VBT board hears many concerns connected to homelessness in twp.

The Van Buren Township Board of Trustees discussed homelessness and many of the issues involved after an impassioned plea by Ashley Shukait during an hour-long work/study session on July 5. That was the only item on the workshop agenda.
The session began with Dan Power, director of building and planning, who explained the township’s zoning ordinances that differentiate between motels/hotels that are there for a few days of simple vacation and apartments where people have cooking space and more room.
The ordinances say that no motel/hotel guests shall establish residency for more than 30 days in one calendar year. He said that rule has applied over the years, even before the 2017 rewrite of the ordinance. He said there now is a blur between apartments and motel usage.
“It has come to our attention that people who are displaced or doing work in the township are staying more than 30 days,” Director Power said.
“I have removed reference to the hotel’s name that allows longer-term stays,” said Supervisor Kevin McNamara, who noted there is corporate placement for people from weeks to months and up to a year during projects. He said there is military placement and because of the work shortage, corporations bringing in laborers and those with technical expertise. He said nurses have been brought in for COVID testing and stayed over a year.
“Others are waiting for housing to open up,” Supervisor McNamara said, adding those with fire damage are put into temporary housing by insurance companies and that could be up to six months. And, the federal government had refugees housed in the township temporarily until they found permanent housing.
He said there are also barriers for people in getting apartments and transportation to work and to shop in the area.
“I did not talk to the hotel in question about the $119 a night and 30 days,” he said, adding a homeless advocate for the State of Michigan is against the 30-day limit.
Police Lt. Charles Bazzi said several hotels for several years have allowed guests for more than 30 days and, “We’ve been enforcing.”
“It’s a longterm issue, a COVID issue,” said Shukait starting her long presentation on homelessness and what to do about it in the township.
She said her husband is a nurse and they had problems with getting a home and now they live in a trailer park. She said people have trouble with housing because of fires, housing crises, and not being able to get into shelters.
“I’m paying over $4,000 out of my pocket for one affordable housing place,” she said, adding she couldn’t get shelter place for the handicapped senior citizens because Ann Arbor and Troy shelters were full and otherwise they’d have to live in a tent.
McNamara said this is “permanent residence” for some and the people he talked to don’t have a plan to move on. “I don’t want them to live here forever,” he said referring to the motel.
“Nobody wants to live in a hotel for the rest of their lives,” Shukait said. “I call shelters and can’t get them places.”
“There has to be a plan,” said Clerk Leon Wright. “The ordinance now says 30 days limited stay.” There should be something in place working for an end date, he said, like “if we’re working for a person to move into a house … or affordable housing. We don’t want people staying in the streets.”
Clerk Wright said last year he found a family sitting by Planet Fitness and he paid to have them in a motel for a week, with an end date.
“Extended stays are for however long they need to be there,” Wright said.
Trustee Don Boynton said the township needs to come up with different factions, economic sites … for six months or nine months. Maybe someone is staying at a motel waiting for a home to be built.
He said he does not support staying at a motel without verification of why they’re there. He said some are employed, but don’t have time to find an apartment and no vehicle but can afford to stay in a motel.
Trustee Boynton said they should send this to a committee and the planning commission for a recommendation.
Trustee Reggie Miller suggested renting a mobil home as a place to stay.
Shukait said there are very few mobil homes available, but a few mobil home parks will rent.
“Myself and my husband are trying to find a home,” she said.
She said some are ineligible for renting because of past evictions.
She said more groups have to have community input on this issue. She said you can’t put it before the planning commission because they don’t have training in social welfare.
“This came down to an issue with a motel who removed someone from the motel and they told him Van Buren Township won’t let them stay over 30 days,” McNamara said.
“They didn’t have a problem with the person, but individuals were asking for a list of those over 30 days without a warrant,” she said. “A few seniors who were disabled” were involved.
“They ended out on the street?” said Trustee Miller in shock.
“They ended out on the street with nowhere to go,” Shukait said.
Trustee Kevin Martin said the motels are the motels’ properties and they can sell housing to anyone they want. He did not want to start levying the ordinance on isolated incidents. He said he didn’t see one hotel owner in the audience concerned about this.
Miller said prior to this isolated incident, the issue came up before.
“This has been an ongoing issue for years,” said Lt. Bazzy. He said the court has told police to enforce the law. He said a certain hotel recently lost its corporate membership and the cause wasn’t the ordinance enforcement.
Lt. Bazzy said the conditions of the rooms with people staying so long was unhealthy, inhumane. He said there is no facility for cooking and all they have is a bathroom and a bed.
He said he looked into availability at mobile home parks and found Town and Country and Belleville Manor had vacancies at a cost of $700 to $900 a month, versus $450 a week in a motel.
“How do you get this information out to the people?” Trustee Martin asked.
Shukait said Town and Country accepts vouchers, but, “Not everyone wants to live in a trailer.” She said there are costs for repairs, “etc.”, and, “A trailer is not a good place to live. It’s more expensive than an apartment.”
Trustee Martin asked what they are paying in a motel and Shukait said it is $420 a week for two beds and, “We don’t have affordable options.”
“I’m a community advocate for the homeless,” said Clerk Wright. “It’s sad we have homeless. Can we work out funding with motels? We have homeless people who work.”
McNamara said the township hired Shukait in 2019 and she designed the system they are using. She put together a 75-page Resource Guide of places to go for assistance and it was put on the township website.
Lt. Bazzy said if you are just renting and not buying the trailers, you don’t pay for repairs, as Shukait said.
Clerk Wright said four weeks in a motel is $1,600 a month and they can get someone in a home for $800 a month.
Shukait said most places do not accept HUD, which is less payment. Some get funded at hotels, she said. She said you can’t use the ordinance to say you can’t have housing.
“I don’t want more people in the woods,” Shukait said. “I spent hours on the phone just trying to get them shelter.” She said there are so many pieces to the puzzle and if you talk to any social worker dealing with the homeless, they’ll say, “It’s a nightmare.”
Fire Chief Dave McInally said the motel in question is the only motel the township has that is unsprinkled. He said people can’t cook in the room because it’s not designed for that. He said this is not only for the safety of the room residents but for the other 200 residents in the motel.
Shukait said Van Buren Township should use the Housing First Model like Ann Arbor and McNamara said the township can’t do that with its money.
“Then, don’t enforce the ordinance,” Shukait said. “Figure out someplace people can go. It’s a community health issue.”
McNamara said the township uses Wayne Metro for its shelter. He asked if the board was asking for a moratorium on the ordinance.
He said if you use a hot plate in a room you get moved out by a motel.
“Who feeds these people?” asked Treasurer Sharry Budd. “How to they get food?”
Shukait said that a lot of the people work, but everybody gets food.
“Why are they allowing rooms to get so bad it’s condemned?” asked Trustee Martin. “The property owners are responsible for the conditions of the rooms.”
Trustee Miller asked if maids don’t come in.
“When we did the fire safety check, the smoke alarms were torn off the wall,” said Fire Chief McInally. “They wanted money,” he said of the motel owners. “And as long as they got paid they were OK. When they don’t, then they called Bazzy.”
Martin said as a property owner your recourse is to go to court.
“What about people who are clean, work, have no transportation, uses shuttle to get to work and a ride home from coworkers … What do you do with that person?” asked Trustee Boynton.
Lt. Bazzy said you can’t take them to court to get them evicted because it’s a temporary facility, legally defined. “They can kick anyone out any time they want,” he said.
Clerk Wright said they are using the township’s ordinance to get rid of tenants.
Shukait said the hotel is not calling the police, the police go in and ask for a roster.
Lt. Bazzy said yes, that is true, and there have been problems over the years. “When I got tasked with this, I called Lansing and Wayne County and had to leave messages because I couldn’t talk to anyone in person. This is a county, state, federal issue. Who do we have to talk to to get help for this?
Martin suggested getting experts to talk to about this issue.
“I have a problem having permanent residents [in the motels],” McNamara said.
“I won’t say people won’t stay,” Shukait said. “They get sick of programs working against you … there’s a feeling of helplessness … kicking them out on the street can lead to death … displacing them put them in the City of Detroit on the streets.” She said only five or six are getting funded like herself.
McNamara said, “We’re not going to solve this tonight.”
Trustee Boynton said they are going to sit down and discuss this further.
“Can’t tell the police not to enforce our laws, no,” Boynton said, emphasizing this is something that needs to be discussed.
McNamara suggested Shukait come into his office and talk with him about it.
“This community gets money from HUD,” Shukait said and Treasurer Budd said, “Not any more. Now the money goes to Wayne Metro.”
Shukait said the two seniors called the township over and over.
McNamara said the township cannot support them and Shukait said, “Don’t evict them.”
Martin said there were a lot of principles to look at.
Deputy Supervisor Dan Selman checked and said there were no public comments on the internet on the subject.
McNamara said he would sit down with Shukait and hotel owners. “I don’t know a solution right now. I hired you to figure that out two years ago,” he said to her. “I recognized how bad it was five years ago.”
Trustee Miller said to Shukait, “You’re a community hero and we respect and appreciate you and should applaud you.”