City Adopts Rules for New Transitional Housing Facilities | Western Colorado

Garvin introduced the legislation to the City Council and initially defined transitional housing as the temporary occupancy of multiple, portable, temporary structures by homeless people.

The rulemaking process included many meetings with stakeholders, including staff from the Grand Junction Police Department and Fire Department, as well as the broader public, Garvin said. They also looked at communities that already allow temporary housing and what rules have worked elsewhere.

“We wanted to focus on places where transitional housing had been available long enough to achieve some results, so we could see what those communities were doing and bring that knowledge back to Grand Junction.” as the process of regulating temporary housing construction begins“Garvin said.

Some of the provisions for future temporary housing, Garvin said, included limiting the number of shelters to 30, allowing them to operate for four years at a site and limiting them to non-residential areas.

Those facilities would not be funded by the city, Garvin said, but could be run by nonprofits, like other shelters in the community. Final approval for any temporary housing project would also have to come from the City Council itself, according to the adopted rules.

“The decision about where to place temporary housing in the city is a major decision for the entire city,” Garvin said. “The goal of creating an expanded temporary use process was to ensure that the Planning Commission and City Council could review applications and that the City Council would be the final decision-maker.”

Mayor Abe Herman said he has visited temporary housing facilities in Denver and found that the regulations adopted by Grand Junction incorporate some of the lessons learned from other communities. He specifically mentioned year-round tents, which Grand Junction does not allow, as a problem with other temporary housing projects.

“Some of the changes we made with suggestions from staff, the Planning Commission and the commission actually align with best practices they were able to find,” Herman said.

Councilmember Cody Kennedy said he appreciates the work of the consultants and the amount of community outreach that has been done. He said he hopes the temporary housing will help the city enforce other homeless laws.

“It’s a great forward-looking document,” Kennedy said. “I think it captures a lot of public opinion, which is key. That was the biggest fear I heard from voters who said, ‘Not in my neighborhood, not near my businesses.’”

While the temporary housing won’t completely solve the area’s homelessness problem, Councilman Scott Beilfuss sees it as an important step.

“There are many, many people we can help right now, and I think this is one small step,” Beilfuss said. “They’ve done a ton of work. I think they’ve thought it through. I would like to see a little more leniency in some of the provisions, but we went where we needed to go for our community and our constituents. This is a starting point. You don’t solve a problem of this size all at once.”

Several community members spoke about the temporary housing regulations and were generally supportive of them. Some mentioned that they would like to see more done to ensure that facilities can accommodate people with disabilities.

Sandra Zoldowski, executive director of the Horizon Drive District, said she hopes the city will approach the process slowly and address any issues that arise as the city tests this new type of temporary housing.

“I understand and appreciate the Temporary Housing Working Group, which is examining different temporary housing solutions that have been successful in other areas,” Zoldowski said. “We as a society need to hear more details about your research and findings.”

Herman said he was disappointed that more people opposed to the temporary construction were not at the meeting to speak out.

“We know there’s been some resistance to this, and we know there are some people in the community who don’t like it,” Herman said. “The fact that they’re not here to say what they need to say is disturbing to me.”

Council member Dennis Simpson said he believes there could be more opposition to the proposed project, depending on where it is located.