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SOUTH SALT LAKE — South Salt Lake Mayor Cherie Wood said her city is at a "tipping point" when it comes to tax-exempt facilities such as the proposed new emergency family shelter at 315 W. 3300 South.
"We need a significant lift, we house so many things and so much of our property is tax-exempt. The regional facilities like this should be spread out," Wood said during a South Salt Lake City Council and planning commission special meeting Wednesday, adding her frustration on the topic doesn't mean a complete rejection of the proposal.
An application to remodel the former Motel 6 as a family interim housing facility was submitted and announced by Shelter the Homeless, the Road Home and South Salt Lake late last week, prompting Wednesday's special meeting. A presentation regarding the need for the facility and plans for it — both service and structure-wise — was given to the commission and council before questions and public comment.
What would the facility look like and what is the need?
The building was purchased by Shelter the Homeless in April 2023. The organization owns four homeless resource centers and another former hotel in Salt Lake County. The Road Home would operate the facility, which would provide temporary housing and on-site support services for 70 to 80 families in private rooms.
The program would be "housing focused" and would receive referrals from the coordinated entry system, meaning it would not be a walk-up facility. Prioritization would be given to families with newborns and small infant children, families of five and under, families with children already enrolled in the Granite School District and families with medical needs.
Private rooms, daily meals, K-12 school access, referrals to community services like day care, housing management, weekly visit opportunities with medical providers, case management, 24-hour staff and security would be among the services offered at the facility.
"It's been a tough few years for our team members who work with families. For the first time in our history, we have not had enough space for every family who comes to us in need of help and our dedicated staff are in that really tough position of having to tell families that we don't have a place for them to stay," said Michelle Flynn, executive director at the Road Home.
Since 2020, Utah has seen a 27% increase in families experiencing homelessness. In the past year, the Road Home outreach staff reports serving a total of 86 households — 270 people, including 180 children — who were living somewhere not meant for human habitation.
"These are families that were not couch surfing. They didn't have an aunt and uncle that they were living with or a grandma that they were living with. They were living in a camp. They were living in their vehicle — some of them were living on the outside of buildings where there were overhangs," said Sarah Strang, Road Home chief operator.
Additionally, the Road Home reported having to turn away approximately 834 families — approximately 3,100 people, 2/3 of whom were children — in the past year.
The increasing number of unsheltered children was a topic raised several times during the public comment session Wednesday.
"As a parent, it breaks my heart to think that we would have a community where we let children sleep in cars and tents in the winter. I think it's really important that we open this facility this year if we're going to open it," said Bill Tibbitts, executive director at Crossroads Urban Center. Tibbitts and several other religious organizations penned a letter in support of the facility ahead of the meeting.
'A heavy lift'
The new facility would bring the state closer to its goal of expanding the number of shelter beds. The second emergency family shelter was declared a "top priority" by state homeless officials last year, with the Utah Homeless Council dedicating $3 million toward a facility.
"We know it's a heavy lift for your city, and it's much appreciated, at least from my point of view," state homeless coordinator and former lawmaker Wayne Niederhauser told the commission and council. "We appreciate the consideration here tonight. This is a need that we have seen for several years now, the need for additional beds or families because families are being turned away from these necessary, temporary hopefully, housing situations which is called shelter."
"Unfortunately, we're seeing a lot of backup in some of the shelters and I think that's something that we want to make sure that we're transparent about. But we're working with the Legislature, with the state agencies, the county, the cities, to try and rectify a lot of those issues. But a facility like this would really be helpful," he continued.
The city would receive additional funding in the 2026 fiscal year, from the homeless mitigation fund, if the facility were approved. Additional funding for winter overflow beds would be provided if the facility were to be open by then. However, the growing number of facilities housed by the city and the costs associated were a point of frustration for the mayor and members of the council.
"We have — for a small city — figured some things out, but we are now at a tipping point and cannot take any more. This makes sense, we had to develop the Promise South Salt Lake program to stabilize our community. We will welcome these families and do all that we can to help it be successful. But at some point in time, there has to be a line in the sand and I think we're there. I think we're far past there, and we need some help from larger agencies to help us get the ball across the goal," Wood said.
That frustration was reflected by several residents, as well.
"I've watched South Salt Lake become the dumping ground for Salt Lake County," said Norman Jones, who owns a home near the property. "Not all the criminals come from South Salt Lake, but somehow, we've got the county jail. We've got shelters, we've got the transfer station — it seems like every public waste, nonprofit, nontaxable entity ends up in South Salt Lake, which increases the burden of the residents and the businesses in South Salt Lake."
"I'd like to share the opportunity of the homeless in some other communities," he said.
No formal decision was made by the City Council or planning commission Wednesday. The initial proposal aimed to open the facility prior to cold temperatures hitting this year.
