Charlottesville dismisses McGuire's demand it delay opening of homeless shelter

Charlottesville gives Salvation Army $3M for homeless shelter expansion

In a letter McGuire posted to social media this past Saturday — but did not in fact post to City Hall — the 5th District Republican congressman asked City Manager Sam Sanders to postpone the opening of the shelter at 2000 Holiday Drive in order to fully address the safety, security and sanitation impacts it would have on surrounding businesses, primarily hotels near the interchange of U.S. 29 and the U.S. 250 Bypass.

McGuire suggested in his letter that the homeless soon moving into the shelter could threaten the safety or property of neighboring businesses and "force businesses to pay for private security because of failure to plan properly."

“The City is proceeding without adequately addressing key issues raised by business owners, employees, customers, and hotel guests,” McGuire wrote. “I strongly urge the City to postpone the opening until these concerns are fully resolved and clear, specific answers are provided."

“We’re not doing that,” Sanders replied in a video posted Monday to the city's social media accounts.

Charlottesville city spokeswoman Afton Schneider confirmed to The Daily Progress that, although the city had responded, it had never actually been sent McGuire's letter. "We found it like everyone else on social media," she said.

Schneider also confirmed that McGuire's letter was the first time the sitting congressman, who is seeking a second term in the U.S. House of Representatives this year, has expressed any interest or concern regarding the city's homeless population. Of note, McGuire's letter never says where he believes the homeless should be relocated if not the temporary emergency shelter being built for them right now.

Charlottesville, like most American cities, has struggled to combat a rise in homelessness since the COVID-19 pandemic. The temporary emergency shelter in the works is a direct response to an encampment on the city's eastern edge, along the Rivanna River near Free Bridge, that has grown into a full-blown tent city with roughly 70 camps. 

The Free Bridge encampment, as it has become known, has tormented the city. There have been at least two deaths, two reported rapes and a fire just in the past year, and that’s on top of daily calls for service to the police from those within and without the encampment.

The city has set Sept. 1 as the deadline to clear the encampment.

City Council voted to acquire 2000 Holiday Drive, a former office building, in October for $6.2 million. The original intent was to redevelop the property into the city's first low-barrier homeless shelter, but such a project would not be ready in time to accommodate the Free Bridge residents who are to be forced out come September. So on Aug. 3, Council voted to provide $3 million to Phoenix-based Central Arizona Shelter Services to operate a 120-bed temporary emergency shelter at 2000 Holiday Drive for 12 months starting Sept. 1. 

Although the opening date is now less than a week away, important details have still not been worked out. 

In the first place, as of Monday, the city and CASS still did not have a signed agreement in place.

Additionally, McGuire as well as the Virginia Restaurant Lodging and Travel Association say the city has not provided enough information regarding public safety, how the shelter will be configured and how much exposure the public will have to the homeless in the area.

The hospitality trade group sent a letter dated July 28 pressing the city for more information. In response, the city wrote back on Aug. 17 to say that tent camping would be prohibited in the shelter's yard and on public land near the shelter.

Showers are to be provided to shelter residents, but Schneider told The Daily Progress they will “be accessed outside the building.”

Despite the letters from McGuire and the trade group, she said the city does not “anticipate issues with neighboring property owners or businesses, but the City will continue to monitor conditions and adjust its approach as needed.”

“Individuals staying at the shelter will be free to come and go. As with anyone else in the community, they will be expected to respect private property and applicable laws,” she said.

In Sanders' Monday video, filmed at the site of the future shelter as boxes of furniture were unloaded, the city manager emphasized that the city has “actually focused on this facility way more than we have any other facility in town.” Though, it's unclear what other facility he could be referring to as Charlottesville does not operate any homeless shelters: The Salvation Army's high-barrier overnight shelter is run by the local branch of the Christian charity, and the Haven day shelter is operated by the nonprofit of the same name.