The Rock Island City Council has approved setting up a regulatory framework for homeless shelters and other social service organizations offering basic housing and food assistance.
The ordinance, passed by a 6 to 1 vote on Monday, establishes a license requirement for operations, including soup kitchens, emergency shelters, food pantries, and transitional housing. It would prohibit such programs from setting up within 1,000 feet of similar organizations, child care, educational, and park facilities. Facilities that are already operating or about to open are exempt from the license requirement as well as the new application fee, spacing requirements, and the need to provide notice to adjacent property owners.
During public comment at Monday’s city council meeting, Project Now’s Chief Operating Officer, Ron Lund, voiced concerns of many stakeholders, who believe the regulations will reduce access to services for the area’s most vulnerable residents. Lund pointed out, with the new distancing requirement, the 138 park-childcare-educational facilities that are already operating across 850 acres of the city could effectively block the opening of any new social service operations.
“When applying a thousand-foot buffer, the restricted area expands dramatically, potentially encompassing nearly all of Rock Island's 11,500 acres,” he said.
The new regulations also cap the number of people allowed to stay at a shelter at 49 and limit shelter operations to 12 hours per day. A previous version of the ordinance included caps on daytime and nighttime shelters, one each. That version was removed before the September 22nd meeting.
Also, during public comment, Project Now President and CEO Dwight Ford said the regulations will make it more difficult for residents to get help.
“We already have skyrocketing realities of homelessness and poverty in our geographical area that is leveraged to the attention of the entire state. We're number 6 in deep poverty in the entire state.”
The regulations stem from community concerns about downtown Rock Island becoming a hub for homeless services in the Quad Cities.
The Council moved to suspend the rules and pass the amended social service ordinance on first reading with onlyThird Ward Councilwoman Linda Barnes voting no.
The Council also approved exempting The Third Place QC from a social service moratorium, which expired on Monday, October 13th. The nonprofit opened on its planned date of October 1st.
Fifth Ward Councilman Dylan Parker was the sole no vote against the exemption, stating the moratorium was put in place to give staff time to draft the aforementioned social service ordinance.
“I support grandfathering you in from the ordinance. You are going to be a part of our community,” Parker said before the vote. “However, we had a moratorium in place for a reason. It's because your neighbors have communicated to me that they want licensed facilities, which is what we are hoping to accomplish here this evening. So, exempting a location from the moratorium before we have the licensing defeats the whole point of why we took that difficult vote a month or so ago on the moratorium in the first place.”
Earlier in October, WVIK spoke with The Third Place QC co-founder Christie Adamson.
“We had the October 1 date set many, many moons ago, long before the city issued a moratorium,” Adamson said in a phone interview on October 3rd. “And that was in part just so the community knows, because we wanted to work out kinks in our project and in the services that we're providing before it got cold, and we knew that people would be utilizing the space more frequently and for longer periods of time.”
During public comment, a couple of speakers mentioned the importance of having The Third Place QC operating in downtown Rock Island, including Hannah Farrell, who experienced homelessness in the Quad Cities.
“When people are on the street, we have the bus stop, we have the city streets. Now there's a place where we don't have to be sitting on the block, we don't have to be at the bus stop. If that is angering the general public, well, there's now a place for that. We don't have to do that anymore.”
In other council actions, the second reading of an urban agriculture ordinance was postponed to January, so staff and residents can further discuss the needs of homeowners, gardeners, and nonprofits that would be be affected. The second reading removed a height restriction and a 10-foot buffer around occupied structures, which remain for vacant lots. No gardens could be planted within that buffer. First Ward Councilman Glen Evans Sr, who represents the ward most impacted by urban gardens, voted against the postponement 6-1.
Council approved a feasibility study on creating a new tax increment financing [TIF] district in the city’s northwest industrial area. They’ve hired PGAV Planners to complete the study for $33,500. The city hopes to create the North Rock Island Port District TIF by the end of the year. Earlier this year, the council moved to close the 1st Street Tax Increment Financing District, citing poor performance.
Fresh Films is now moving ahead with purchasing properties from the city at 2001 5th Avenue and 2016 5th Avenue to create four sound stages for television and movie production. Fresh Films is buying the properties for over $134,000 using a grant from the Illinois Film Office's Soundstage Capacity Building grant program.
Councilmembers and residents also touched on Saturday’s shooting outside Deanna’s Place, saying more needs to be done. Fourth Ward Councilwoman Jenni Swanson suggested reviewing the club’s liquor license. First Ward Councilman Glen Evans Sr. said he spoke with the owner, who stated they've tried barricades in the parking lot and are hiring security to help alleviate the issues.
Rock Island City Attorney Leslie Day interrupted the discussion to stress that the matter is under investigation.
“Whether or not we proceed with any liquor ordinance violations is still being considered,” she said. “So I wouldn't want any comments made today to color that decision negatively or positively and to really impact any appeals process that might take place if there is any disciplinary action that takes place.”
The city council meets again on October 27th.
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