City moves closer to legal definition of 'homeless shelter'

BY DENICE THIBODEAU

dthibodeau@registerbee.com

(434) 791-7985

Danville City Council will hold a public hearing on Thursday and then vote on a proposal to update the City Code to include a legal definition of homeless shelters — and to require special use permits to operate them.

Controversy arose this year when House of Hope, Danville’s only homeless shelter, moved to a new location at the corner of Ridge and Patton streets in May. Some city residents, business owners and members of Danville City Council expressed dismay that the organization did not have to get any special permission to open anywhere.

Danville’s City Code had no formal definition of a homeless shelter, and a previous homeless shelter was allowed to operate under City Code’s definition of a hotel, the same rules House of Hope was able to use.

City Council voted to make the definition of a hotel clearer, excluding homeless shelters from the definition, which has left the city without any rules to allow shelters to exist — though House of Hope, as a previously existing non-conforming use business, was legally able to continue operations.

The new City Code section will allow homeless shelters in five zones only — M-R (Multifamily Residential District), TO-C (Transitional Office District), N-C (Neighborhood Commercial District), CB-C (Central Business District) and HR-C (Highway Retail District) — and only by special use permits approved by City Council. House of Hope is located in the CB-C district.

Kenneth Gillie Jr., the city’s Director of Planning and Zoning Administrator, said the new ordinance won’t mean House of Hope has to move because they are basically “grandfathered” in now.

“It doesn’t affect them at all,” Gillie said — unless they want to expand or make changes to the number of people living there. “Then they’ll have to get a special use permit.”

The Rev. Stephen Cook, pastor of First Baptist Church and vice president of House of Hope’s Board of Directors, said there are no plans to expand the shelter.

“We haven’t even been here a year yet,” Cook said, noting that while expansion is not a “front burner issue right now” one of the attractions of the property was its space flexibility for expansion.

Cook said he is hopeful other groups will open shelters in Danville to serve the homeless.

“We know we’re only reaching a fraction of the homeless as it is,” Cook said.

Thibodeau is a staff writer for the Danville Register & Bee.