Salinas City Council to vote on homeless shelter Tuesday

A year-round homeless shelter in Salinas is set for consideration by the city council Tuesday evening, but concerned parents are rallying against it.

Dozens of parents attended a town hall at the cafeteria of Virginia Rocca Barton School in east Salinas, voicing their concerns about the planned shelter’s location.

“We’re not against their building a shelter for homeless, we agree because everybody needs help. But the people think why do they choose that location?” said Octavio Garcia, a Salinas resident and parent.

The shelter is going to be located off of East Laurel Drive near Constitution Park and a school, but too close for many parents.

“Some moms said that they were followed by homeless people before, so that’s why they are scared right now,” said Garcia.

“They could have built it somewhere else, there’s a lot of spaces in Salinas that they could have built it. And over here, I don’t think it’s necessary,” said Brenda Ryo, a high school junior.

The city says it is the only vacant spot that fits the zoning requirements on city or county property. And the shelter operator will provide security, maintenance and transportation for the homeless living there. But many are still skeptical.

“They’re saying they’re going to pay for security and all of this, but how long is that security going to keep up to date?” said Ryo.

It was a meeting that at times got heated, but leaders say they are trying to listen.

“It was a very informative town hall for the city. We definitely want to keep everybody’s thoughts and ideas about this shelter in our minds,” said Anastacia Wyatt, a planning manager with Salinas Community Development and Housing.

Wyatt says any city that wants to put a homeless shelter anywhere, usually gets pushback. She says there are a lot of myths about the homeless that are not necessarily true, like drug use or crime.

But she says the city will try to work with residents’ concerns.

“I understand why people have that impression. And I think that was the biggest concern tonight is we have families concerned about their children walking alone to school,” said Wyatt. “How are we the city going to address those problems and make things work for the entire community?”

The Monterey County Board of Supervisors already agreed on the location, but now the city council must decide for the project to go through.

The vote is scheduled for Tuesday evening at the city council meeting at 4 p.m.