Public Hearing To Be Held On Homeless Shelter Zoning

Recommendations on where homeless shelters can operate in Louisville will get a public airing this week.The Metro Planning Commission will hold a hearing on the recommendations Thursday afternoon. The recommendations come from the Homeless Shelter Task Force the commission formed after Wayside Christian Mission sought to open a shelter downtown, in the Hotel Louisville building.The task force has suggested how to classify three types of homeless service buildings. Dawn Warrick with Planning and Design Services says so far, complaints have been minimal."I've seen one e-mail with some questions about the land use recommendations but it's not been an onslaught of concern in my opinion. We've just not seen that at this point in time," she says.Once the council determines where shelters can be built, it will be asked to approve a method for inspecting and licensing shelters, similar to how restaurants are licensed now."We are working with service providers as well as those representatives of regulatory agencies such as the fire department, police department, Inspections, Permits and Licenses," says Warrick. "We've had several meetings. We continue to meet with them and hone the language of a licensing ordinance."The recommendations from the task force would allow Wayside to operate the Hotel Louisville as a shelter.   It’s still classified as a hotel.