City council members met on Monday night. Josh Hypes | Collegian
The Hillsdale City Council reviewed findings on homelessness and considered next steps to address the problem during its meeting Monday night. The council also amended its zoning ordinances and set a hearing for two new special assessment districts.
Hillsdale’s public safety committee presented its research on the homeless population to the council Monday night, drawing its findings from official estimates made by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The committee said the county is home to about 85 homeless people.
The city defines homeless individuals as anyone whose primary nighttime residence is a place not for sleeping, including cars, parks, abandoned buildings, bus or train stations, airports, and camping sites.
Councilman Greg Stuchell said the public safety committee focused on HUD’s point-in-time count, which counted the number of unsheltered people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January. The highest PIT count was 13 unsheltered people in 2020.
“The reason those numbers are so low is that Hillsdale County’s point-in-time count is during the last Wednesday in January,” Stuchell said. “That’s when they actually go around looking for people sleeping in cars, tents, and abandoned buildings.”
Stuchell said the PIT count does not include people in emergency shelters or the foster care system. While the count might be low, it is only taken once per year.
Stuchell called for the council and its new Homeless Task Force to work with the Community Action Agency, a social service agency in the county, to collect more data.
Several candidates during the 2022 city council election campaigned on addressing homelessness in Hillsdale. After the election, Mayor Adam Stockford formed the Homeless Task Force to study the issue and offer solutions.
The city council also unanimously voted to amend its zoning ordinances, meaning residents will now face zoning violations as municipal infractions punished by fines, rather than a misdemeanor.
Violators will face a ticket of up to $50 after the first violation, $100 after the second, and $200 after each subsequent offense, for instance, a business operating in a residential zone.
John Lovinger, the city’s attorney, said downgrading the offense will allow the city to assess fines for violators and mandate individuals bring the property to compliance through a court order. Lovinger said this lowers the standard of proof from a trial with a jury to a formal hearing in front of a judge.
“If something is a misdemeanor criminal offense, then the ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ standard would apply,” Lovinger said. “If it is a civil infraction, then it is just fines and costs that are assessed, plus the court can enter an order requiring you to bring the property into compliance.”
The council also set a hearing for two new special assessment districts on Uran Street and on Howell Street, Lynwood Boulevard, and Morry Street. The districts would help reconstruct roads, and the hearing will be at the next city council meeting on Feb. 20 at 7 p.m.
