The Ukiah Planning Commission Wednesday will hold a public hearing as it considers a permit to operate both a permanent winter homeless shelter and a year-round daytime shelter on South State Street.
According to the staff report prepared for the July 26 meeting, Redwood Community Services is proposing renovating the 7,000-square-foot building at 1045 S. State St., the site where the last emergency winter shelter in Ukiah was hosted.
The renovations include adding covered entryways, a sitting area and fencing, as well as a parking lot and community garden. The motorcycle shop within the building will remain.
The first goal of the renovation is to have a community center that will “provide a safe place for homeless people to receive services during business hours,” described as between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. seven days a week.
The services provided will include bathrooms, showers, laundry, counseling, education, Internet access and donated clothing. There will also be minimal food service in the form of “snacks and microwaveable food” with a microwave, toaster and sink provided.
Staff notes that “the community center will be governed by a Community Council made up of facility staff, guests, neighboring residents, business leaders and partnering agencies,” such as Ukiah Valley Medical Center’s Street Medicine Program, the Mendocino County AIDS and Viral Hepatitis Network and the Ford Street Program.
“The Community Council will hold regular meetings to discuss the management of the facility and address any issues that may arise both internally and/or within the neighborhood,” the report also notes.
The second goal of the renovation is to have a permanent location for the emergency homeless shelter, which operated out of the building beginning last winter.
The shelter is expected to offer up to 60 people a night a “cot and clean linen,” with men and women sleeping in separate quarters that have an observation room between them to allow staff to monitor guests overnight.
“Staff will be awake and are expected to address any problems and behavioral issues that occur during sleeping hours,” the report notes. The winter shelter proposes to operate seven days a week between 6 p.m. and 9 a.m.
Staff is recommending approval of the requested permits, and the Planning Commission will hold a public hearing at its next meeting Wednesday, July 26. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at the Ukiah Civic Center (300 Seminary Ave.), but another public hearing on the proposed Costco warehouse in Ukiah is scheduled to be held first.
