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Homeless Shelter Clears Hurdle shuebl@theobserver.ca A zoning application to allow the continued operation of a homeless shelter has the support of the city's planning department, but it will be up to the city council to decide Monday whether to allow the River City Vineyard church to be used as a men's and women's mission for up to 26 months. Pastoral team leader George Esser said his only qualm with the temporary zoning approval is the restriction of 15 beds, even though their current capacity is 32. "We went for a temporary zoning because we wanted to compromise", said Esser. " I compromised twice and the city report is a third compromise, which I am not to happy about." If approved by council, the church would also be required to perform structural upgrades to the building to ensure it meets regulations. While Esser said the estimated cost of the work is around $10,000, which includes putting in a new ceiling and electrical work, he said the final cost will likely come in around $30,000. That money would have to be raised through the general public, he said. In an interview, director of planning and building Mike Schnare said he recommended the temporary zoning amendment for several reasons. "We truly believe there's a need for such a use in the community, and no one else has met that need," he said. "The use has been established there and it seems to have been working very well, to date, and there's some support for it." The shelter has taken in more than 40 different people since it opened last November. Of those, 31 have since found permanent housing in the city. Esser said the church was directly involved in assisting 22 of those individuals. While some neighbours continue to oppose the shelter, several have written letters to the city in support of the shelter. "It's not a case where the whole neighbourhood is opposed to it," Schnare said. "There's some support for it." Of those who are opposed, some of the concerns include the shelter's effect on property values, potential increased incidents of crime, the spread of diseases and the lack of opportunity for consultation when the shelter first opened. According to the Sarnia police, there was one case of a intoxication reported by the River City Vineyard in late February. That individual was arrested and charged for being in violation of bail conditions. Schnare noted the zoning use is only meant to be temporary because it is the city's hope that a more permanent solution can be found to address the city's homelessness problem in the meantime. "Our rational is that hopefully over the course of two years it would give the community, along with the leadership of the County of Lambton, the opportunity to be able to address this need in a more permanent fashion," he said. He noted that, ideally, a permanent facility would also provide life skills to clients to assist them in finding stable housing. Esser said he too would like to see a more permanent solution to address homelessness, though he said River City Vineyard would continue to provide shelter if people "are falling through the cracks." At least 11 speakers are planning to address council before it makes it's decision Monday. The meeting begins at 4p.m. in the council chambers.
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