Important hearing
On March 20, the Bonita Springs City Council held the first hearing of new homeless shelter regulations. These regulations have taken nearly a year to create and have involved countless meetings by city officials, social service and legal experts, and untold hours of citizen participation.
The regulations provide protections for both citizens and shelter residents — if a shelter is ever built. They include updated zoning bylaws and a shelter operating ordinance.
They limit any potential shelter to 30 beds — a reasonable size for our small city, considering the low count of homeless found here.
Will regulations prohibit a homeless shelter? No. But the goal is to take care of our own – to do our fair share - without becoming a destination for the homeless of larger neighboring cities.
A second hearing will take place at 5:30 p.m. April 3 at City Hall, 9101 Bonita Beach Road.
As someone who has been involved with this issue for three years, I ask that you attend this hearing and support these ordinances.
Konrad Schultz, founding member, Concerned Citizens of Bonita
