- Lawmakers express concern over a proposed 1,300-bed homeless campus in Salt Lake City.
- Rep. Sandra Hollins and Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla seek community involvement in project plans.
- House Majority Leader Casey Snider supports halting the project unless conservation commitments are met.
SALT LAKE CITY — As Utah leaders weigh building a 1,300-bed homeless services campus on the northwest side of Salt Lake City, two lawmakers who represent that area worry their constituents are being left out of the decision process.
"The community has a lot of concerns right now, and part of their concerns is not knowing what's going on," Rep. Sandra Hollins, D-Salt Lake City, told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday. "They feel that they were kind of blindsided by the shelter moving into this district, and they weren't part of the process."
The proposed campus is located at 2520 N. 2200 West in Salt Lake City's Northpoint area. The Utah Office of Homeless Services entered into a contract last year to acquire 16 acres, with the goal of opening the new campus as early as next year.
State leaders have said the homeless services campus would provide shelter, employment and long-term housing opportunities, and help with addiction recovery and criminal justice issues.
Residents and local elected officials have expressed concerns about the project's scale, its potential burden on taxpayers and whether it's a short-term or long-term solution to homelessness. They have also opposed the campus on environmental grounds, as it's located within the Great Salt Lake wetlands.
Although state funding for the project hasn't been finalized, Hollins and Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, unveiled several bills they say would give their constituents a seat at the table as talks progress.
They propose adding a community representative where the campus will be built to the Utah Homeless Services Board and granting a 50% property tax credit to homeowners adjacent to the new campus.
Another bill would require the board to make plans to address staffing and transportation near the campus — and add requirements for investigations of any reported safety incidents or compliance issues.
"We recognize it's going to require everyone to address the issue of individuals experiencing homelessness," Escamilla said. "Most of them are from Utah, so they are our community, but we need to do it in a responsible way."
The Democrats' comments come as a top Republican lawmaker is separately pushing HB523, which would halt the homeless campus completely. House Majority Leader Casey Snider, R-Paradise, told reporters this week he is open to backing away from that only if state and private partners honor commitments to preserve that corner of the Great Salt Lake.
"If we're not going to have an honest conversation about preserving that corner and moving forward with conservation, I don't want to be party to that," Snider said, adding later that "if we can resolve these other issues, I can resolve my bill."
As this issue moves forward, Hollins said she wants the community's voices to be heard.
"We're not a 'not-in-my-backyard' community. The west side has been open and willing to take on," she said. "I heard someone say: 'Our backyard is full.' We have taken on a lot."
Salt Lake City leaders are tracking all the developments tied to the proposed homeless campus to mitigate concerns in the Northpoint area. Not constructing it in that part of the city would be a "victory," but the city also backs measures that mitigate concerns from residents, said Salt Lake City Councilwoman Victoria Petro, whose district includes the neighborhood.
They want to avoid a "shoddily, hastily put together solution," she said, but the city also wants to ensure the state doesn't balk at the current needs in the city's and state's growing homelessness situation.
The campus could be part of the solution, but investments in transitional and supportive housing, along with other tools that help people recover rather than relapse into homelessness, could also be transformative.
"The only thing that can't happen is a disinvestment in this population," Petro told KSL. "They are Utahns, they are humans. They require creativity and resourcefulness from us."
