Planning Commission approves addition of 2 dozen Pallet homes at shelter site; proposal now goes to Lawrence City Commission
photo by: Shawn Valverde
A plan to add two dozen Pallet shelters behind the Lawrence Community Shelter, increasing the number of people the site can house nightly by nearly 50, has received another key approval.
The Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission on Wednesday night unanimously approved a special use permit that would allow the addition of 24 Pallet shelters, the last step before the plan goes to the Lawrence City Commission.
The expansion plan was first filed with the city back in August, as the Journal-World reported. The shelter’s plan is to put the 64-square-foot prefabricated cabins on the site behind its main building at 3655 E. 25th St., increasing its capacity from 125 people to 173. The proposal would add the cabins, an office space and two hygiene units. The site plan also set aside space for six additional cabins in the future.
James Chiselom, the shelter’s executive director, said the addition of the Pallet shelters would allow for an additional 48 people to stay as part of the shelter’s overnight program.
The main shelter only provides congregate living space, which Chiselom said could be overwhelming for residents. He said many people have told him that the large number of people in one space was one of the biggest reasons they didn’t use the shelter. The Pallet shelters, which can house one to two people, could ease that concern.
“We believe this is a way to offer multiple options to house individuals,” Chiselom said.
The proposal still has to be approved by the City Commission. In February, the city opened The Village at 256 North Michigan St., which includes 50 Pallet cabins and is run by the shelter.
The cost of the project is yet to be finalized, but the shelter board asked for about $700,000 in additional funding from the city in June. A portion of that would help create the new Pallet project.