From a reader:
Are you aware of the proposed homeless shelter at the Armory located at 1800 Carmel Drive in Walnut Creek? I hope you can help raise aware of this proposal as I am shocked City leaders have not taken extra efforts to ensure the residents most impacted by the proposal were properly notified and given opportunities to voice concerns. I feel that more effort should have been made to make this proposal transparent.
I have been a resident of Walnut Creek on Carmel Drive for over 5 years…I paid a premium for my property because I felt the neighborhood was safe, and because I value the walkability of downtown.
Having reviewed the proposal on the Trinity Center website (trinitycenterwc.org), I have several concerns:
- Safety for the surrounding residential neighborhood, which feeds an elementary school and houses senior apartments. I feel the proposed security (1 paid staff member on-site during less than half the operational hours, with a budget of under $20/hour) is not enough. In addition, the proposal includes transport of the patrons to and from a drop point whose facilities are closed during drop hours. Given that the drop point is within easy walking distance to Civic Park and the Iron Horse Trail (both of which I use multiple times a week), I am concerned that this proposal introduces the Civic Park area for daytime and off-season or overflow occupancy by transient individuals. While the proposal indicates that drop-in occupancy will not be allowed, if individuals show up at the shelter but are turned away, the residents of Carmel Drive will be exposed to this foot traffic and any related disturbances or overflow encampments. The risk matrix in the proposal does not show a sufficient action plan to address safety concerns. The listed mitigations rely heavily on the inclination of the patrons to “follow the rules”. What does it mean to “develop good processes and procedures to minimize incidents”? If the shelter has the potential to increase the number of incidents at my home, which I own and which is less than 200 feet away from the proposed location, I feel my safety is unfairly placed at risk.
- Enforcement of a drug-free environment. Given the lack of security, how will the center ensure this aspect? The property in the proposal is surrounded by cyclone fence that could be compromised (my complex has a similar fence that has been cut by vandals multiple times). The perimeter is landscaped with brush and trees that could be used to camouflage contraband for future use. Without full security and additional daytime patrolling of the park and trail, how would this be prevented?
- Enforcement of proper screening. Will full background checks (not just public record searches) be run on all registered patrons? Also, would Carmel Drive residents be notified of any registered sex offenders making use of the shelter? My understanding is that this is not considered permanent residence and thus notification laws do not apply.
- Potential strain on city resources (police and park services) due to nuisance calls and illicit park use (i.e. overnight camping).
- Increased vehicle traffic on Carmel Drive. The proposal includes a plan to bus up to 50 people in and out of the street every day, which will increase traffic for residents.
- Impact on property desirability. While I fully understand that much of the homeless population is not involved in criminal activity, I believe that concern regarding the impact of the shelter on neighborhood safety could damage property values. In addition, the perception of downtown as an upscale, safe, thriving and walkable community, which the city has worked so diligently to cultivate, would be at risk. This, in turn, could have negative repercussions for city tax revenue.
Please help raise awareness of this issue and urge City leaders to seek alternative locations for serving the additional housing needs that do not put a residential neighborhood in the heart of downtown, which is inhabited by many children, elderly individuals, and single women, at risk.