City Council sets school distance limits for emergency shelter locations

City Council today endorsed a motion to expand the site selection criteria for shelter spaces to be at least 250 metres from an elementary school (Public or Catholic).

This means the proposed location for the emergency shelter in former Fire Station #5 on Central Avenue will not proceed.

The City will continue to support the Government of Saskatchewan in its Provincial Approach to Homelessness through identifying sites for two new locations, each having approximately 30 shelter beds.

The process to date: how did we get here?

Late last year, the Government of Saskatchewan requested the City take the lead role in identifying sites for emergency shelters. The criteria the City developed to search for sites were as follows:

• Room for approximately 30 beds each
• Beds in an open shelter-type hall (with movable wall systems or partitions)
• Some private rooms (accessed internally)
• An area suitable for office space for site staff
• Showers, bathrooms, kitchen
• Internal and external gathering spaces (amenity spaces) available on site be considered
• Proximity to other services should be considered
• Zoned appropriately if possible, or applicable for consideration under the City’s Emergency Residential Shelter zoning provisions

Based on the above selection criteria, former Fire Station #5 on Central Avenue had been identified as a site for one of the emergency shelter locations.

What’s changed?

After hearing community concerns, City Council has directed the Administration use the previously approved criteria and added one additional criterion as follows:

• At least 250 metres from an elementary school in the Saskatoon Public School or Greater Saskatoon Catholic School system.

As a result, all neighbourhood information sessions scheduled for Sutherland area residents and businesses will be cancelled and the Administration will seek alternate sites that meet the new criteria.