Alaska | June 4, 2021
Some Anchorage homeless shelter providers harbor concerns over Assembly’s proposal for licensing requirements
Alaska | June 4, 2021
Anchorage city officials say a proposed ordinance that would require homeless shelters to obtain a city license will help reduce a shelter’s potential negative footprint in neighboring areas. They say it would help to ensure that shelter users, nearby businesses and residents are all kept safe.
But some Anchorage homeless shelter providers say the proposal could stymie the city’s efforts to increase its shelter capacity at a time when finding more beds is critical. Several homeless service providers, including the Anchorage Gospel Rescue Mission and Bean’s Cafe, signed a letter to the Assembly asking it to postpone the licensing ordinance.
“This piece of legislation or ordinance will suppress — not help — the homeless people in this town,” Ralph Nobrega, vice president of the Gospel Rescue Mission’s board of trustees, told the Assembly on Tuesday at a town hall discussion on the ordinance.
Shelters would be required to be licensed by Jan. 1, 2023, as the ordinance is currently written. To get a license, shelters would have to have insurance, comply with a background check requirement and institute a “good neighbor policy,” outlining its plan to reduce impacts on surrounding areas, for example, among other requirements…
(Excerpts from the Anchorage Daily News)
Alaska | June 4, 2021
Targeting faith-based organizations, Assembly is planning to expand zoning and require licenses for homeless shelters
Alaska | June 4, 2021
The Anchorage Assembly is hosting two town hall meetings to hear from the public about two critical ordinances coming before the body on Thursday, June 8. One of the ordinances would have the effect of shutting down faith-based shelters, according to Ralph Nobrega of the Gospel Mission.
The town halls will be held on June 1 and June 3, from 6-9 p.m. at the Dena’ina Center in downtown Anchorage.
Proposed Ordinances to be discussed during the town halls:
AO 2021-54 Title 21 currently prohibits homeless shelters in all zoning districts, except for the PLI (public lands and institutions) district downtown. The ordinance change would allow shelters to be developed in B-3 (general business) districts, which are located along major streets to better provide access to public transportation and services for homeless persons. The shelters may back up against residential neighborhoods. This ordinance is sponsored by Acting Mayor Austin Quinn-Davidson.
AO 2021-55: This ordinance is aimed at shutting down shelters run by religious organizations, such as the women-only Hope Center in downtown Anchorage, which does not admit biological males.
Any organization that didn’t fall under Title 5, the equal rights ordinance that applies to some shelters, would be covered by the new shelter licensing ordinance. Although the proposed ordinance does not specify that shelters cannot run gender-specific operations, the ordinance will allow for future regulations that do specify that shelters cannot be gender-specific…
(Excerpts from Must Read Alaska)