Read Street Roots' news series examining housing and homelessness issues in Southern Oregon’s Josephine County.
Update April 7: On April 5, Rogue Retreat announced it would not open a shelter in Grants Pass, after the city flip-flopped several times on the matter. The Medford-based organization had overcome pushback from neighbors to gain a conditional-use permit from the Grants Pass City Council, and it struck a deal with the owners of the proposed site. Most recently, the nonprofit pulled back on the project due to additional insurance requirements the building's landlord is requiring for the shelter. Insurance costs have skyrocketed in the area since the wildfires in September. According to Heather Hassett, business development director at Rogue Retreat, signing the lease would have been a "fiscally irresponsible" move and too large of an investment for the 90-day temporary shelter, which was intended to open for the winter. Rogue Retreat is not pursuing another shelter location in Grants Pass at this time.
Update March 8: Grants Pass’ first low-barrier shelter has overcome community opposition and is back on track to open by April 1. In response to pushback from neighbors and their appeal to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals, the owners of the proposed shelter site initially pulled out of the deal with Medford-based Rogue Retreat in mid-February. But on March 5, Rogue Retreat announced it was able to alleviate the concerns of the owners, who ultimately decided to sign a lease with the organization to open the shelter.
Amid public outcry from neighbors, the Southern Oregon town of Grants Pass will no longer see its first low-barrier shelter open this winter, leaving its burgeoning unsheltered homeless population out in the elements.
The onerous path to getting approval for the planned shelter was the subject of a Feb. 10 story in Street Roots.
The proposed 40-room shelter near downtown Grants Pass was intended to open as early as March 1 for a trial run of 90 days, but plans fell through when the owners of the site changed their minds about leasing it to Rogue Retreat, the Medford-based service group spearheading the effort.
EDITORIAL: When property comes before people, a crisis boils over in Southern Oregon
The nonprofit hoped to implement its shelter program at this specific site because it would have allowed for non-congregate rooms for individuals, couples and families — which has been highly sought after during the pandemic.
Grants Pass City Council approved the shelter’s location in mid-January, despite the onslaught of letters in opposition to the shelter it had received from local business owners and community members. Many residents acknowledged the need for a shelter, but they didn’t like the location.
Heather Hassett, who has led the Grants Pass shelter effort for Rogue Retreat, told the City Council on Feb. 19 that the owners, Glenn and Margaret Tiffany of Ashland, had decided to not lease the site because of pushback from neighbors and their appeal to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals.
Hassett and the Tiffanys did not responded to requests for comment by press time.
According to the Grants Pass Daily Courier, about eight business and property owners joined together to appeal the City Council’s decision to allow the 90-day shelter in a commercial zone. They also started a petition against the shelter’s placement that garnered more than 220 signatures.
The petition stated, “Permitting a homeless shelter in this area could radically change a professional, business and educational sector that is vital to the entire Grants Pass community.”
The proposed site is across the street from a private school, and locals voiced concerns for the safety and comfort of students and staff.
As a land-use decision, the council ultimately approved the temporary-use permit since planning criteria were met. They added conditions such as a security service from 6 a.m. to midnight and additional fencing, in an attempt to put the opposition at ease.
Rogue Retreat has stated that crime actually declined in the neighborhood around their Medford shelter since it opened four years ago. It argued that people wouldn’t loiter around the shelter because unlike the past tenant in the Grants Pass building (the United Community Action Network), which provided walk-in services, the new shelter would have allowed residents to stay there all day and would have staff on duty 24/7.
Rogue Retreat needed a temporary permit to operate the shelter at the site, since it sits in a commercial zone and “social service facilities” are only allowed in industrial or business park zones in Grants Pass, according to a 2015 zoning ordinance which the council passed to prevent homeless populations from congregating downtown.
This move came during a time when the city took actions to push homeless populations out to make the town more appealing to tourists, rather than investing in social services and affordable housing. Since 2018, the homeless population has more than doubled to 1,422, according to last year’s Point in Time Count.
The city’s treatment of homeless populations gained attention with a recent class-action lawsuit brought against the city by the Oregon Law Center on behalf of homeless plaintiffs. A federal judge ruled that the town’s use of violations and fines to punish people for sleeping outside is unconstitutional when there is nowhere else to rest, building upon the landmark Martin v. Boise case. (See Page 4 to read more about the impacts of this lawsuit as part of our series on homelessness in Josephine County.)
The judge stated that the only housing option that resembles a shelter in the town is the Gospel Rescue Mission, which operates as 30-day transitional housing, but it fails to meet the needs of the city due to its religious requirements, among other restrictions, and it does not meet the federal definition of a homeless shelter.
Rogue Retreat is looking for another site to operate a year-round shelter in the city, though it is unlikely this will happen soon.
“It’s disappointing news,” Grants Pass Mayor Sarah Bristol told Street Roots in an email, “but I’m optimistic that the Council and the community will continue working to find solutions to this complex issue. I know there are people counting on us.”