Champaign City Council Tackles Housing Problems

The Gateway Studios shutdown ... controversy over the Safe Haven tent community ... and the financial crisis at Restoration Urbana Ministries. All three involved problems with housing for the poor in Champaign. And they were on the minds of Champaign City Council members Tuesday night, as they endorsed a three-pronged approach to city housing problems.

Champaign Council members told city staff to work up detailed proposals on a plan for emergency tenant relocation, for cases like the Gateway Studios shutdown ... a safety net fund to help local agencies provide more emergency shelter services ... and a comprehensive housing study done in cooperation with other local governments.

District Two Councilman Mike LaDue called the proposals conservative, given the scope of the housing problem.

"We're suggesting a very tiny amount of caulk for some very large cracks in the planks that constitute our social platform, through which people fall all the time", said LaDue. "And they will be falling more, and further and with greater frequency as the economy worsens.

But District Five Councilman Dave Johnson said they still have to decide the city's exact role in preventing homelessness.

"Are we a facilitator?" asked Johnson. "Are we the big brother to help these agencies, developers and the federal government to get involved and fund these projects and work together? Are we like (Priceline TV pitchman) William Shatner --- are we supposed to be the "Negotiator" and get this done? Or are we supposed to really be a builder and developer and get into the housing business. I mean, that's kind of the thousand-pound gorilla in the room here. Are we supposed to do that? Is this a fundamental issue that the city should get involved in? And of course, that begs the next question --- where's the money coming from? Who's the funding source? Is the city the funding source? Are our constituents, through taxing, the funding source?"

For now, the city has identified 60-thousand dollars in existing funds to play for two years of emergency tenant relocation, and 30-thousand to help fund the housing study.

Champaign Neighborhood Services Director Kevin Jackson says they'll be back before the council with specifics on the three proposals in December and January.