City working to stop the homeless from occupying empty buildings

ASHEBORO — Asheboro city staff have seen a shift from homeless encampments to more people staying in abandoned buildings. They laid out their most recent efforts to address the issue at the city council meeting on Sept. 4.

Mayor Pro Tem Walker Moffitt convened the meeting on behalf of Mayor David Smith, who could not attend due to health issues. They also heard an update on federal funding for the third fire station and scheduled hearings to annex land that could add approximately 100 acres to the city.

New numbers on homelessness

Assistant City Manager Trevor Nuttall said the current count of homeless individuals in Asheboro is approximately 80. But as staff break up more encampments, he said more people are moving close to downtown and seeking out abandoned or dilapidated buildings.

Efforts to resolve the issue revolve around three areas:

■ Enforcement.

■ Property owner education. 

■ Social services.

First, police ramped up their presence where they saw the uptick in activity. They have made nearly 30 arrests for trespassing. Code enforcement is monitoring roughly 20 properties seeing frequent activity.

Second, they’re getting more cooperation with property owners. Nuttall said approximately 100 property and business owners have given the city permission to act on their behalf and remove unauthorized people. He credited this to an education campaign on initiating “no trespass” procedures.

“I really want to give credit to the police department, code enforcement, our public works team,” Nuttall said. “They work as one unit to quickly address issues when we know about them. The public can help us by being more eyes out there in the community, and we can then take action.”

Third, Nuttall said they continue to offer resources for housing, Medicaid, nutritional services and substance abuse treatment. He pointed to changes made to the men’s shelter on 133 West Wainman Avenue.

City Manager Donald Duncan said they’re already seeing improvements at the shelter since working with county commissioners and NC Sen. Dave Craven to renovate it. He said, “Both the police and fire department have had almost no calls there since the new management has taken over, and the facility’s been renovated. It’s a place that you would now feel comfortable being in.”

Moffitt said, “Any progress is highly welcome. It’s challenging to get help to those that don’t want it, or don’t want the conditions that come with it. But any progress is welcome, and that’s a tremendous amount.”

The council last addressed homelessness during the February meeting, when they heard from Community Navigator Angi Polito. She said they counted 120 homeless people countywide during the annual “Point in Time” count with 27 living at the shelter.

Other business

■ Nuttall gave an update on funding for the third fire station. It has been nearly a year since Asheboro submitted the initial paperwork to FEMA to secure federal funding for construction. He said they are optimistic that they will get a final determination of federal compliance by Sept. 29.

■ The city council rezoned a parking lot to allow for new housing. Developer Terry Tucker wants to build six duplexes at 129 East Ward Street. They agreed with the request to rezone the land from commercial to OA6 (CZ) office-apartment conditional zoning.

■ They scheduled two annexation hearings for the Oct. 9 city council meeting:

— 30 acres on U.S. Highway 64 near East Presnell Street, requested by JRE Asheboro, LLC.

— 74 acres between Windsor Trail and Gold Hill Road, requested by Ksquare Goldhill, LLC.

They also set a zoning hearing for the latter property on the same date. Neighbors attending the meeting asked about the next steps. Moffitt said the developer is still in talks with the planning board and working out feasibility details. City Attorney Jeff Sugg explained the city may set the annexation and zoning hearing on the same day as long as they vote on annexation first and give the public time to comment on each action separately.

■ City Engineer Michael Leonard presented a petition by Real Estate Agent Donald Lanier to close the right-of-way at Mark Avenue. Staff will survey the land and collect signatures from all the property owners before making a formal request.

■ The city council approved a safety and maintenance agreement with the North Carolina Department of Transportation. This is to help them with construction and renovation projects at Asheboro Regional Airport.

■ They approved changes to the junked vehicle removal ordinance. This was the second and last vote to formally amend Chapter 90 of the city code. Sugg said it streamlines the process of removing a vehicle without a request from the property owner.

■ The council approved a second year for the PRESERVE Asheboro Grant Program operated by Downtown Asheboro, Inc. Property owners may request money to pay a consultant to help them apply for historic incentive programs. The grant will offer $10,000 with a maximum of $5,000 per applicant.