Church group troubled by Santa Rosa’s move to regulate winter homeless programs

A city program seeking to set some ground rules for how and where churches can provide services for the homeless in Santa Rosa this winter got a chilly reception Tuesday from a faith-based group worried about a regulatory overreach.

The head of the Redwood Gospel Mission said the city's move was 'deeply troubling,' unnecessary and likely to harm rather than help efforts to shelter more homeless people in the city this winter.

'This is the camel's nose under the tent,' said Jeff Gilman, the group's executive director.

He argued the city has no business requiring churches to apply for permits to do something that is legal and a protected act of religious expression.

The mission works with 30 different churches in and around Santa Rosa to provide emergency overnight shelter for homeless people between October and April. This 'nomadic shelter' program is in its second year, is well supervised, and occurs entirely indoors, Gilman said.

He said local churches have a long history of hosting retreats, prayer vigils, visiting choirs and other events that result in overnight stays.

'You'd be hard-pressed to find one example of a church that was ever required to get a special permit for these activities. What makes this different?' Gilman asked.

City officials denied that the pilot program imposed a new permit requirement on churches, insisting that the only changes are that they must now register with the city, describe their operation, get a no-fee fire inspection and list contact people in case of problems or neighborhood questions. The program would also cover so-called 'safe parking' programs allowing homeless people to legally stay in vehicles at designated spots overnight. Catholic Charities oversees eight such sites in the city.

Mayor John Sawyer apologized that Gilman wasn't consulted about the new program, but he said city leaders need to make sure the homeless services being offered around the city are compatible with surrounding neighborhoods.

'Our desire is to help, not get in the way,' Sawyer said. 'But we also have laws and ordinances that we have to abide by as a city.'

One of those is the zoning code, which City Attorney Caroline Fowler said churches may already be violating by participating in a program that goes beyond traditional church uses to effectively provide housing.

The issue came to a head a few months ago when Catholic Charities sought to establish a safe parking location on Montgomery Drive and a neighbor complained, said Jennielynn Holmes, director of shelter and housing for the nonprofit group.

She realized there was no city process she could point to that demonstrated the city had approved the project or that location, she said.

The conflict illustrates the challenges the city faces in finding short-term housing solutions to the housing crisis while it figures out longer-term solutions such as building more housing or instituting rent control.

Councilwoman Julie Combs cited a recent estimate that the city would need to spend $20 million annually toward affordable housing over the next eight years to meet the need.

'I don't see $20 million a year in our current budget,' Combs said.

Councilman Gary Wysocky said he understood Gilman's concerns, but said the council 'can't just wing it.'

'We do have to try to set up some safeguards so that these unfortunate souls are protected and we can help care for them, as well as hopefully lessen the load of the surrounding community,' he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at 521-5207 or kevin.mccallum@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @srcitybeat.