Overnight homeless shelter in Lewiston gets permit

An overnight homeless shelter in Lewiston won approval Wednesday from the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission, which acknowledged concerns raised by neighbors of the facility.

The commission voted in favor of a reasoned statement of relevant criteria and standards granting a conditional-use permit for the shelter with little discussion after hearing dozens testify on the proposal at its previous meeting earlier this month.

Commissioner Gabriel Iacoboni, president of the board of the LC Valley Adult Resource Center, abstained from the vote and didn’t participate in the discussion at the earlier April meeting.

The LC Valley Adult Resource Center runs a temporary homeless shelter at the Salvation Army on 21st Street in Lewiston. It was the applicant for the conditional-use permit for the permanent shelter that would replace the temporary one.

The commission’s decision can be appealed to Lewiston’s city council.

The permanent shelter would be at 1332 G St., in a vacant building that formerly housed Inland Cellular offices, and it would serve as many as 35 individuals each night. It would operate between 7 p.m. and 11 a.m. 365 days a year and require those who use it to behave in a way that didn’t endanger themselves, others at the shelter or people in the neighborhood.

The shelter’s operations have the potential to create nuisances, according to the commission’s reasoned statement.

People who live, work and own businesses near the proposed shelter testified at the public hearing. They are worried that disposal of drug paraphernalia on streets and sidewalks; vandalism; theft; urinating and defecating in public; and littering, which is already common in the area, would worsen if the plan was approved, according to the reasoned statement.

The shelter, however, would meet a community need and improve conditions for residents and businesses near it, according to the reasoned statement.

A lots of families are on waiting lists for affordable housing or are living in motels, vehicles and outside, according to the reasoned statement.

“The shelter will provide a safe and secure location for unhoused individuals to sleep, go to the bathroom, (and) do laundry,” according to the reasoned statement.

Those who stay at the shelter could use the location as their permanent address, something they need to obtain an identification card, driver’s license, birth certificate or social security card required for employment.

It would also provide homeless individuals access to mental health counseling, drug and addiction recovery programs, and job services in a location close to public transit and clinics that offer health care to low-income people.

“The homeless shelter will provide facilities and services to the population that is currently causing the nuisances in the area, so it is anticipated the current nuisance conditions will be reduced,” according to the reasoned statement.

And the organizers of the shelter have agreed to numerous measures to mitigate any problems that arise, according to the reasoned statement.

The facility would be required to be staffed 24 hours a day to have someone available to field complaints. It would follow a management plan that would include security protocols established in cooperation with the Lewiston Police Department, standards for employee training and requirements for minimum staffing levels.

“The conditions of approval on this application,” according to the reasoned statement, “ will further ensure the safety of the neighborhood.”

Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.