A modest ‘brary-lot proposal
2008/09 winter shelter
Scott Lewis over at voiceofsandiego.org has been writing about the potential pairings that could speed along the completion of a new downtown library. He’s poked lots of holes in a school/library pairing, then resurrected a discussion about combining a new library and a new City Hall. (Scott, until you tell me otherwise, I’m taking credit for coming up with City-Hall-A-Brary).
But what to do with the plot of land until something’s worked out? It’s city-owned land, located, I believe, at 12th and J streets (don’t quote me on that—I need to double-check). It’s an unpaved, and rather unsightly, plot of land that’s going to waste. In March of last year, the city considered it as a site for the annual winter homeless shelter, though it would require grading and paving, plus a health-risk assessment by the county. The city ended up putting this year’s shelter on land owned by developer Dene Oliver, located at 15th and J streets. Like with last year’s shelter site in Petco’s Tailgate Park, this is a one-time deal (in other words, it’ll be shelter-skelter all over again next year).
So, why not make good use of the library site until someone comes up with the at-least $45 million needed to see the library project through? If you listened to Monday’s “These Days,” you’ll know that downtown’s homeless population has skyrocketed (heck—just take a drive through East Village day or night—it’s appalling how many people are living on the street). What about paving the library site, fencing it off, and making it a safe haven for people to sleep at night? It’ll cost a little extra money, but there will be public-safety savings because, while the majority of homeless folks simply want to be left alone, there are a few bad apples who prey on the others.
