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- Ogden leaders are weighing a proposal to convert a vacant assisted-living facility into a 25-unit facility for the chronically homeless.
- Most feedback on the proposal at a City Council meeting was supportive, though some people raised concerns.
- Separate proposals to assist the homeless in Davis County have drawn strong opposition in recent months.
OGDEN — A proposal to assist the chronically homeless population is up for consideration in Ogden, the latest northern Utah community to wrestle with the charged and contentious issue.
So far, at least, it seems to be generating public support.
Weber Housing Authority, a public entity that helps provide affordable housing to those in need, proposes converting a vacant assisted-living facility in Ogden into a 25-unit facility to house the homeless. "The people to be served are chronically homeless, disabled, unaccompanied individuals," Andi Beadles, the Weber Housing Authority executive director, told the Ogden City Council at a meeting Wednesday night.
Proposals to help the homeless — whether through warming facilities or new shelters — have sparked strong opposition in recent months in Fruit Heights, North Salt Lake and Kaysville in neighboring Davis County. Residents in the locales have variously expressed concern that the proposed facilities would serve as a magnet to more homeless people and that homeless people pose a safety threat.
The issue didn't spark as intense a backlash when the Ogden City Council took it up at a meeting Wednesday night. In fact, most of the 20-plus people who spoke — including many from agencies and entities that help the homeless — voiced support for the Ogden proposal. Likewise, some City Council members expressed at least tentative backing. The proposed facility wouldn't be a traditional homeless shelter, but rather "permanent supportive housing," Beadles said, with would-be residents going through an assessment process and, if accepted, getting leases to live in the space.
Nevertheless, city leaders decided not to vote on the resolution granting the Weber Housing Authority permission to proceed with the plans, opting instead to further discuss the matter at a Jan. 7 work session. Formal action is tentatively set for Jan. 14.
City Councilman Shaun Myers said he "strongly" supports the proposal but also spoke of the possible impacts to Ogden. "I still want to express my support for the project, but I also agree that we have some issues as City Council (that) people we need to be informed about," he said.
As is, some of the homeless people who would be served by the proposed facility are housed in a Weber Human Services building in Ogden. However, that agency — which assists people with mental illnesses, the elderly and others — needs the space for expansion. Others are at scattered locations in Weber County, according to Beadles.
Per the proposal, the housing for the chronically homeless population to be served would be centralized in the old Aspen Care Center facility at 2325 Madison Ave. in central Ogden, one of the city's older residential areas. Weber Housing Authority would move its offices to the location, while case managers and night monitors would provide round-the-clock assistance and supervision to the residents.
"I'd like to assure the council that the project will be well-maintained and will not become an eyesore. I would never allow that to happen and neither would the Weber Housing Authority board," Beadles said. Weber Housing Authority has received grant money to acquire and renovate the building and won't need city funds.
City Councilwoman Angela Choberka, who lives in central Ogden, expressed support for the proposal, noting the homeless who already frequent the neighborhood and regularly spend time at a nearby park and public library. Rather than sleeping in the park, she said, the new facility would provide a place "where they go and get the support that they need."
Wayne Niederhauser, the state homelessness coordinator and director of the Utah Office of Homelessness Services, attended the meeting and also voiced support for the proposal. "The model that has been presented today is the most successful model there is," he said.
Kevin Eastman, director of Weber Human Services, also expressed support, saying the sort of program proposed helps pull chronically homeless people with mental illnesses "off the street" and provides them with services that help. If Ogden does nothing, he said, the people would still likely remain in the city, a point noted by Gage Froerer, a member of the Weber County Commission.
"These people aren't just going to disappear. They're not going to go to Pleasant View, West Haven. They're going to stay here," Froerer said. Ogden is "bearing more than their fair share" in assisting the homeless, he said, but Utah lawmakers will likely be mulling legislation in the coming session to at least prod more locales to augment affordable housing options.
Ogden resident Heath Satow, among others, framed the issue as helping those in need. "These are our neighbors. They may not have a home, but they are neighbors. If we can do something to care for them, we owe them that," he said.
Still, the plans drew fire from some.
Emily Taylor, whose home abuts the facility, said the neighborhood is already grappling with many issues, including the presence of drug users and crime. "I want Ogden city to be vibrant, gorgeous. But there's already so many issues in the neighborhood currently," she said.
Teresa Bramwell, another Ogden resident, also spoke of crime and other issues in central Ogden and countered the many homeless advocates who addressed the City Council. "All the people you're hearing from today are the people who are being paid to deal with homeless people, and none of them are being responsible for the crime that is happening to everybody else," she said.
Ogden is home to two traditional homeless shelters, Lantern House and Ogden Rescue Mission, which provide temporary shelter to clients and aid them in finding more permanent housing.
