Scranton zoning board hears plan for homeless shelter

Dec. 12--SCRANTON -- The city's homeless may get extra help after the zoning board on Wednesday approved Keystone Mission's plan for a 50-bed shelter at 529-31 Wyoming Ave.

But that's not necessarily the final word. Neighboring businesses and property owners who object to a homeless shelter in the 500 block of Wyoming Avenue plan to appeal the decision to Lackawanna County Court.

Though sympathetic to the plight of the homeless, the neighbors said the 500 block of Wyoming Avenue, a light industrial zone that has been on an upswing, is not an appropriate spot for a shelter. They expressed concerns about the homeless loitering and having potential negative impacts on their businesses and customers.

Supporters of a shelter acknowledged the homeless can pose problems but cited a larger societal humanitarian need to care for them. They also noted an unrelated shelter and soup kitchen already are nearby, and the homeless view that area as a safe haven.

The board heard both sides of the issue during an 80-minute long meeting.

The mission on Olive Street sought a variance to convert the former auto-glass shop at 529-31 Wyoming Ave. into an overnight homeless shelter with a day center and support services.

A Christian-based ministry, the nonprofit mission on Olive Street is one of the few facilities in the city that help the homeless, many of whom suffer from mental illness and/or substance abuse problems. Not an overnight shelter, the Olive Street site opens a dayroom respite for the homeless, provides free hot meals with worship four nights per week, gives out clothing and other essentials for adults, provides youth clothing and diapers and food distributions.

The proposal for an overnight shelter on Wyoming Avenue would allow for expanded and improved services, said mission CEO Justin Behrens. The goal is to not only offer beds, but also provide skills in basic needs, job training and other areas, toward reversing a client's homelessness, he said.

"This is a need for Scranton," Behrens said.

Attorney William Jones, representing Battaglia's Sporting Goods, Tom's Garage and D.G. Nicholas Auto Parts, argued the mission failed to meet criteria for a variance. It did not demonstate a hardship that the building could not have any other use in its zone.

Lackawanna College, represented by attorney Jamie Hailstone, also objected.

Earlier this year, the mission on Olive Street came under fire from neighbors who described that facility as a long-standing nuisance. At that time, mission officials spoke of hoping to relocate and offer more extensive programs aimed at ending cycles of homelessness.

On Wednesday, Jim Nicholas of B.G. Nicholas and Tom Voytek of Tom's Garage expressed concerns that the mission would just move its problems up the road a few blocks, to Wyoming Avenue.

But Behrens and a mission volunteer said the mission on Olive Street remedied loitering since concerns were raised in March. If the shelter were approved, the mission would keep the Olive Street property and use it as a food/clothing distribution center for low-income residents, and no longer use it as a homeless day center, Behrens said.

Phil Yevics, representing a faith-based, greater Scranton coalition on the homeless committee, said objectors have "real concerns" and a shelter could provide "real benefits."

Regarding homelessness in general, Yevics added, "It is a community problem. They are us."

Saying she experienced homelessness a dozen years ago after a car accident and no health insurance left her penniless, Nicki Pimental of Luzerne advocated for a shelter.

Board member Carri Newcomb said a shelter would not need a variance if it were in a different, commercial downtown zone one block south, in the 400 block of Wyoming Avenue.

"It seems like we're only here because of a block," Newcomb said.

But Jones countered proximity to a different zone is irrelevant and the application simply does not meet variance criteria.

The board voted 4-1 to approve a variance for a shelter, with Newcomb, Chairman Shawn Walsh, Paul Marcks and Bob Morris all in favor, and Bob Gattens opposed.

Jones said his clients will appeal.

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