Traverse City, Michigan in the United States has scheduled a public hearing over a land use permit submitted by Safe Harbor of Grand Traverse.  The permit is seeking to operate an emergency homeless shelter in a residential neighborhood.  Residents have been very vocal in their opposition to the project over security fears and fears about property values, and the mayor of Traverse City has suggested the permit was granted too quickly and that the project requires further study.

The public hearing is scheduled for November 17^th and will allow for public comment.  If the city and the Safe Harbor organization cannot come to an agreement concerning the project, the next step would be formal mediation.

Safe Harbor notes that it obtained the permit legally under the existing city zoning ordinance amendment regulating emergency homeless shelters.  Traverse City Mayor Michael Estes and City Commissioner Barbara Budros both oppose not only the project, but the public hearing itself, seeking instead to have the project put on hold while the city investigates the impact of the homeless shelter on the neighborhood, including property values and safety concerns.  Mayor Estes believes the permit process was much too fast, and the city must be allowed to study the issue further.

Supporters of the project describe the city’s concerns as an instance of “Not in My Backyard” syndrome, where people support an idea in the abstract but only if it is imagined to be taking place somewhere other than their own neighborhood.