If, in fact, city officials want to replicate their Airport Inn-to-supportive housing plan elsewhere in the city, it is incumbent upon them to get this project right.
We have written in this space that we believe the project can be part of the city's housing solution, but we disagree with City Councilwoman Jenny Hill's thoughts that conditions on such a plan are burdensome and that one size should fit all in considering similar projects.
City Council members voted to rezone the Lee Highway property last week to allow the project, voted down a resolution that would have formalized a series of expectations for the project suggested by the mayor and his representatives, and set two community meetings on Nov. 30 and Dec. 14 to flesh out the expectations with the community. They will have a second reading on the rezoning Tuesday.
Councilman Ken Smith said a resolution then could be brought forth on Dec. 20 to codify the conditions.
Among the conditions discussed for the building are 24/7 professional security, increased law enforcement in the area, on-site management, building renovation to mimic a typical multi-family development, transportation through CARTA's dial-a-ride, support groups and a community advisory committee.
Once the conditions have been offered or discussed as a future reality, though, it will be difficult for the city to pull any of them back. And, to Hill's point, it would be fair for residents of other areas where the city might put a similar project to insist on the same conditions.
Yet, one size doesn't fit all. For instance, we hope no such future project is as close to a school as the Airport Inn is to Silverdale Baptist Academy. The two aren't adjacent, but their proximity to each other isn't ideal. If future projects aren't near a school, the community around the residential site may not need as much security or law enforcement presence.
Likewise, a similar project may already look like residential units and may not require significant renovation and may be nearer a grocery store than is Airport Inn and may not require as much service from CARTA.
Once the inn is rezoned Tuesday, the city can do what it wants with it and does not require additional conditions. Officials in a timeline presented in late October said they hope to open the facility between April and June of 2023.
We understand the city wants to have what is likely to be 70 to 80 units occupied quickly, given that area homelessness has been increasing, but we hope it will put off that forecast if it means taking as much time as necessary to make the project one that could be replicated throughout the area.
For instance:
› How will it impact CARTA's dial-a-ride service? Will the transportation agency need to hire more drivers? Buy another bus? With many people staying home rather than choosing to work, will it be difficult to hire more drivers?
› If additional law enforcement presence will be required in the area, and at future residential sites, will more officers need to be hired? If new officers are not hired, from what patrols will they be removed to police the sites?
› Onetime stimulus money paid for the city to buy the Airport Inn for nearly $2.8 million. From what pot of money will the city draw to purchase additional units that could be converted to supportive housing units or affordable housing? And where will money for the support services (security, on-site management, etc.) come from?
Since the city has made the purchase, it must get this project right -- with the community, with the people who would stay there, with the taxpayers who are footing the bill.
We hope city officials have extended out costs of maintaining such a unit into the future and run the numbers of associated costs before any request for proposals for a property developer and service provider are made.
And we would hope city officials will always put the safety of the community first and not consider such concerns burdensome. We believe such a project can be safe and can be a long-term asset. But it shouldn't be rushed, it should be done with community input and it shouldn't be replicated anywhere in the city until it can be determined that the model that is being created is a success.