Green Bay’s Plan Commission on May 11 unanimously backed giving Safe Haven Hope Center a permit to operate a home downtown as a place to sleep for those who’ve struggled in traditional homeless shelters.
On the sixth floor of City Hall, in front of a packed public gallery that included several politicians and community figures, commissioners decided the shelter’s proposed 235-page operations manual met zoning standards to get a conditional use permit for a shelter at 315 S. Jefferson St., which had been a shelter run by the now-defunct anti-poverty nonprofit Newcap since 2022. It has been running with a temporary use permit since April 3 and that will expire June 30, according to the city’s zoning administrator Jon LeRoy.
Vice chair Jacob Miller said the commission needed to base its decision exclusively on the merits of the operating plan proposed by the shelter. All other considerations fell outside of the commission’s jurisdiction, Miller said.
The operating plan outlined the shelter’s intent as a “small, highly supervised transitional living shelter” that would be run year-round by staff and volunteers who’ve been homeless.
The commission endorsed staff recommendations of no more than 19 residents living at the property, and no more than 26 people total at a time. At least one staff member would be needed for every 10 residents.
Those at the home, allowed in through an intake process, would likely remain for about one to two years, the plan said. Curfews and wake-up times were outlined. Visitation would be limited to between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m.
There would be no alcohol or substance use on the property, the plan said. A removal policy for those who used drugs or alcohol on the property has also been drafted, according to LeRoy.
Therapy with three cats would be optional, harkening to the shelter’s inception out of Safe Haven Pet Sanctuary, which was prohibited from harboring homeless individuals in exchange for volunteer service during a January cold snap.
The points of the plan, which has been in the making for several months, were “thorough but have not been tested,” according to a staff memo to the commission.
However, city staff ultimately felt comfortable in its recommendation to attach conditions to the permit, which must get City Council approval on May 19. During the meeting, language was added to clarify that qualified and documented safety concerns, including police calls, could trigger a permit review.
Skepticism over substance use, effects on neighborhood
Commissioner Emma Fulwilder raised questions about the shelter’s proposal before voting to endorse it. She said she found it “extremely concerning” that no staff member was being paid. She also said though the plan was “exhaustive,” she had doubts that the rules proposed were being followed, saying a staff member told her they had witnessed alcohol consumption and overnight visitors at the property.
“I really want this to work,” Fulwilder said. “I really believe that something like this is necessary in our community. But if I’m hearing people are drinking there, that they’re having overnight visitors that are not residents, we’re already breaking our own rules and I can’t agree to that.”
Of the 24 members of the public who spoke during the commission meeting, three voiced their opposition, including State Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Gillett, who runs his law office next door to the shelter.
Wimberger said he had no problem when Newcap housed victims of domestic violence but that he did not believe Safe Haven would have the same effect. Wimberger said the shelter “will corrode the neighborhood,” calling its plan “nothing but enabling” by housing “drug addicts and the mentally ill without question or obligation.”
“Their idealism is what’s going to be a danger,” Wimberger said.
A second property owner, Alex Blaney of Howard, who is a landlord of a house two doors down from the shelter, said he was looking to sell his property because of the shelter. He said he had a difficult time understanding how staff would manage the several-hundred-page plans.
“I don’t want to have to manage my neighbor,” Blaney said.
‘It’s just being a good neighbor’
Katie Platten of Green Bay said Wimberger’s comments were “inaccurate, inflammatory, and unsupported by evidence.”
Kristie Kayser of Green Bay said, “I don’t think idealism has anything to do with it at all. It’s just being a good neighbor.”
Much of the support shown for the proposal rested on testimonials of the character of Cathi Oreto, executive director of Safe Haven Hope Center. Several said Oreto had done good work and changed lives around Seymour Park. Tanya Westmoreland, president of the Seymour Park neighborhood association, said “There need to be more houses like the one Cathi has put together.”
City Council member Ben DeBaker, who represents the district where the shelter sits, said he supported the proposal with some reservations. He was concerned how the place would keep running financially, but that he wanted to see the shelter succeed and not have people on the streets. Operations run by peers who’d gone through similar experiences were “a good model,” he said. He said the consistent assurance that there would be a place to lay one’s head at night was primary.
In response to Fulwilder’s concerns, Oreto denied that there had been overnight visitors or drinking at the property, saying she would be “mortified.”
Oreto questioned the credibility of the staff member whom Fulwilder said had told her of the happenings. She said it would be impossible for a visitor to go through the premises without encountering a staff member. She also said there had been a staff member who had left after disagreeing with the shelter’s policy of checking in every 30 minutes on a person who used drugs. She said she also expected “people to push the boundaries” but that the shelter had no tolerance for drugs or alcohol on site.
Oreto said she knew her staff well and that they were committed to the cause. Even without the staff members, Oreto pointed to her family, her board of directors, and Elizabeth Feldhausen, owner of Safe Haven Pet Sanctuary, as being dedicated to running the shelter.
Jesse Lin is a reporter covering the community of Green Bay and its surroundings, as well as politics in northeastern Wisconsin. He also writes a weekly column answering reader questions about Green Bay. Contact and send him questions at 920-834-4250 or jlin@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Safe Haven Hope Center gets endorsement of Green Bay Plan Commission
Reporting by Jesse Lin, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
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