walk outs,”
Walker said. “We also invested in personal smoke filters that we’re
going to ask all of the smokers to use so there won’t be any exhalation
of cigarette smoke.”
The Marin Organizing Committee, a group of nonprofits and faith-based organizations that helped create the Rotating Emergency Shelter Team program, wants to expand the program so it operates year round. But MOC, working with county officials, has been unable to rent or lease an appropriate space to house the program.
One of the biggest obstacles is opposition from neighbors who don’t want a homeless facility located near them. MOC is now exploring the possibility of buying or building its own facility.
The purpose of the pilot program is to gauge how many of Marin’s homeless would use a new facility during the summer when the weather is good and what the advantages of operating at a single location are. St. Anselm School is not being considered as a possible site for a permanent homeless shelter.
The Marin Organizing Committee, a group of nonprofits and faith-based organizations that helped create the Rotating Emergency Shelter Team program, wants to expand the program so it operates year round. But MOC, working with county officials, has been unable to rent or lease an appropriate space to house the program.
One of the biggest obstacles is opposition from neighbors who don’t want a homeless facility located near them. MOC is now exploring the possibility of buying or building its own facility.
The purpose of the pilot program is to gauge how many of Marin’s homeless would use a new facility during the summer when the weather is good and what the advantages of operating at a single location are. St. Anselm School is not being considered as a possible site for a permanent homeless shelter.
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