Evidence is mounting that Lake County PADS has picked the wrong location for a fixed-site homeless shelter.
Gurnee residents on the village’s east side have been adamant in their opposition to the proposal, and there’s a good chance village officials will deny the request.
The Village Board is slated to decide the issue at its Aug. 19 session, where opponents and proponents undoubtedly will make final pleas to trustees for the proposed 90-person lodging for the unhoused. The county’s homeless population is estimated at 701.
Both sides have lined up to sway trustees at previous Village Board meetings and for nearly six hours on July 24 during a public hearing on the project before the Gurnee Planning and Zoning Board.
It was then the planning board, in a 4-1 vote, rejected a special-use permit for the adult homeless shelter at the crumbling FairBridge Inn, at Grand and Waveland avenues along Gurnee’s East Grand Gateway district. At the same time, the board voted unanimously to recommend a zoning text amendment that would add the use of “emergency shelter” as a special-use zoning.
“We will do another counter-presentation,” at the upcoming Village Board meeting one opponent said, “and have some interesting things to share.” That doesn’t sound good for those pushing the Gurnee location and the $5.5 million taxpayer-financed project, including Lake County Board District 7 Rep. Carissa Casbon, whose district includes portions of Gurnee.
Casbon told reporter Erin Yarnall in a page one News-Sun story last week, “I can confidently say that this shelter will improve the neighborhood.” Casbon must be a fearless politician to make that statement.
Despite the Waukegan City Council easily approving the county’s first fixed-site shelter to house 64 families in a former Travelodge, at 3633 N. Lewis Ave., just south of the Beach Park village limits and Oak Crest Grade School, city officials have complained often about the PADS main office on Grand Avenue, a block east of Lewis. Loitering, panhandling, brawls in the street and police calls have vexed not only the city, but nearby businesses, some of which have posted signs telling customers, “Say no to panhandling.”
Nearby residents also have grumbled to Waukegan officials. Many have posted photos and videos of what often goes on around the PADS (Public Action to Deliver Shelter) office on social media in hopes city officials will hear their gripes.
Opponents of the Gurnee site have questioned the transparency of the project, which caught them initially unaware that a long-term homeless shelter was being dropped into their neighborhood, close to businesses, senior citizen apartments, and blocks from a park and a school. They have since proved formidable in their opposition, marshaling homeowners against the plan.
Proponents of the project plan a field trip for those “curious about the proposed homeless shelter,” and what one looks like in real life, according to a Facebook posting. The road trip will visit shelters in DuPage County and Evanston.
If Gurnee trustees vote to approve the special-use permit for the shelter, it will take some maneuvering. Several statutory twists will make it difficult, but possible, for the unhoused inn to receive approval.
According to state law, four favorable votes are required to pass a zoning text amendment ordinance. Trustee Kevin Woodside, currently PADS president, needs to recuse himself because of a conflict of interest. He cannot be counted as “present” for the purposes of a quorum of the Village Board, and is required to abstain from voting on the special-use proposal.
Also, freshman Mayor Tom Hood has excused himself from any vote because his son, Zak, works for a management company that eventually may be involved with the shelter. A simple majority vote from a quorum of the remaining members of the Village Board (say a 3-2 vote) will not satisfy the statutory requirement, according to village officials. The same holds true of the text amendment allowing for an “emergency shelter.”
The village’s current zoning ordinance doesn’t allow “emergency shelters” within the gateway zoning district. If the zoning text amendment fails to pass, the Village Board cannot consider the request for the issuance of a special-use permit for an emergency shelter, officials say.
That’s a lot of parliamentary verbiage to digest, but village officials are playing by the legal rules. Parallel to the brouhaha over the project is that three trustees, including Woodside, and Mayor Hood, who also is the county’s public guardian, are up for election next year and there are a lot of potential voters on the village’s east side who don’t want the shelter in their neighborhood.
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Voting for the homeless shelter could be precarious for long-time trustees Jeanne Balmes and Karen Thorstenson whose four-year terms expire in 2025, if they run for re-election. Hood, a savvy and accessible public official, already has one announced opponent for the mayor’s seat, if he plans to seek another four years leading the village.
Trustee Quin O’Brien, whose term expires in 2027, disclosed his mayoral candidacy earlier this month on a radio program hosted by Lindenhurst-based political gadfly Dick Barr on low-watt 98.3 FM (WLRL). O’Brien told Barr he was approached by some Gurnee residents. “I’ve been asked to run for mayor,” he said.
It’s a considerable journey to next year’s spring election, yet with controversy over the PADS homeless shelter, there’s a ready-made campaign issue (pro or con), depending how the vote goes, for anyone seeking to challenge an incumbent. Meantime, PADS and county officials should look to Plan B, if there is one.
Charles Selle is a former News-Sun reporter, political editor and editor.
X: @sellenews