West University doesn't want Tucson homeless shelter

Tensions are growing in a university-area neighborhood as a shelter for homeless women tries to move in next door.

Dozens of people from the neighborhood and the shelter spoke at a city meeting last week about a request by Sister Jose Women’s Shelter to get special permission to move into the West University area near North Seventh Avenue and East Fourth Street.

Those in favor of the move cited the importance of the shelter to the Tucson community and the benefit of a larger space for the women. The shelter plans to serve 15-20 women at a time at the new location.

Those opposed say they believe the proposed shelter is actually a soup kitchen and that they were not properly informed of the plan. They worry the shelter will attract more homeless people to the area, and said they don’t want the shelter in their neighborhood.

Theron Miller, a property owner in West University, said, “I love y’all, but that is absolutely the wrong place to put this thing.”

The city zoning examiner, Jim Mazzocco, said because the new location is within 20 feet of an R3 residential zone, the city requires a special exception before the shelter can move there.

Under current zoning rules, shelter care must take place 500 feet from an R3 residential zone.

Rory Juneman, an attorney for Sister Jose’s, said the implementation of the shelter should receive a special exception because “it won’t adversely impact the surrounding neighborhood.”

Sister Jose’s “puts great importance on being a great neighbor,” Juneman said.

Judi Sensibar lives in West University, and would be one of the shelter’s new neighbors if the request is approved — an opportunity she hopes is not granted.

She said every neighbor within close vicinity of the property is against the shelter moving in.

Sister Jose’s “wants neighborhood support, and it does not have it,” Sensibar said.

She and other neighbors tried to make a case that Sister Jose’s meets the city’s definition of a soup kitchen, not a shelter.

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She said allowing a soup kitchen in West University would adversely affect the community.

At its current location south of downtown, Sister Jose’s is open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with hours until 5 p.m. over the summer and nighttime hours in the winter.

Neighborhood residents worry what homeless women would do after the shelter closes for the day and whether the shelter would increase the presence of homeless people in West University.

Penny Buckley, who works at Sister Jose’s, said that would not be an issue.

“We will be an addition, not a detraction, to West University, because we will bring services to the women who are already there,” Buckley said.

Others who spoke worried about the shelter being located near a school.

Aida Samuel, a shelter volunteer, discounted that fear.

“As a mom, I welcome this opportunity,” Samuel said. “Help us to teach the new generation about social justice.”

In the end, the zoning examiner decided he needed more time before coming to a conclusion.

Mazzocco said he would reconvene with his staff, check with zoning administrators as to what qualifies as a soup kitchen or a shelter, look into the devaluation of real estate, the rate of crime and how often male partners hang around Sister Jose Women’s Shelter.

He asked the shelter to be “more specific in addressing these issues that are being challenged.”

Mazzocco asked the neighborhood and the shelter to meet to better understand the Sister Jose program and its code of conduct.

The zoning examiner meeting will continue on April 21.