2008 Woodie Awards
Shelter wins in court
Briana Byrd - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 3/10/08 Section: Metro
Iowa City homeless people can expect 70 extra beds in the near future.
The Shelter House, 331 N. Gilbert St., a nonprofit organization that provides housing and support to homeless individuals throughout Iowa City, will build a new facility in southern Iowa City after a March 7 Iowa Supreme Court ruling. The court decided against the Hilltop Mobile Home Court and a variety of other business and property owners, who said the facility would decrease property value and increase crime.
The case also set a precedent on how much power is given to city boards of adjustment. A board of adjustment grants specific exceptions to city zoning laws.
"Prior to that decision, a decision by the board of adjustments on factual issues would be reconsidered and reviewed by a district court judge, and it appears that that is no longer the procedure in Iowa," said Gregg Geerdes, an Iowa City attorney who represented a number of the businesses and property owners in the area against the additional Shelter House.
The new facility will be located at 429 Southgate Ave. and will provide housing for up to 70 people. The current Shelter House can hold only 29 people, and it turns away around 10 people per night.
The debate over gaining the zoning exception had been going on since the new property's purchase in 2004.
What may have made the difference this time was the large amount of evidence and number of testimonies that the Shelter House was in compliance with city ordinances.
Despite complaints from opponents, the Shelter House provided statistics indicating that its residents were had less violent crime arrests than those living the nearby mobile home court.
During the court hearing, two people living in the neighborhood in which the current Shelter House is located said that aside from yard eyesores, such as trash cans and the lawn, the building didn't cause any problems in the neighborhood. The new shelter house will be required to have a landscape buffer and an 8-foot privacy fence, according to the ruling.
Aside from issues of property value and safety, a neighbor of the Gilbert Street location testified that the house did not cause an increase in traffic in the area. The Iowa City urban planner also cited national research that showed that property values do not necessarily decrease when housing establishments such as the shelter enter neighborhoods.
While the Shelter House has remained at its 29-person capacity, Johnson County has increased in size, and building the new facility will provide "the needed space for the clientele they get," said Christine Mullen, the chairwoman of the Interim Homeless Overflow Shelter Task Force.
"With the brand-new facility, [the shelter] could assist almost twice as many people. And just the change in architecture tremendously helps the staffing needs," she said.
E-mail DI reporter Briana Byrd at:
briana-byrd@uiowa.edu
The Shelter House, 331 N. Gilbert St., a nonprofit organization that provides housing and support to homeless individuals throughout Iowa City, will build a new facility in southern Iowa City after a March 7 Iowa Supreme Court ruling. The court decided against the Hilltop Mobile Home Court and a variety of other business and property owners, who said the facility would decrease property value and increase crime.
The case also set a precedent on how much power is given to city boards of adjustment. A board of adjustment grants specific exceptions to city zoning laws.
"Prior to that decision, a decision by the board of adjustments on factual issues would be reconsidered and reviewed by a district court judge, and it appears that that is no longer the procedure in Iowa," said Gregg Geerdes, an Iowa City attorney who represented a number of the businesses and property owners in the area against the additional Shelter House.
The new facility will be located at 429 Southgate Ave. and will provide housing for up to 70 people. The current Shelter House can hold only 29 people, and it turns away around 10 people per night.
The debate over gaining the zoning exception had been going on since the new property's purchase in 2004.
What may have made the difference this time was the large amount of evidence and number of testimonies that the Shelter House was in compliance with city ordinances.
Despite complaints from opponents, the Shelter House provided statistics indicating that its residents were had less violent crime arrests than those living the nearby mobile home court.
During the court hearing, two people living in the neighborhood in which the current Shelter House is located said that aside from yard eyesores, such as trash cans and the lawn, the building didn't cause any problems in the neighborhood. The new shelter house will be required to have a landscape buffer and an 8-foot privacy fence, according to the ruling.
Aside from issues of property value and safety, a neighbor of the Gilbert Street location testified that the house did not cause an increase in traffic in the area. The Iowa City urban planner also cited national research that showed that property values do not necessarily decrease when housing establishments such as the shelter enter neighborhoods.
While the Shelter House has remained at its 29-person capacity, Johnson County has increased in size, and building the new facility will provide "the needed space for the clientele they get," said Christine Mullen, the chairwoman of the Interim Homeless Overflow Shelter Task Force.
"With the brand-new facility, [the shelter] could assist almost twice as many people. And just the change in architecture tremendously helps the staffing needs," she said.
E-mail DI reporter Briana Byrd at:
briana-byrd@uiowa.edu
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