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More homeless housing in Medford? Not so fast Thursday Aug 31, 2017 at 5:04 PM Aug 31, 2017 at 6:27 PM Damian Mann Mail Tribune @reporterdm A proposal that could expand homeless housing in Medford received a cool reception from the City Council Thursday. "I didn't think, in my mind, that we'd have unlimited homeless camps," Councilor Tim Jackle said. The council decided it didn't want to move too quickly on a comprehensive homeless housing ordinance because they foresaw many thorny issues, including neighborhood conflicts. But councilors agreed they had to do something soon about the Kelly Center, a winter warming shelter that experienced temporary shut-downs and drew multiple police calls in its first year. "We experienced the Kelly warming center positives and negatives, and negatives," Councilor Kevin Stine said. The Kelly Center, which kept the homeless warm last winter, is at Church of the Rogue (First United Methodist Church) at 607 W. Main St. "We had some issues working with them on the life, safety and building code side of things," said Matt Brinkley, city planning director. Brinkley told the council that warming centers are a permissible use inside churches. Jackle said he'd like to see more warming centers open in other churches, which have expressed interest in the idea. He said that would help spread the homeless population around the city rather than concentrate it in one area. The council discussed a proposal to develop a comprehensive ordinance that would deal with both warming centers and with homeless villages. The ordinance also would allow setting up emergency camps if a disaster were declared during an earthquake or flood. One of the proposals developed by city staff was to allow temporary auxiliary buildings next to warming shelters. "I'm personally not a big fan of tents and yurts in cooling-warming shelters," Councilor Kim Wallan said. Councilors told city planners they would prefer that the Planning Commission study the idea of the comprehensive plan and bring it back to the council at a later date. Councilor Kay Brooks said she favored more centralized housing opportunities for the homeless rather than the current situation. "We already have homeless camps all over the city," said Brooks, referring to areas along the Bear Creek Greenway. Councilor Mike Zarosinski said he thought the proposed regulations were too broad and would allow too many options for homeless housing without considering the impact on surrounding property owners. "There needs to be some kind of control," he said. One of the proposals would allow four homeless villages in the city. Rogue Retreat, which will soon be opening the tiny-house Hope Village in northwest Medford, has been talking to city officials about the possibility of opening a second village somewhere in the city. But councilors recalled how difficult it was to find a city lot to house Hope Village. Other proposed sites, including one near the downtown, raised objections from neighbors. It was also difficult last winter to keep the Kelly Center open. The city found various code problems in the basement of the church, requiring a fire sprinkler system. The system was installed, but a new waterline has to be installed to make sure the sprinkler has adequate water pressure. Other fire safety issues were resolved. Police also responded to a spike in calls for service, including disorderly conduct, theft, medical assists, suspicious activity, a sex offender and a warrant. — Reach reporter Damian Mann at 541-776-4476 or [email protected]. Follow him on www.twitter.com/reporterdm.