Dear Lawrence Community:

Business members from Lawrence and Douglas County (particularly Downtown Lawrence) recently submitted a letter to the City and County Commissioners requesting them to take action with regard to the current situation with the unhoused in Lawrence and Douglas County.  The intent of the letter is to encourage action from both the City and County to address this humanitarian and environmental crisis.  With the clear understanding that homelessness is a complex issue, the signers of the letter requested that our local governments work together to establish a coordinated public plan to address the issue.

The signers understand that addressing homelessness is politically complex.  In addition to encouraging action, the intent of the letter was to demonstrate support from the businesses referenced for City and County Commissioners as the Commissions work to address this escalating problem for our community.  The purpose of this petition is to gather support from the community at large.  We welcome the signatures of any individuals or additional businesses.

Please see the letter below.  If you agree with the points made, we welcome your signature as a statement of agreement that the problem is serious, and that you support the suggested actions as first steps that should be taken.

Sincerely,

Concerned Community Members and Business Owners of Lawrence and Douglas County

-------

To Our City and County Elected Officials:

We are experiencing a crisis in and around our local businesses and the downtown business district. The safety of our guests and our employees is a daily issue. In the absence of a clearly articulated plan to humanely shelter the homeless population in advance of the winter months, the signatories on this letter request that our City and County elected officials take the following immediate actions:

1.     Proclaim a Sheltering and Housing Emergency

a.     The “Camp One” encampment along the levee does not have access to running water, electricity, showers, or restrooms, and is therefore not an appropriate or humane location for people experiencing homelessness. 

b.     There are more appropriate locations adjacent to facilities and services. However, those sites require more lengthy public processes in order to be converted to an emergency shelter location. Those processes cannot be completed before winter, causing the City to choose less safe and humane options. Declaring a sheltering and housing emergency will allow the City and County to expedite the selection of appropriate and adequate sites. 

2.     Rescind Ordinance 9754, which provides an exemption from the general prohibition against illegal camping on any public right of way or public property located within the area of the city zoned Commercial District.

a.     Providing a safe and humane alternative, the City should again prohibit camping on any public right of way or public property in commercially zoned districts.

Additionally, we ask for further investment and collaboration from the City and County and other agencies and organizations and stakeholders to:

·       Increase the Lawrence Community Shelter (LCS) occupancy from 50 to 125. Putting resources towards temporary tent encampments that must house many individuals with severe needs while our community shelter is operating at less than 50% of capacity is unacceptable. The City of Boulder faced a similar scenario in recent years. By reducing the number of people in the intensive Housing First program and increasing the number of people in the emergency shelter, Boulder was able to safely increase their shelter occupancy.

o   This will require additional resources and staffing to ensure the safety of both shelter staff and clients.

o   If LCS leadership is unable or unwilling to raise occupancy, the City, County, or other safety net organizations should enter into negotiations to take over operations at the shelter.

·       Invest in additional staff to engage the homeless in our parks, downtown business district, temporary encampments, or wherever they may be. Additional field staff within our local agencies must be designated to stay in the field, interacting with those who may benefit from services.

·       Extend access to the homeless database to all agencies involved in our community's homeless services system. We must track and coordinate services across the system to fully capture and understand the needs of all who are experiencing homelessness. 

·       Send cease and desist letters to communities that transport their homeless to Lawrence. It is becoming more common to find that people are bussed to Lawrence from other communities. This is not fair to the individual or to our community, and those communities that engage in this practice must be identified and held accountable.

Signed:

Joni Alexander, Alchemy, Centaur Vintage, Art House Properties
Lynda Allen, Ernst Properties
Justin Anderson, Partner, The Dentists in Lawrence, Board Member, Great American Bank
Jennifer Ankenbauer, Kansas Crown Wine and Spirits
Jim Baggett, Mass Street Music
Codi & Simon Bates, The Burger Stand, Bon Bon, The Cider Gallery
Subarna Bhattachan, Zen Zero
Susan and Jim Bateman, Yarn Barn of Kansas, Inc.
David Bennett, Jefferson’s
Ted Boyle, President, North Lawrence Improvement Association
Ken Campbell, Winfield House Home Furnishings
Linda Campbell, 841 Massachusetts St.
Blaine Carver-Allmond, Owner, Kizer Cummings Jewelers
Kelly Corcoran, Owner, Love Garden Sounds
Jon Davis, Leroy’s Tavern
Paul Davis, Paul Davis Law Firm, LLC
Cyrus Dayani, Incoming Partner, Love Garden Sounds
Thomas Devlin, Riverfront Properties, LLC
Jenna Dick, J. Lynn Bridal
Don Duncan, Edmonds/Duncan
Jason Edmonds, Edmonds/Duncan
Shirley Ernst, Ernst Properties
Robert Farha, Crimson Properties

Morgan Fellers, Owner and Operator of Eccentricity, Co-Owner and property manager of 716 East LLC
Brady Flannery, Weavers Department Store
Caroline H. French, CPA, LLC
Tim and Cindy Fritzel, Gene Fritzel Construction and the Eldridge Hotel
Diane Gercke, Eagles’ Rest Furniture
Kate and Rafael Gonzalez, Global Café
Patrick Gideon, Silver Lake Bank
Brandon Graham, Basil Leaf Café Downtown
Burke Griggs, Griggs Land & Water, LLC
Jim Grimes, Jimmy’s Salon
Landon Harness, Form & Function
Tom Harper, Realtor
David R. Hawley, Jr., Papa Kenos Pizzeria and Bellflower LLC, 837 Massachusetts St.
Blake Hedges, Hedges Insurance
Marvin Heinbach, Heinbach Larkin, DDS
John Heleniak, HDD of Lawrence, Kaw River Estates and Riverfront Properties
Meg Heriford, Ladybird Diner
Evan Holt, KW Commercial Real Estate
Emily Hill, Bowersock Capital Partners
Sarah Hill-Nelson, The Bowersock Mills & Power Co.
Matt Hyde, 715 Restaurant
Dan Hughes, Sunflower Outdoor & Bike Shop
Mohamed Iskandrani, Alladin Café
Manda Jolly, The Roost
Julie Kingsbury, Jewelry by Julie
Darren Klish, Climb Lawrence and Highlander Café
Becca Koester, Gene Fritzel Construction Co., Inc
Brit Kring, Kring’s Interiors
Tony Krsnich, Kennedy Glass and Flint Hills Holdings Group
Jeffrey Larkin, Heinbach Larkin DDS
Mike Logan, The Granada
Chuck Magerl, Free State Brewing Co.
Chris Marshall, Callahan Agency
Margaret Weisbrod Morris, Lawrence Arts Center

Jennifer McKnight, Arizona Trading Company
Phil Minton, Jock’s Nitch, Inc.
Morgan Minnis, Minnis Building & Design Co., LLC
Allison Vance Moore, Colliers
Katie Moore, Delaney & Loew, 800 Massachusetts St.
Lesley Nellor, DDS, Partner at The Dentists in Lawrence
Dalton Paley, Paley Properties & Handbuilt Productions LLC
Judy Paley, Paley Properties
Alexandra Palmer, Marks Jewelers
Brad Parsons, Co-Owner, Marks Jewelers and 817 Massachusetts St.
Emily & TK Peterson, Merchants Pub & Plate
Rex Porter, Rex’s Stadium Barbershop
Debbie Rascoll, Limestone Pizza Kitchen Bar
Rick Renfro, Johnny’s Tavern North/West and J. Wilson’s
Mike Riling, Riling, Burkhead, and Nitcher
Lisa Roth, Main Street Loft
Stephen Ruttinger, Spectrum Station
John Salvino, Midwest Property Management
Amy Savoie, Wheatfields Bakery
Michelle Saunders, DDS, The Dentists in Lawrence
Bob Schumm, Schumm Properties LLC
Dave Seal, Framewoods Gallery
Jill Shephard, Ruff House Print Shop
Jeff Shmalberg, Scotch Fabric Care Services, Ventana Investments, Berkeley Company
Justin Shiney, River Rat Print & Skate
Jeff Sigler, Sigler Pharmacy
J. Stewart, Terravest Custom Homes
Brandy L. Sutton, Director of Operations, First Management, Inc.
Mark and Kathleen Swanson, Swanson’s 700 Massachusetts St.
Pam Van Roekel, The Eldridge Hotel
Imran Wahla, Holiday Properties
Deborah Werts, Waxman Candles, Inc.
Richard Yeakel, Co-Owner, Marks Jewelers, Inc. and 817 Massachusetts St.