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| Some folks have come up with the brilliant idea to move a massive homeless camp out of the city and now into the county, in District 1. Oh, and they haven't talked with the nearby residents, the planning and zoning department, county administration, or anyone else at the county. They just went straight to the press with the plan. 😏 |
As I discussed in part II of Dumb Ideas that will likely be DOA (Dead on Arrival) the issue of establishing a homeless encampment very near existing neighborhoods was the topic.
That post got instantaneously crushed with hits, and the phone calls came subsequently.
I have now heard from and had the opportunity to speak with one individual in particular with intimate knowledge of the topic and the locations the homeless task force had been scouting.
And first off--full disclaimer: I support the work of the homeless task force, I support doing whatever we can to assist folks who are down on their luck and not homeless by choice. But it has to be planned, transparent, and most of all----in an appropriate location that will not negatively impact existing neighbors. (preferrably way out in the woods away from other existing neighbors)
According to this trusted source with whom I spoke Saturday, the announcement came prematurely. "We all knew they were looking at multiple sites--but they should not have given the specific site locations so prematurely. Congratulations--now they have doomed this site!" said this individual, who continued "Look, that (Houston Avenue, County District 1) site is a good location; It is large and has some nearby ammenities that these folks need--but I disagree with them putting this out so early. It's like, they have asked for my opinions, I give them, and then they do not listen and do the exact opposite!" this individual stated.
So, in doing additional research on the site that will apparently be the frontrunner for these downtown interests for the homeless camp they want out of the city--it appears there could be some problems.
Zoning, while it apparently meets the initial zoning--it may not meet the size requirement nor the locational criteria. More to come on that.
But the truly insidious action would be if this group---or any group---just simply starts moving folks to this parcel of land without proper permits, licenses, and approvals. And with the self-imposed, city proclamation of having these individuals cleared out from under the I-110 bridge by 11-24-21-------This appears to leave only 23 days for any group desiring to use this parcel as a homeless camp to get ALL necessary state and local health and operational permits to do a camp at this location.
Staff has not been approached and know NOTHING about this.
The County Administrator has not been approached and tells me he knows NOTHING about this.
Of course--nobody has called the commissioner of that district nor has anyone bothered to talk to the actual constituents who live in that neighborhood. But those constituents were blindsided with this plan in the press, and have subsequently voiced their collective displeasure with this idea via multiple angry calls to my office.
23 days is simply not doable if these folks intend to ram this through and do it with appropriate
licenses, permits, and authorizations.But what happens if they just start busing these folks out, and just do it anyway--sans permits? What if they are just going to take action and then seek permitting later ? (you know the trope--it's easier to do something and ask for forgiveness rather than permission) Is that their plan--and was it always what they were planning on doing? If so-----------why leak it? That was dumb.
But I certainly think at this juncture--now that the cat is out of the bag on this deal--that any work on this initiative is done via proper channels and with appropriate permitting.....
If the plan is the NIKE plan ("Just Do it") --that will create a LOT of ill-will; that'd pretty underhanded, disingenuous, shifty and sloppy if that's what they are up to.
more to come......
Commissioner Bergosh, this has all been telegraphed since the very first rumblings of the Task Force. And from the beginning, a lot of us were saying "why isn't this committee Sunshine?"
ReplyDeleteNow the City is covering its bases with the ARPA funding per the Sunshine, but oddly enough saying nothing else needs to be Sunshine. I supposed that might hold up in court, as Charlie Peppler is an excellent litigator. But man, you couldn't pay me to sit any of those committees or sub committees with the dangerous legal ground they have left the participants in with that opinion.
The problem is, nobody heading the various iterations of non-government, quasi government, or pseudo government homeless initiatives in the City or County. And people who actually understand how a continue of care should work are appalled at what they see happening. It's sad, tragic really, because we do have a pressing need to solve the problem. And there are real solutions. But the desire to monetize a solution and all the power grabs have assured from the get-go that this thing was going to be a big ol mess. More taxpayer money down the drain. Please don't let the Escambia taxpayers get bilked unless there is leadership that understands the issue and isn't working in part with a goal of blowing up the County on it.
Sorry, that was supposed to be "The problem is, nobody heading the various iterations of non-government, quasi government, or pseudo government homeless initiatives in the City or County actually understand homelessness."
ReplyDeleteThe solution can't involve simply moving the problem away from one jurisdiction and jamming it right next to an existing neighborhood. How can anyone think this helps a neighborhood become a safer place to live and raise a family? The negative impacts of a knee-jerk idea like this must be contemplated............before the plans are set in stone. In this case, obviously, no planning and coordination has occurred, and that's the reason this won't work.
ReplyDelete