Austin City Council members Thursday unanimously approved an $8.6 million purchase of property in South Austin for a new homeless shelter.

The shelter will be built inside an existing building just off Ben White Boulevard at Bannister Lane, between Manchaca Road and South First Street.

The multimillion-dollar approval marks the latest of the city's efforts to combat homelessness, including a goal of Mayor Steve Adler's to build shelters in all 10 of Austin's City Council Districts.

Council Member Greg Casar told the American-Statesman the new shelter will focus on getting people into permanent housing after short-term stays, and it will have fewer restrictions on people who stay in the facility, like marriage requirements for couples to stay together or bans on pets.

“We need to stop sending people just to shelters, but rather through shelters,” Casar said.

The proposed shelter’s proximity to residential neighborhoods drew backlash both at Thursday's council meeting and online.



Melissa Nezamzadeh was among several who expressed concern that the shelter would attract more homeless people to her neighborhood, saying she feared the shelter would contribute to a rise in petty crimes and drug use in the area.



“You have already failed to keep the public safe near the ARCH building,” Nezamzadeh said. “I have zero faith in your ability to keep this neighborhood safe.”

Council Member Ann Kitchen, who represents the district in which the new shelter will stand, said the facility would not be a "drop-in" shelter, and that all people there would be referred by other agencies to ensure it does not become similar to the ARCH with crowds outside.

"I understand that you don't trust the city because you haven't seen any change," Kitchen said, referencing earlier testimony critical of the shelter.

The council also was scheduled to consider narrowing the city’s existing camping and “no sit/no lie” ordinances to only apply to people sleeping or camping in dangerous areas, or when they are obstructing public property. Council members had not taken the issue up by press time.

Casar said those changes are needed so the city can focus more on helping homeless people get back on their feet and less on putting them in jail for sleeping in front of a restaurant.

“These ordinances very clearly are targeted to put homeless individuals and poor individuals into the justice system,” Casar said. “Ultimately, the laws on the books we have right now tried (to make it so we) no longer see homeless people.”

Council members also were set to consider resolutions to have the city manager develop a plan by the end of August with short-term recommendations to mitigate homelessness in the city, and to modify rules related to panhandling. Neither of those issues were discussed before press time.

Adler told the American-Statesman on Wednesday that it is essential to address the city’s homeless problem before it reaches the same level of severity as cities like Seattle or Los Angeles, which have some of the largest homeless populations in the nation. Seattle has 200,000 fewer people than Austin, but nearly six times as many homeless people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Seattle Times.