Lawrence City Commission Approves Strategic Plan to End Homelessness; county commission to consider – The Lawrence Times

Lawrence City Commissioners on Tuesday approved the joint city-county strategic plan to end homelessness.

The Douglas County Commission will consider approving the plan at a meeting Wednesday.

The plan, “A Place for Everyone,” divides the issues into five priority areas: equity and inclusion; Affordable housing; Supportive Housing; Systems; and emergency shelter. Staff members first presented the draft plan to the county commission in March 2023. The commissions held a joint meeting in January to hear updates on the plan’s progress.

The plan includes an estimate of about $267.77 million for the five-year plan – which breaks down to about $218.3 million for affordable housing; $28.4 million for supportive housing; $21 million for emergency shelter; $45,000 for equity and inclusion and $25,000 for systems. The county’s total approved operating budget for 2024 is $194.74 million, and the city’s total spending for 2024 is $472.33 million.

The vote to adopt the plan does not require the city to fund anything, “but it does say that this is the plan that we should pursue as we develop our plans on an annual basis on a multi-year basis of “Lawrence City,” said manager Craig Owens. “…It gives us an estimate and it tells us that this is something we need to plan for if that is our intention.”

Changes will inevitably be made, Owens said.

This item was on the commission’s agenda, but Commissioner Lisa Larsen requested that it be removed for public comment.

Several community members addressed the commission, some asking that the plan include more specific issues, such as data collection and drug treatment; others expressed concerns about property taxes and the estimated cost of implementing the plan. Others thanked the commission for reviewing the plan and encouraged them to adopt and fund it.

Lawrence city commissioners approved the plan by a 5-0 vote.

Commissioner Brad Finkeldei said he looks forward to moving from the plan to full implementation. Commissioner Amber Sellers said “this is a rising tide that can help lift many boats here in this community.”

Larsen said she thinks that at some point, “we need to have conversations about the limits we can have as a community and the responsibility that comes with that.” There has to be a limit to what we can handle as a community.

The agenda item and plan are below.

Douglas County Commissioners will meet at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 8 at the Douglas County Public Works Building, 3755 E. 25th St., to consider approving the plan.

The meeting will be available via Zoom. Find the link to join via Zoom at this link. View the full meeting agenda at this link.

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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), journalist/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark (at) lawrencekstimes (dot) com. Learn more about his work for The Times here. Check out his team bio here.

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