WEST NORRITON — Last week, township officials resumed talks about a suggested state institution overlay district on the Norristown State Hospital grounds, and residents repeated worries about a possible homeless shelter.
No decision has been made on the proposal that, if accepted, would bring about a zoning change for “permitted uses” on the state-owned property where the state hospital forensic unit is currently located. While the most pressing need focuses on rebuilding a 420-bed forensic unit to accommodate more people, local residents have voiced concerns about the potential of a homeless shelter.
“Homeless shelter and related short term transitional residential uses” is mentioned as a potential option for the 67-acre parcel. The site was formerly home to CHOC, the Coordinated Homeless Outreach Center operated by Resources for Human Development as the county’s only homeless shelter for men. It shut down in June 2022 when the lease expired, and it has not been replaced with a new facility.
West Norriton has been considered as a possible location for a shelter or similar housing facility, as well as Lansdale, Lower Merion, and Upper Moreland, in a county homelessness task force report.
Suggestions for a 30-to-35-bed shelter potentially within the West Norriton section of Norristown State Hospital land were proposed, with the aim to assist “those living in encampments,” according to county documents. The report anticipated an “desired open date” of the fourth quarter of 2024, but formal plans for a shelter have not been presented to the township.
Township Manager Jason Bobst has stated that the language in the overlay district proposal does not refer to a specific plan and is intended to ensure the township keeps involvement in any future possibilities.
Public comment intensifies
During a meeting last month, resident Kimberly Haymans-Geisler gave public comment, expressing hesitations about how the proposed ordinance is being presented. She pressed officials about a proposed shelter.
Bobst reiterated during the April 9 meeting that “there’s no submission of an application for a homeless shelter.”
“If I may, nothing has been advertised. All of this, respectfully, is in your head,” interjected West Norriton Township Commissioner Martin Miller to Haymans-Geisler’s comments.
That exchange arose again last week as resident James Riehman criticized Miller for his behavior. Riehman asked if Miller would apologize, to which Miller responded, “this is public comment.”
“You’ve proven yourself to be a bully, and like all bullies, like my mother told me, you’re really a coward in reality,” Riehman said. “I would hope the commissioners show more courage than Commissioner Miller and vote down the ordinance or choose to table it as I’ve outlined in my comments.”
“I’d like to hug that gentleman,” said Haymans-Geisler, as she followed Riehman’s public comment. “I don’t know him, but I was the woman that was bullied last month in the meeting, and as we can all see, this was not all in my head. So thank you sir for recognizing that.”
Mary Ellen Moran, who lives in the area, raised concerns about Norristown's transfer of land, which includes a proposed mixed-use project with commercial, residential, and light industrial elements.
Mary Ellen Moran said, "Norristown somehow managed to do what they wanted. The homeless shelter was originally going to be on the Norristown property, but now it's been moved to West Norriton."
West Norriton Township Commissioner Roseanne Milazzo told the meeting attendees, "There haven't been any discussions with the county. There was a potential date in the fourth quarter, but given the ongoing development at the state hospital building, when can we expect a shelter to be available?"
Bobst mentioned that state or county funding would be essential for the project, and without it, the construction of a forensic unit may not be possible before 2027.
When discussing the homeless shelter, Milazzo was open in her response.
Milazzo said, "The county may have discussed putting a homeless shelter there, but we haven't. We haven't had much communication with them aside from being aware of their discussions. When the time comes, we want to be involved, but we can't jump the gun."
Residents are saying the language is unclear.
Local residents expressed frustration with the vague wording of the proposed ordinance.
Haymans-Geisler commented, "This is very unclear, and it's concerning because the state government has more authority than local powers. There's a large area of land where the old forensic unit will be demolished, and it's ahead of the upcoming units on the property, but we don't know the plans for that vacant lot and the other potential uses."
Bobst stated that the space is intended to be turned into a parking lot for the forensic unit.
Milazzo said, "First of all, we can't predict the uses the state may have, and if we push for that, the state could simply say, 'we'll do what we want. We don't have to follow your laws.' We've been working hard to collaborate with the state and they've given us a lot of input because of that."
She added, "They didn't have to involve us at all in the beginning, so we were surprised when they did. We want to maintain the good relationship we have with them. We can't predict every possible use."
Haymans-Geisler said that more specific language is necessary.
Milazzo explained that there could be situations where something beneficial for the entire community would be turned down. By allowing conditional use, they can consider great ideas as long as they fit the overall design. She emphasized that it's impossible to predict every possible use and write it down on paper.
Haymans-Geisler restated that it's not clear what activities are allowed by this ordinance. The proposed permitted uses on the state-owned land include hospitals, mental health facilities, practitioners' offices, as well as offices for county, state, police, and other nonprofit entities.
Milazzo used the example of the Red Cross operating a facility on the state hospital grounds for emergency purposes. She highlighted the importance of vetting any organizations.
She emphasized that they wouldn't allow just any company to come in, as it's their township as well.
Bobst agreed with the statement.
Bobst stated that this is state-owned land and there are leasing arrangements involved. He mentioned that the state doesn't simply give up land to anyone.
Haymans-Geisler inquired about being informed about future plans through the local planning commission.
Bobst assured that the ordinance guarantees that they will have a say in the matter, which wouldn't be possible without the ordinance.
Bobst mentioned that the ordinance could be advertised for motion in May, followed by a hearing and vote in June.
The next meeting of the West Norriton Township Board of Commissioners is scheduled for 7 p.m. on May 14 at the township building, 1630 W. Marshall St. More information is available at westnorritontwp.org.
