The City of Arvada spent $6.3 million to purchase a former charter school after it closed earlier this year due to declining enrollment.

Now residents are pushing back against one of the potential options for the former Early College Arvada campus — a navigation center for homeless people.

Arvada, like other cities along Colorado’s Front Range, is dealing with a homeless population, though nowhere as big as the problem in Denver, where the crisis keeps growing despite officials spending millions of dollars in the last several years.     

The city’s website states that it is still finalizing the specific purpose for the 44,316-square-foot building at 4905 W. 60th Ave. Notably, the options include housing multiple non-profits under one roof, establishing a navigation center, creating a 24/7 emergency shelter, or other similar initiatives aligned with the City’s Homelessness Action Strategy.

However, residents of the neighboring Arlington Meadows HOA said at a public meeting they feel the city has excluded them from important conversations regarding the potential homeless center. The city hosted a public town hall on the issue in September.

Close to two dozen Arlington Meadows residents joined others at the Oct. 7 City Council meeting to express concerns for the potential “homeless navigation center placed in the heart of a neighborhood.”

While the proposed navigation center was not on the agenda, the growing number of residents signing up for comments in person and online shifted the conversation to the subject. 

Councilmember Sharon Davis, At-Large, expressed uncertainty about the building’s ultimate purpose.

“I’m going to be glaringly honest. I had no idea that this was going to take this direction,” Davis said, acknowledging she was unaware of much of the project’s future long-term history. “When I voted on this, I voted to buy a building. I didn’t know what the building was going to be used for, and so I have to say that I’ve just been struggling with this process. And I did express that frustration to the mayor.”

While most residents who testified said they understand the city has a problem with homeless people, or those who are at risk of becoming homeless, they cast doubts that dropping a navigation center and shelter in the middle of a suburban neighborhood is going to solve the issue.

City officials have said the property is uniquely suited to not only serve as a navigation center but for other options as well, noting its easy access to public transportation and food services.

The site’s existing zoning would also permit individuals to be housed on-site.

Residents cited the potential for increased crime, transient crime, the ability to identify sex offenders, decreases in property value and whether or not the city has the money to sustain such an operation in the long run.

“According to a study by the University of Denver, property values within a mile of a homeless shelter decreased by an average of 12%, and for many of us, our homes represent our life savings and our stability and our children’s future,” said Amy Slosser, a 13-year resident of the Tennyson Parks HOA. “This decline in property value directly affects our ability to provide for our families and maintain financial security for myself.”

Opponents also accused the city of “land banking” when it should be fixing potholes, lights, affordable housing and other essential services before tying up taxpayer dollars in speculative real estate.

The city is stuck with the building for now.

Possible alternatives suggested by residents include a library and daycare for low-income families.

“These are really unprecedented times for the homeless population,” said Dr. Barbara Dray, a 10-year resident of Arvada and educator who has worked with homeless families. “We’ve not seen numbers like this ever. The pandemic crushed us economically, and it is our duty to look for solutions.”

One of the fastest growing groups of homeless individuals is young people under the age of 24, Dray said.

Mayor Pro Tem Randy Moorman said that, in his district alone, he knows of “100 families right now that are going to be evicted from their apartment.”

There are different categories of homeless people, notably those who are “sheltered” and those who are out in the streets. The two populations often have different sets of problems, though the issues can overlap.   

In Arvada, the city estimates that about 300 individuals are “without housing,” according to data on its website.

Councilmembers agreed that more study and public discussion are needed and plans to organize community listening events.

Councilmember Bob Fife said the key to future discussions will be to get everyone at the table.

“The first thing that I would ask is that we define what a navigation center is because I think we are all using it (the term) loosely,” he said.