Good Neighbor Plan approved by Chapel Hill Town Council

The Inter-Faith Council for Social Service (IFC) would like to thank the Chapel Hill Town Council for unanimously approving the IFC’s Good Neighbor Plan (GNP) on June 11.

The IFC in cooperation with the GNP advisory committee worked hard to spell out as many concepts and details as we could about our new program and IFC concerns for safety for neighborhoods and our homeless population. All meetings were open to the public and advisory committee representatives were encouraged to share information widely. Andy Sachs of the Dispute Settlement Center facilitated our meetings and discussions. IFC believes that our new transitional housing program will be a safe and better place because of the participation of neighbors and stakeholders, their many suggestions and diligence during the lengthy GNP process.

A number of minor changes were made to the GNP by Town Council members, including some additional reporting requirements.  We are pleased to post the final version of the Good Neighbor Plan here, along with the Town’s Resolution and letter of support.

The Town Council had to approve the Good Neighbor Plan before executing the lease for the site.  At the same June 11th Town Council meeting, a 50-year land lease agreement was approved by a vote of 6-1. The State of North Carolina will lease the land at 1315 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. to the Town of Chapel Hill for $1 per 50 years, and in turn the Town will sublease the site to the IFC for the Community House transitional housing program for homeless men.

Some GNP advisory committee members will continue their role as stewards of good neighborhood relations by serving on the permanent Community Housing Advisory Committee (CHAC). The CHAC will monitor and participate in reporting on the implementation of the Good Neighbor Plan to the IFC Board and the Chapel Hill Town Council on a quarterly basis for the next two years. The Board and staff of the IFC are committed to being good neighbors and maintaining open to ongoing communications with neighbors, the Town and other interested parties. Advancing positive relationships, developing viable support systems and sharing regular reports about our work can bring those in homes and those without homes a little closer together.

The IFC will now turn its attention to launching a capital campaign to fund our new Community House. As always we rely on financial support from our community to offer critical safety-net programs to our neighbors in need.

To the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Community

The Inter-Faith Council is pleased to post online the proposed Community House Good Neighbor Plan approved by the IFC Board of Directors on April 18 in cooperation with the Good Neighbor Plan Advisory Committee. We hope this Plan will guide the IFC, our neighbors, homeless residents and the entire community toward a respect for human rights, open communications and a spirit of cooperation.  We welcome everyone and hope more individuals and groups will join us in this spirit of fellowship and fundamental relations with neighbors, homeless persons and the entire community. A common understanding of these principles will make the new Community House a great success.

The Good Neighbor Plan emphasizes many IFC values and neighborhood suggestions for promoting safety, respect and ongoing communications with anyone interested in Community House’s future.  We believe the Good Neighbor Plan and the Community House transitional housing program will improve program outcomes for homeless persons and ensure better services for residents who wish to reintegrate back into our community.

The Chapel Hill Town Council is currently scheduled to review the Good Neighbor Plan on June 11. The IFC is hopeful the Good Neighbor Plan will be fully accepted and approved so all of us can move closer to a permanent site at our new location.

This Plan would not have been possible without the service of 23 community members who participated on the Community House Good Neighbor Plan Advisory Committee. The IFC wishes to thank everyone for their continued participation, patience, care and numerous suggestions during this long and beneficial process.

The IFC is committed to being good neighbors now and in future years. We trust that the Town Council will look favorably on our Plan on June 11. The extra time we have taken and the work we have completed will hopefully be seen in the best interest of homeless persons, nearby neighborhoods and the entire community.

Welcome!

Welcome to our new Good Neighbor Plan (GNP) Blog that the Inter-Faith Council has created to help the general public learn more about what the recently formed GNP Advisory Committee is discussing and working on.

The IFC believes that the creation of a Good Neighbor Plan (GNP) will foster understanding and mutual respect among neighbors, congregations, businesses and other groups near the proposed building site for Community House. The GNP process will also be helpful for program residents who also want to be part of GNP communications and events, want to break the cycle of homelessness and want to become independent stakeholders in the community.

We trust that all of the concerns of those parties affected by the Community House project will be addressed in our final plan; and we hope the understanding and mutual respect that is established among neighbors will be maintained, enhanced and extended to the general community. A permanent Community House Advisory Committee (CHAC) will be created once the final Good Neighbor Plan is approved by the Chapel Hill Town Council. The CHAC’s role, practices and continued dialogue about resident successes and challenges is important to all of us.

This Blog will show GNP participants, agendas, Town documents, meeting notes and other materials that our important to this process. Final meeting notes must be approved by the GNP Advisory Committee and will not be posted until after that occurs. You may contact Project Manager, Allan Rosen or me about this process at any time. Allan can be reached at 929.6380.ext.27 or project@ifcmailbox.org.

Thank you!

Chris Moran, Executive Director

929.6380. ext.26

executive@ifcmailbox.org