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<br />option for overnight housing, although this order could change in response to changes
<br />regarding other social agencies and the overall situation of homelessness in South Bend.
<br />Regarding the four standards for special exceptions, these are listed separately and
<br />they are followed by a statement as to how this petition meets each of these standards.
<br />The first standard is that "the proposed use will not be injurious to the public
<br />health, safety, comfort, community moral standards, convenience or general
<br />welfare." This proposed use will not be injurious to the public for the following reasons.
<br />First, as regards public health, the proposed use will result in homeless people being able
<br />to sleep indoors rather than on the streets, in abandoned buildings, or with others in
<br />possibly overcrowded conditions. Second, also regarding health, this use will give the
<br />homeless people the time, energy, and sleep needed to address personal health issues.
<br />Third, as regards comfort, this proposed use is not injurious, in that it will not involve any
<br />more people sleeping in this space than would be permitted under pertinent regulations.
<br />Fourth, as regards community moral standards, this proposed use is not injurious in that
<br />the moral standards of the people staying overnight at Our Lady of the Road do not differ
<br />substantially from those living in other homes in this or any other neighborhood. Fifth,
<br />as regards convenience, this proposed use is not injurious to the comfort of the public; to
<br />the contrary, if the reality of homeless people living on the streets is taken to be a matter
<br />of public inconvenience, then this proposed use will enhance, albeit in only a small way,
<br />the convenience of the public. As regards the general welfare of the public, this proposed
<br />use will enhance it, especially if we consider (as the Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky
<br />beckoned us to consider) that a society is to be judged on how well it cares for its weakest
<br />members. In these ways, this proposed use is not injurious to the public health, safety,
<br />comfort, community moral standards, convenience or general welfare. So the first
<br />standard for granting a special exception is met.
<br />The second standard is that "the proposed use will not injure or adversely
<br />affect the use of the adjacent area or property values therein." This proposed use
<br />will not injure or adversely affect the use of the adjacent area or the property values
<br />therein, for several reasons. First, the property to the north of this property is a parcel
<br />that was used by Indiana Michigan Power for transformers but is now unused and will be
<br />unused for the foreseeable future. Second, the property to the west, across Main Street, is
<br />.. currently being used by Indiana Michigan Power for transformers and no other purpose.
<br />Third, the property to the south, Rink Publishing, is separated from this property by asix-
<br />foot-high chain-link fence, an alley, another six-foot-high chain-link fence, and a Iarge
<br />parking lot, thus making access to that property difficult. Fourth, most of the property to
<br />the east is owned by tl~e Center of the Homeless; it includes a garden, a parking lot, and
<br />the south side of a building which is used by the CFH for similar purposes. Fifth, the
<br />property to the northeast, a typesetting company, does not do business in the evening and
<br />is located a hundred feet away from this property. Sixth, the presence of staff people on
<br />weather amnesty nights will increase the opportunity to observe, oversee, and regulate the
<br />night activity in this area. Seventh, Our Lady of the Road will install lighting to improve
<br />nighttime visibility in its parking lot, an improvement that will be a benefit throughout
<br />the year. Eighth, the availability of more overnight shelter will draw people indoors to
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