Debate over a proposed emergency homeless shelter in Saratoga Springs continues.
In February of 2017, it was announced that a $1 million donation from the Mitzen family would support the construction of a permanent Code Blue homeless shelter on the property already owned by Shelters of Saratoga, which operates a case-managed facility and is the current operator of Code Blue.
Controversial with neighbors, the Walworth Street project has been stalled in a protracted approval process and in the courts.
In its latest appeal to the city’s planning board, Shelters of Saratoga presented a video promoting the organization and its mission to direct people in the Code Blue program to its case-managed shelter.
Don Petersimes, who appeared in the video, told the board that he lived on the street for “six or seven years” before Code Blue was established.
“I actually live where Nancy Pitts…I used to sleep in the same place where she…they had to scrape her up off the sidewalk. And there’s a lot of people that I have seen in that time die,” said Petersimes.
Code Blue Saratoga was created in December 2013 by a group of city residents after Pitts, a homeless woman, froze to death on the street. Since then, the program has yet to find a permanent location.
But the neighbors opposed to the two-story structure — which was previously given the go-ahead by the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals — say they are not against the mission of Code Blue or Shelters of Saratoga, but its location.
Steve Romero, who lives around the corner from the proposed site, said he has had problems with the existing Shelters of Saratoga properties, but said he was supportive of the shelter. But he does stand against the proposed structure.
“This is the way slums are established. And then you have all the other requisite problems that come with a slum. If you start by putting all of a certain type of people in a particular area of town, you’re going to concentrate all of the problems in that area, and it’s going to cause problems with things like neighborhood growth,” said Romero.
Other neighbors say they haven’t experienced any problems with Shelters of Saratoga. Rachael Dwyer lives on nearby Franklin Street.
“I moved in 18 years ago. There was homeless there then and there’s still homeless there now. They were sleeping on the streets, they were sleeping in the alleyways, behind garages, on abandoned porches. This place is the right place to the put the shelter. It’s just going to put a roof over their head,” said Dwyer.
The ZBA has recommended that the Code Blue shelter be capped at 50. Currently, Code Blue Saratoga operates out of a church on the city’s east side that has about 40 beds.
Recently, another local church said it would accommodate the homeless in a yet-to-be constructed expansion. The Bethesda Episcopal Church is planning to build a parish house and community center.
The Walworth Street project sought by Shelters of Saratoga now faces a legal hurdle, as an organized group of opposed neighbors has filed a lawsuit against the Zoning Board of Appeals’ decision to classify the project as a “neighborhood rooming house.” They argue it should be zoned as institutional, and therefore not permissible in the residential zone.
Attorney Claudia Braymer, who represents the opponents, asked the planning board for more time during Thursday’s public hearing.
“We ask that you keep the public hearing open, especially if you’re going to wait on a decision from the judge. And ultimately we ask that you deny this project and we hope that the community will pull together and support an alternative location,” said Braymer.
Shelters of Saratoga maintains that the location is the best site, both from a program and a financial standpoint.
The planning board closed the public hearing. A decision was not made Thursday night. The board’s next public meeting is set for April 19th.
