Is a Nevada city practicing NIMBY against veterans for a reason?
The nonprofit Tunnels to Towers, with one of their priorities, is creating villages to help homeless veterans get back on their feet. They create villages that house veterans, get them training, and provide other services to get them on their feet and be productive members of society again. The city of North Las Vegas had a perfect spot, so the organization bought it, especially since it is near a VA hospital. The city is claiming the village is unable to be used for this because of a zoning issue, even though the property has been vacant for years.
This isn't a homeless shelter in the classic sense, so why get the NIMBY attitude? You have a place that will relieve the homeless situation, train people for jobs that will mean they will start paying taxes, and most veterans become quite productive members of society. This city has so much crime, that when you look at the news for the area, I doubt I would want to live there. The city seems to have new and old companies there needing some skilled employees, so why not take the win?
Here comes the chance for a city to showcase something that brings positive news, but most likely they will want to keep the liberal majority in the city. The nonprofit already has one village, with 8 more soon to be across the nation. It is all too common when politicians want to stop something, they claim zoning issues. Here is something with tons of positives and few negatives, so the only thing I can think about is politics.
The Council
Here, via than Military.com, is what happened.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2024/12/20/north-las-vegas-officials-reject-privately-funded-housing-homeless-veterans.html
A nonprofit organization wanted to privately fund a facility that would house over 100 veterans struggling with housing. North Las Vegas officials said the lot -- which has sat empty for years -- needed to be reserved for commercial space.
Tunnels to Towers, a nonprofit that began in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks and has since offered a wide range of support to veterans, bought around 5 acres of land at 3470 E. Centennial Parkway, which sits just across from the VA Medical Center.
After success in several other cities, the foundation saw Southern Nevada, which it said ranks second in the nation in homeless veterans, with more than 2,400 veterans experiencing homelessness, as the logical next step. The land in North Las Vegas, right across from the VA hospital, seemed like the perfect spot.
"We are coming to this area to address a specific problem, and we will prioritize North Las Vegas and Las Vegas residents first," Tunnel to Towers Vice President Gavin Naples told commissioners during an Oct. 9 Planning Commission meeting.
The organization was seeking no money from the city and planned to fully fund the $20 million project.
But after what had seemed to Naples to be positive communication with the city in months prior, the commission voted to recommend the city reject the proposal in that October meeting.
Commissioners cited the city's master plan, which had designated the land Tunnel to Towers had purchased as commercial, and declined to amend it.
"I love the idea, but we just need to find a better location," Commissioner Esmeralda Villeda said in the meeting.
Several commissioners echoed this sentiment.
Stephanie Allen, the land use and zoning attorney who represented the foundation, told the commissioners that although the land is technically designated as commercial, there had been a "notable lack" of commercial interest. She also added that 14 amendments had been added to North Las Vegas' master plan, including recent changes from commercial to residential lots.
"It's a $20 million investment in this corridor that is not there right now, and is not coming tomorrow. The reality is, nothing has presented itself in the 22 years it's been zoned commercial," Allen said at the meeting.
Allen also argued that to have people to support the commercial space that North Las Vegas desired, people would also need housing to live in.
Tunnels to Towers
Here, from their website, is what the Tunnels to Towers goal and locations are.
https://t2t.org/homeless-veteran-program/#words-from-heroes
Embarking on a path of impactful innovation, Tunnel to Towers is currently spearheading a series of transformative projects aimed at making a tangible difference in the lives of those it serves. These Veterans Villages embody Tunnel to Towers’ steadfast dedication to our mission of ending veteran homelessness, offering a glimpse into the organization’s future-focused initiatives that promise to uplift, empower, and inspire.
Locations are:
Houston is completed
Atlanta, Bradenton, Fla, Memphis, Bayville, NJ, Denver, Buffalo, Detroit, and North Charleston are all in various points of construction.
Harrisburg, PA, Long Island, and North Las Vegas are all in the administrative side of acquiring land and getting approval.
People interested in helping veterans should check the organization out.
All my links: https://linktr.ee/RedneckThinker