Year-round operation of homeless warming shelter, tougher camping enforcement moves to full Assembly

City leaders unanimously OK public hearing on proposal; some concerns expressed about impacts of restrictions on people without housing who are not using facility

The city’s cold-weather emergency shelter on Oct. 15, 2025, the first night it opened for its third season at a warehouse in Thane. (City and Borough of Juneau photo)

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

Keeping a cold-weather emergency shelter open year-round, along with stricter enforcement of camping restrictions by people experiencing homelessness, is set for public testimony and possible approval by the Juneau Assembly next month after members unanimously advanced the proposal Monday night.

Year-round operation of the shelter in Thane is being proposed as a remedy to problems that have occurred under a "dispersed camping" policy the city has enacted the past two years. However, officials acknowledged during an Assembly Committee of the Whole meeting Monday there also are unknowns and potential problems that may arise under the changes sought.

"I fully believe there will be a bit of a learning curve for us," Deputy City Manager Robert Barr said when asked by an Assembly member about the shelter co-existing year-round with nearby businesses and other property owners. He said additional security measures such as fencing and cameras are being considered, and "it's entirely possible we’ll be confronted with new surprises."

Another key issue is who will — and won’t — be willing to stay at the shelter during the warmer months of the year. Occupancy at the shelter has been in the mid-40s on average this winter, but may drop if the facility is open this year, Barr said.

"We believe that there will be a significant portion of the population that is using the shelter right now that will choose not to use the shelter and will prefer to camp when the weather permits," he said.

Camping in public spaces is only allowed for up to 48 hours under current city code, Barr said. Enforcement has been relaxed during the past two years under the dispersed camping policy approved by the Assembly.

Barr said city officials, as well as social service agencies that provide assistance to unhoused residents, agree that stricter enforcement of that code should occur if the warming shelter is open year-round. He said the hope is social agency workers can be the first contact in such instances, followed by city staff and police intervention if necessary.

"In this case it would be both the shelter itself, as well as whatever wraparound services may or may not be appropriate depending on someone's personal, specific circumstances at that time of contact," Barr told Assembly members. "And where those partner agency resources are insufficient we would lean in as well with CBJ staff to also make those connections and do the best that we can to get people connected with those resources. And it's possible that we still might run out of enforcement capacity, in which case I would be back chatting with you."

An ongoing dilemma involving Juneau residents without housing escalated in the summer of 2023 due to a surge of reported illegal activity at Mill Campground, a city-sanctioned site on a hillside near the Goldbelt Tram. The Assembly, unable to find a suitable alternative campsite, opted for the dispersed camping policy. But that also resulted in complaints from both campers and nearby property owners about the safety and sanitation of makeshift shift campsites that popped up between April and October.

The warming shelter, now in its third year at a city-owned warehouse with St. Vincent de Paul Juneau contracted as the operator, is scheduled to be open overnight from Oct. 15 to April 15. Assembly members on Monday unanimously advanced an ordinance to the full Assembly that would keep the shelter open until the end of the fiscal year on June 30, at an anticipated cost of $208,487.

The Assembly’s next regular scheduled meeting is April 6 — nine days before the shelter is scheduled to close. If Assembly members approved extending operations until June, city staff would alter the proposed budget for the coming fiscal year to include about $1.1 million for year-round operation of the shelter, according to a memo by Barr submitted to the Assembly.

The Assembly typically approves its budget in early June, allowing time if desired for further consideration of the year-round shelter proposal.

Assembly Member Christine Woll said "I think we need public comment on this, so I’m happy to send it" to the full Assembly for consideration. But concerns such as how stricter camping enforcement will affect campers and the people interacting with them need to be addressed before she’ll support the changes.

"I want to hear from a lot of people on that element of it," she said.

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.