Members of the Emergency Extreme Weather Center (EEWC) board met with City of Sturgis staff Thursday to discuss next steps in opening the facility. The goal of the new effort is to provide a center which can be operated overnight to house people during set conditions. The proposed location presents difficulties for use as an overnight housing center due to zoning, building, and fire codes.
The EEWC is located within the bottom level of the St. Joseph Community Co-Op (307 W. Chicago Rd.), which does not have the proper zoning in place to meet necessary building code requirements for a warming center. According to City Attorney T.J. Reed, no provision in the Michigan Building Code grants authority for a municipal entity to waive or exempt compliance. Because of this, the first step needed for the Co-Op would be an analysis of building code compliance.
For the location to be eligible to be used for a warming center, Reed recommended the EEWC board members undergo and obtain a code evaluation by a registered design professional to determine what code sections are required, and what improvements or changes are needed to bring the structure into compliance for such intended use.
Once the location is within applicable code requirements, the next step would be for the EEWC board to request a Special Exemption Use permit from the Sturgis Planning Commission, as well as a change to the property. Reed said this provision would require an amendment to the current zoning for that area to be included as special use.
Once the property is given “special use” status, the city will review the warming center’s application on an annual basis. The city would also place parameters around the use such as dates of allowable operation, times of operation, emergency threshold requirements, number of staff, number of beds and/or cots, and other sleeping areas or arrangements.
Krysti Boughton, director of the Co-Op, was inspired to open the basement level of the building to offer assistance to those without shelter during the extreme cold weather Michigan experienced in December 2022. Joined by members of St. John’s Episcopal Church, representatives from both Community Mental Health (Pivotal) and the United Way, and members of the Sturgis Business Development Team, Boughton made an urgent call for action during the early planning stages of the EEWC which began at the beginning of the year. Over the course of the last six months, Boughton and her EEWC board have attended Sturgis City Commission meetings and met with City staff to further progress on the center before the cold season begins.
The planning commission will hold a meeting open to the public on Tuesday evening at 5:30 p.m. in Wiesloch Raum in City Hall, and at that time discussions will be held regarding a special exemption use permit for the EEWC.
Beca Welty is a staff writer and columnist for Watershed Voice.
