PHOENIX — The Phoenix Board of Adjustment voted Thursday to approve a use-permit for a new 280-bed homeless shelter near 67th Avenue and Van Buren Street.
After a lengthy meeting involving residents voicing their opposition to the project, the board authorized a facility that will operate as a closed campus for dozens of individuals experiencing homelessness.
City officials have said the campus will have 24/7 security and new residents will need to be referred to the facility, meaning no walk-ups will be permitted.
But several residents expressed fear over how this type of facility could negatively affect local neighborhoods and generate problems for families.
Officials have insisted the facility will operate within a controlled environment and under a strict code of conduct.
"This will not be the Zone," one official told the board on Thursday, referencing the large homeless encampment that had existed in the downtown area.
In 2022, the City of Phoenix was sued by downtown residents and businesses for not addressing the Zone and the city was eventually ordered by a judge to clear the encampment.
Some residents told the board they don't oppose the new project's intentions, but they would rather see it put someplace else in the Valley.
Officials said this region of the West Valley currently has limited access to shelter services and over 200 people experiencing homelessness have already been observed within 1.5 miles of the project site.
Phoenix is planning to have the site in operation by this summer so residents will have a safe place of refuge as temperatures start to rise.
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