Attachment B - VPC Summary-Info Only - Z-SP-2-19-7.pdf

City of Phoenix • Planning & Development Department 
200 West Washington Street, 3rd Floor • Phoenix, Arizona  85003-1611 • (602) 262-6882 
Village Planning Committee Meeting Summary 
Z-SP-2-19-7 
INFORMATION ONLY 
Date of VPC Meeting 
July 13, 2020 
Request From 
C-3 HP-L CMOD, A-1 HP-L CMOD, A-1 SP CMOD, A-
1 CMOD 
Request To 
A-1 SP CMOD 
Proposed Use 
Modify the Special Permit area of the Human Services 
Campus to include Andre House and to allow for an 
increase in the maximum number of beds. The Special 
Permit is to allow homeless shelter, charitable dining 
hall and food service uses. 
Location 
Southeast corner of 13th Avenue and Madison Street 
VPC DISCUSSION & RECOMMENDED STIPULATIONS:
Chris Colyer and Ash Uss recused themselves for this item, bringing quorum to 12. 
Thirty-four speaker cards were submitted wishing to speak. One speaker card was 
submitted in opposition not wishing to speak.  
-Two speakers donated their time to Angela Ojile.  
-One speaker donated their time to John Westerdale.  
-Two speakers donated their time to Ian Francis.  
-One speaker donated their time to Michael Godbehere.  
-One speaker donated their time to Freddy Brown.  
-Three speakers donated their time to Katherine Roxlo.  
Paul Gilbert, representing the applicant, with Beus, Gilbert, PLLC, presented an 
overview of the request, displaying an aerial map. Mr. Gilbert stated that the request is 
located in the Capitol Mall Overlay District, which was created to prohibit certain uses 
that could be deleterious to the area such as pawn shops, liquor stores, and blood 
banks and permitted other uses that had the potential to ameliorate the slum 
conditions, such as charitable dining halls and shelters, with a special permit. Mr. 
Gilbert continued that in the 1980s and 1990s many organizations began to provide 
services to the homeless population on the site and in 2003, the special permit was 
approved, which consolidated the area to be known as the Human Services Campus. 
Mr. Gilbert added that the original special permit was subject to one stipulation, to limit 
Attachment B

Central City Village Planning Committee 
Meeting Summary 
Z-SP-2-19-7 
July 13, 2020 
Page 2 
 
 
 
City of Phoenix • Planning & Development Department 
200 West Washington Street, 3rd Floor • Phoenix, Arizona  85003-1611 • (602) 262-6882 
the number of beds to 425 and that the proposal now is to update the number of beds 
and to add many more stipulations, which are still in draft form. Mr. Gilbert stated that 
the proposal is for 1,000 beds to be allocated as follows: 275 beds for CASS for a total 
of 700 beds to reach the maximum allowed under their certificate of occupancy, 100 
beds to the Andre House which is a low-barrier shelter and 200 beds to be used during 
extreme summer heat and winter. Mr. Gilbert ended his presentation by saying the 
proposal will use the existing space within the campus, it will not attract more homeless 
people as they are already there, and that there is room for improvement as they are 
trying to be good neighbors.  
 
Michael Langley asked how the proposal will allow for distancing and hygiene 
measures in place due to the pandemic. Mr. Gilbert responded that the facility will look 
as it does now, and within the buildings they are social distancing and spacing. Amy 
Schwabenlender, with the Human Services Campus, added that they are following the 
CDC guidelines, they have spaced things out and stopped communal eating. She 
continued that the COVID cases have been low at the campus.  
 
Dana Johnson stated that the problems exist today when the campus is allowed 400 
beds, and the proposal to more than double the amount of beds would make conditions 
worse. He continued that some people are afraid to come onto the campus. Mr. Gilbert 
responded that they have tried to be good neighbors and he believes with the proposed 
stipulations (which are not finished), conditions will improve. He added that if people 
were afraid to come onto the campus, they wouldn’t have to turn people away.  
 
Sean Sweat asked how the large the CASS shelter is in relation to other shelters area, 
what is the difference between the Andre House, a low-barrier shelter and how did they 
get to the allocation for 275 beds for CASS and 100 for Andre House. Mr. Gilbert 
responded that CASS is the largest in the area and they will have more information on 
that when they return for recommendation, a low-barrier shelter does not have rules on 
pets or the time of night when they can check in. Mr. Gilbert added that the 275 beds 
for CASS is the maximum allowed per the Certificate of Occupancy, and the Andre 
House can only hold some many beds. Mr. Gilbert repeated the bed allocation: 
 
425 beds currently approved. 1,000 beds proposed 
-275 beds to CASS (total: 700) 
-100 beds to Andre House (total: 800) 
-200 beds for extreme weather conditions (total: 1,000) 
 
Will Gaona asked how closely the applicant has been working with neighborhood 
groups and what will the next steps be if the neighbors are unsatisfied with the final 
stipulations. Mr. Gilbert responded that they have held three neighborhood meetings 
where concerns were raised, and that when the stipulations are finalized, they will 
circulate them and host another meeting. Mr. Gilbert added they will continue to work 
with the neighborhood and Neighborhood Services can help too if the neighbors are 
still unsatisfied.

Central City Village Planning Committee 
Meeting Summary 
Z-SP-2-19-7 
July 13, 2020 
Page 3 
 
 
 
City of Phoenix • Planning & Development Department 
200 West Washington Street, 3rd Floor • Phoenix, Arizona  85003-1611 • (602) 262-6882 
 
PUBLIC COMMENT: 
Angela Ojile shared that she is against the proposal, the applicants have not reached 
out and the neighborhood has not been included, the cleaning around the area is bad, 
the neighborhood can’t afford any more beds since many businesses have closed 
down, there were feces and urine in her driveway, and mega shelters do not work.  
 
John Westerdale shared that he is opposed to the proposal, there are a lot of schools 
in the area and there are many sex offenders, the largest shelter in California has 500 
beds, and that the City should not congregate uses.  
 
Ian Frances shared that he is a business owner and the area is the worst it has ever 
been, the applicant is not in communication with the community, a low-barrier shelter 
accepts people who are intoxicated, the Madison Pioneers Coalition has been trying to 
make the neighborhood better, and that the campus is in violation of the City Code due 
to the health hazards associated with urination and defecation on the street.  
 
Jessica Bueno states that she is concerned with the increase for the number of beds, 
the community’s quality of life is impacted and they don’t feel safe, alleys are being 
used as toilets, and the Capitol Mall Overlay was intended to add economic vitality in 
the area and have positive impacts on the neighborhood.  
 
Michael Godbehere shared that when he worked in the area there was an immediate 
increase of theft, burglaries and public defecation, he has personally been a victim of 
robbery and assault, and healthy businesses have closed in the area.  
 
Freddy Brown invited everyone to walk the area, shared that at his company they 
escort the female employees to their cars at the end of the day, the applicant cannot 
manage the 425 beds they have now and many people have been banned from the 
shelter, and when people give them goods, they throw the trash on the ground.  
 
Joanne Lowney shared that they cannot operate their own business in their building, 
the streets are used as toilets, and all cities must take part in housing the homeless.  
 
Katherine Roxlo shared that in 1984 the shelter was opened with a use permit for 220 
beds, in 1990 the facility expanded to 400 beds, the shelter has been a magnet for all 
other homeless populations in Arizona, nowhere else in the City are so many health 
and safety violations allowed, there are 138 sex offenders who list their primary 
residence within a quarter mile of CASS, and asked staff to document the health and 
safety violations in the area, research the number of fines and the number of people in 
the area not seeking shelter, and the impacts on zoning and mitigation of negative 
impacts.  
 
Joel Coplin stated that he lives half a block from the campus, there are many people 
on the street, and that many of them have been kicked out of the campus.

Central City Village Planning Committee 
Meeting Summary 
Z-SP-2-19-7 
July 13, 2020 
Page 4 
 
 
 
City of Phoenix • Planning & Development Department 
200 West Washington Street, 3rd Floor • Phoenix, Arizona  85003-1611 • (602) 262-6882 
 
Lori Thompson shared that she is opposed to the expansion, everyone should have a 
seat at the table and the shelter should not be the dominant force in the area. 
 
Laurel Dianne Langmade shared that she is against the special permit request, there 
is an increase in economic hardship for businesses, and a RV company had tires 
slashed and urination on their property. 
 
Grace Salinas shared that governments have failed to address this issue and the 
community hasn’t been invited to provide input.  
 
Vicki Anderson shared that she deals with the homeless population daily and an 
increase in the number of beds will allow for less rehousing. 
 
Ray Garcia quoted “if you build it, they will come”, shared that there were many people 
living in the park which recently got cleared out due to a knifing, the community feels 
the negative effects of the shelter such as human waste on the street.  
 
Twila Lake stated that she lived and worked in the Woodland Historic District and 
participated in street cleanups and late-night street survey, they asked people why they 
chose to sleep on the street instead of the campus and shared that respondents replied 
they were fearful of being beat up on the campus.  
 
Jay Minich stated he is one of the directors at Andre House, he can see the change in 
people when they get a bed, that the proposal will help with their overflow capacity, and 
that there have been 12 deaths in two weeks due to extreme heat.  
 
Brent Downs shared that he works on the campus, experienced homelessness 20 
years ago, his journey began when he got a bed and he hasn’t experienced 
homelessness since, and this is an opportunity to give people a chance.  
 
Jonathan Koppell stated he is president of the HSC Board, agreed that the situation 
on the street is bad, we need to call on the City and County to do better and this is a 
social justice issue. 
 
Raquel Dennis stated she lived and worked in the neighborhood and supports the 
proposal, the homeless population are people too, it is their neighborhood too, not just 
for those who own property.  
 
Kyle Foxcroft stated that the campus has not helped with the street cleanup and 
asked for clarification on the definition of extreme weather conditions for the proposed 
200 beds.

Central City Village Planning Committee 
Meeting Summary 
Z-SP-2-19-7 
July 13, 2020 
Page 5 
 
 
 
City of Phoenix • Planning & Development Department 
200 West Washington Street, 3rd Floor • Phoenix, Arizona  85003-1611 • (602) 262-6882 
Alex Stratton shared that he is not supportive of the request, it does not meet the 
intent of the Capitol Mall Overlay, there are unintended consequences of 
conglomerating the homeless population and there are other ways to shelter people.  
 
 
 
STAFF COMMENTS REGARDING VPC RECOMMENDATION & STIPULATIONS: 
 
N/A