Work continues on developing the required safety plan for Tempe Community Action Agency’s new headquarters, as many residents of the surrounding Victory Acres neighborhood continue to share concerns about how this could impact the area.
Residents and other community members from Victory Acres spoke out in January against TCAA’s new campus, which will house the group’s shelter services along with its other community programs.
TCAA's new building will be located at 2425 E. Apache Blvd., the site of the old Watson's Flowers building and along the boundary of the Victory Acres neighborhood.
The Independent reported local landlord Albert Avelar filed an appeal against the Tempe Development Review Commission’s approval of a use permit to provide temporary housing at the new building.
Avelar and many other residents from the surrounding area said they were worried about how a homeless shelter could impact the neighborhood negatively. Others also shared that they were not notified about this project, saying that they felt the city did not care for the residents’ input.
At a Jan. 9 meeting, Avelar’s appeal was denied, but to address the safety concerns, Tempe City Council added a condition of approval for the building’s use permit, requiring TCAA to have a security plan at all times that complies with city code.
TCAA is set to break ground on this project on March 18, according to a press release, but a safety plan has still to be developed, leaving some Victory Acres residents still waiting on answers.
Where it’s at
Jacob Payne, principal planner with the city of Tempe, said the security plan in development will go over the operational procedures and safety components at the site. It will also be on file with the Tempe Police Department once it has been finalized.
“In order to satisfy that condition of their use permit, they’ll need to have that completed before they can get their building permits issued,” Payne said.
He said while he hasn’t heard anything about the progress on this document, TCAA is likely still working with Tempe Police and other stakeholders to get this together.
Addressing the notification of residents, Payne explained that the city had done its required outreach per Tempe’s zoning code regarding the approval of a project’s development plan review and use permits.
A notification, like mailers, is sent to all property owners within 600 feet of the site.
“We do post a four-foot by four-foot public hearing sign, which was attached to the chain link fence around the site facing Apache Boulevard and was up for 15 days, which is our minimum advertisement period,” Payne said.
Additionally, Tempe also sent notices to the contacts for homeowners and neighborhood associations within a quarter mile of the site, which included the Victory Acres Neighborhood Association and the Oaks 2 & 3 Neighborhood Association.
Community outreach
Outreach was completed by the city about TCAA’s new building, but some residents are still unhappy with the lack of communication and resident input being gathered.
The Victory Acres Neighborhood Association held a neighborhood meeting March 4, bringing together some concerned residents, leadership from TCAA and representatives from multiple city departments.
Megan Wilson, TCAA’s director of programs, explained during the meeting that while many people have focused on the shelter aspect of the new building, it’s not the only thing that group will bring to the neighborhood.
“We think it is going to be a huge enhancement for the neighborhood,” Wilson said.
TCAA will be phasing out its mobile shelter services with its new building, creating 75 shelter beds on the second floor, which will be available for homeless individuals with a preference for older populations.
Aside from the shelter, TCAA will operate a food pantry, a commercial kitchen for community food services and rent utility assistance among other programs at this new headquarters.
Residents at the meeting questioned the TCAA representatives about how the shelter will be run, to which Wilson and Bob Branstetter, TCAA’s senior manager of shelter services, explained that there will be conditions in place to manage people staying in the shelter.
“The idea is to end the cycle of homelessness,” Branstetter said.
He explained the shelter aspect has structures in place to ensure people being served are not just getting a bed for the night. TCAA will work with them to get them the necessary documents and resources to bring them out of homelessness.
There will be intake guidelines to ensure there is no drug use on site, certain beds will be set aside for transitional or medical cases, and there will be checks on site to ensure that no illicit substances have been brought in.
Victory Acres resident Sean M. speaks at a neighborhood meeting with TCAA.
Independent Newsmedia/Caroline Yu
Brantstetter also noted they will not accept sex offenders and violent offenders who committed offenses in the past five years.
Irene Larios, a resident and the owner of Greenheart Landscapes, said during the meeting she understands the importance of ending cycles of homelessness and people experiencing homelessness include people who are older, suffering with mental illness and more.
While she understands TCAA’s mission in helping the homeless population, she and other residents are still upset with the lack of inclusion of their input about having this facility in their community and how it may affect them.
“When I say affect, it could be positive or negative, but that is a town hall meeting that should have been placed already to take the residents in consideration of such an enormous, (multi-million dollar) facility that is three blocks away from my home and many others,” Larios said.
She added that the city’s notification of the project felt insufficient, and there are a number of other concerns to be considered besides the safety arm, including the environmental impact of the project and whether the project is equitable to low income and minority communities.
Victory Acres is a historically low-income and minority neighborhood, and its residents like Larios, have shared that having the shelter in the area feels like the site might have been chosen for that reason.
Wilson said that this meeting was an important move in developing the safety plan and also understanding more about what residents hope to come out of TCAA having its building in the community.
She said that there will be future opportunities for the community to provide their input to TCAA as it progresses on the new headquarters. Brenda Clark, neighborhood services specialist, also noted at the meeting that there would be more notice for future meetings regarding the project.
“This is not going to be a one and done conversation,” Wilson said.
Please send your comments to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines. Reporter Caroline Yu can be reached at cyu@iniusa.org
Meet Caroline Caroline Yu joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2020 as a summer intern covering Scottsdale. As an intern, she continued her coverage of Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and Tempe. After graduating in 2022, Caroline became a full-time reporter for Scottsdale and Paradise Valley. She is currently reporting for the Tempe market.
Community: She is a supporter of the environment and tries to get involved with related community events.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications, with a minor in French.
Random Fact: She used to be a ballet dancer for 10 years.
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