Shelter Task Force Continues Work

by Gabe BullardLouisville's Homeless Shelter Task Force could complete its work in the next few weeks.The task force was formed to address a gap in zoning laws that neither allows nor prohibits the establishment of homeless shelters in Louisville. The panel met Friday and agreed on working definitions for the types of buildings that don't fall under current zoning law.Metro Planning Assistant Director Dawn Warrick says the agreement clears the way for the group to make a recommendation on how such buildings should be zoned."Now we know basically what we're trying to deal with, now let's start talking about where they should be and what's the appropriate zoning and regulatory tool to establish one of these types of facilities in the community," she says.Warrick says the group will look at how the buildings are zoned in other cities and where such buildings already are in Louisville. She says after three or four more meetings, the group will likely be ready to make a zoning recommendation to the Metro Planning Commission.