Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky®

Life Saving. Life Changing.

= Kim M. Webb
Executive Director October 18, 2019
Kevin Dorning
Operations Manager Mayor Joe Meyer
City of Covington
20 West Pike Street
Steven W. Wilde Covington, Kentucky 41011
Board President

Jason V. Reed Mayor Meyer:

Past President

Jamie Weaver This letter provides our feedback regarding the proposed Emergency Shelter ordinance
Board Vice President drafted by the City of Covington (the “City”). As you will recall, you provided a copy of this
draft ordinance to our Executive Director and members of our board at a meeting on October
Tina LeGris 4, 2019. At that meeting, you asked that if we had any feedback regarding the ordinance, we
Board Secretary provide such feedback within two weeks.
Stephanie Allgeyer Vest
Board Treasurer As you are aware, we are a 95% privately funded nonprofit low-barrier shelter for homeless
men and women that has operated in the City for over 10 years. Our mission is to provide
shelter which is life-saving in the winter and life-changing in the summer. We believe
Board Members
homelessness is an emergency and that shelter is a basic necessity for human beings. We
Brent Degenhardt
Kassie Hatton
believe that only when this basic necessity is provided, do human beings have the ability to
Sarah M. Houseman recover from homelessness.
Kelly N. Kremer
Evan Metyk We do not think that an ordinance dictating the day-to-day operations of any nonprofit
Andrew Schierberg
organization serving some of the most vulnerable people among the population of the City is
Corey Sidebottom
Emily Toebbe
appropriate or necessary to ensure the safety of the homeless men and women we serve.
Tricia Watts Our opinion is that any concerns the City has regarding our operations or the operations of
any other emergency shelter would be best addressed through open dialogue and
collaboration between the City and sheltering agencies regarding how to best serve the needs
Emeritus Members of the community as a whole. We want to be the best neighbors we can be and think that is
John S. Carey achieved through cooperation not regulation. To be clear; over and above the comments that
Lisa A. Raterman follow, we are opposed to any ordinance that targets agencies sheltering homeless people,
Gregory J. Schneider
particularly any ordinance (such as this draft ordinance) that applies to emergency homeless
shelters standards that are not applied to other businesses or nonprofits within the City.
Mission
To provide shelter which is As the ordinance you provided us is in draft form and is missing definitions as well as appeals
life saving in the winter and procedures to ensure due process, we note at the outset of this letter that our comments are
life changing in the summer based on the draft as it was provided to us. A copy of the version provided to us is attached
to this letter for clarity since we have learned that numerous versions of this ordinance have
circulated within the community since at least May of this year. Our detailed comments on
the proposed ordinance follows:

PO Box 332 Covington, KY 41012 Phone: 859.291.4555 www.emergencyshelternky.org email: info@esnky.net

I. LOCATION RESTRICTIONS:
The 1000 foot location restriction coupled with the list of other prohibited entities within that 1000 foot
range would effectively prohibit the operation of an emergency shelter within most, if not all of the
northern section of the City. We have attached a map we created that, to the best of our ability to do so
based on the draft ordinance, reflects what a map of restricted locations in Covington looks like when this
standard is applied. We think there is is a significant disconnect within the City to enact a Human Rights
ordinance “to protect all individuals within the City from discrimination in certain contexts because of
disability, age, sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, familial
status, marital and/or parental status and place of birth” while implementing ordinances that discriminate
against agencies serving another group of people within our community. Effectively eliminating homeless
shelters in Covington would leave hundreds of people without a safe place to sleep, particularly during the
cold winter months. This would very likely cause several deaths from exposure over the course of each
winter.
II. FACILITY REQUIREMENTS:
Sections (A), (B), (C): The requirements listed in these sections of the proposed ordinance (such as
compliance with fire code and ADA requirements) are simply restatements of other laws or ordinances
which are already imposed on our operations, and those of other businesses and nonprofits, through
existing laws or ordinances (a point you conceded at the meeting on October 16, 2019 at the Kenton County
Fiscal Court building). We oppose any ordinance including requirements to comply with other existing laws
since compliance with those laws is already required and restating those requirements within this ordinance
serves no purpose other than to provide the City a secondary means by which to enforce existing laws,
through significant fines up to refusing to grant an emergency shelter a permit to operate (again a point
you conceded at the October 16, 2019 meeting). Additional fines or refusing to grant a permit would reduce
or eliminate the life-saving sheltering we are able to provide.
Section (D): While we agree that 24/7 access to clean toilet and shower facilities is in the best interest of
homeless people in our region, a requirement by ordinance that emergency shelters provide 24 hour a day,
7 day a week access to toilets and showers is an unfunded mandate substituting the judgment of the City
for that of our Board of Directors in setting the operational priorities of our organization and in determining
where our limited financial resources are most impactfully spent. The setting of the operational priorities
of a nonprofit or other business should be at the discretion of the individual agency, not the City. While we
would like to be able to provide this to the people we serve, our number one priority is to ensure no person
dies from exposure because they were unable to find safe shelter. This same requirement doesn’t appear
to be legislatively mandated for any other business a homeless person might visit. Homeless people
frequently visit the public library, they sometimes buy meals or drinks at local shops or restaurants and yet
those businesses are not required to provide the same level of access to restrooms.
Section (E): The requirement that emergency shelters provide adequate space within their premises for
clients or prospective clients is too vague for any agreement from our agency. Would this require space
within a building or just within the property lines? In addition, the prohibition against using the public
sidewalk for people waiting to access an emergency shelter applies a standard to agencies serving the
homeless that is not applied to other businesses within the City. Businesses in the entertainment and dining
sectors have “clients or prospective clients” frequently lined up on public sidewalks, though we presume
those clients are generally not homeless. Guided by our mission, we seek to shelter the homeless. This
requirement appears less about safety and more about hiding the visibility of the homeless men and women
2

Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky

“Life saving. Life changing.”

PO Box 332 Covington, KY 41012 Phone: 859.291.4555 www.emergencyshelternky.org email: info@esnky.net

 seeking shelter. Lastly, while the City goes to great lengths to identify as an inclusive community through
the adoption of a Human Rights ordinance protecting many classes of people and the ‘Y’all Means All’
tagline, this ordinance appears to discriminate against agencies serving one class of people. It bears
mentioning that, while homelessness is not named in the Human Rights ordinance, many homeless are
disabled and many are of advanced age as well.
Section (G): We are opposed to any parking requirements tied to the number of beds or rooms within a
shelter. Although, contrary to common belief, there are homeless men and women in our area who do own
or have access to automobiles, this requirement of the ordinance far exceeds the number of on-site parking
spaces necessary to provide sufficient parking for guests, staff, and volunteers of the Emergency Shelter of
Northern Kentucky. Excessive parking requirements will cost our organization additional money and will
take up space that could otherwise be used more productively.
Section (H): We think any requirements for features of the physical structure of a building should be handled
through building or zoning code so as to be universally applied across the City.
Section (I): We are opposed to a list of what services we may provide or amenities we may have within the
building. Such a list could be construed as being an exhaustive list of what we are allowed to offer the
people we serve which would be an unnecessary usurpation of the discretion of our Board of Directors by
the City. Additionally, regarding laundry facilities in particular, the wording of this ordinance could be
interpreted as limiting our laundry program to only clients sheltering with us which would result in a
reduction in the services we provide to homeless men and women. Our laundry program is a program
designed with the health and individual dignity of homeless men and women in mind. The City has stated
this ordinance is designed to promote health and, as you are quoted in a recent article, “basic human
dignity.” This provision, along with many others is inconsistent with those goals.
Section (J): We oppose this section of the draft ordinance as it again requires compliance with existing law,
thereby providing the City a secondary punitive mechanism for enforcement of existing laws which already
provide for other means of enforcement. Additionally, mandating inspections for compliance “at any time”
is, in our opinion, a violation of our agency’s 4th Amendment rights.
III. OPERATING REQUIREMENTS
Section (A): While we are committed to being a transparent nonprofit organization, we oppose any financial
requirements which single out emergency shelters for disparate treatment from other nonprofits or
businesses operating in the City regarding the financial viability of our operations. As we intend to operate
so long as there is a need for our mission, proving financial viability for “the life of the project” is an
unreasonable ask.
Section (B): We agree that facility staff should be trained in operating procedures, safety plans, and assisting
clients and we currently train our staff in these areas. We also do not intend to employ staff who have been
convicted of a felony related to physical abuse or who are required to register as a sex offender. That being
said, these are items best addressed by internal operating procedures rather than by a City ordinance aimed
specifically at organizations serving homeless people. Additionally, linking the number of staff with the
number of beds does not appear to have any direct correlation to the stated goals of the City as the number
of beds does not always correlate to the number of guests in the building. This requirement again
substitutes the judgment of the City for the judgment of the Board of Directors and Executive Director of
our organization. Requiring more staff than is necessary will cost our agency more money, thereby reducing
the life-saving and life-changing impact we aim to achieve.

Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky

“Life saving. Life changing.”

PO Box 332 Covington, KY 41012 Phone: 859.291.4555 www.emergencyshelternky.org email: info@esnky.net

 Section (C): Without any definition of what “excessive use of the City’s public safety agencies” means, this
provision of the ordinance is too vague and overly broad to provide any meaningful direction for our
operations nor does it provide any guidelines for enforcement for the City.
Section (D): This paragraph of the ordinance again substitutes the judgment of the City for that of our
Executive Director and our Board of Directors as to the best repository for data related to the people we
serve as well as the best allocation of the time of our staff in collecting and entering that data.
Section (E): Maintaining a list of names of people sheltering with us is our customary practice and doesn’t
need to be directed by a City ordinance. Limiting the term of sheltering to an arbitrary number of 120 days
in a 365 day period unnecessarily and without justification strips our staff of the ability to analyze the needs
of the people we serve particularly involving programming designed to support homeless persons working
to move from homelessness to being housed. Setting a hard number for the maximum length of stay by
ordinance gives no consideration to ensuring the successful transition of individuals from homeless to
housed and, in fact, in some instances could perpetuate keeping individuals homeless. This provision is
inconsistent with the City’s desire to see programming that works to lift individuals out of homelessness.
Section (G): Providing service first to homeless men and women with “connections to the City of Covington”
is, without definition, an overly vague direction. We are not aware of any other nonprofits or businesses
within the City required to give preference to those with “connections to the City of Covington,” and would
argue that the same standard applied to a bank or restaurant would be widely viewed as ridiculous. It
arbitrarily values an individual’s “connections” over his or her risk factors for needing shelter such as illness
or age. In addition, this requirement appears to directly run afoul of the first paragraph of the City’s Human
Rights Ordinance which states, “The City desires to implement a policy to protect all individuals within the
City from discrimination in certain contexts because of disability, age, sex, race, color, religion, ancestry,
national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, familial status, marital and/or parental status and place
of birth.”
Section (I): While our staff has regularly collected trash from around our current building, requiring the
cleanup of trash within “the vicinity” of our location is not specific enough as to define what area of the City
we would be required to keep clean. As a nonprofit organization with no legal authority over the individuals
who use our services, we cannot be held responsible for the behavior of those individuals once they leave
our property. As with many other parts of this ordinance, this paragraph seeks to place an overly vague
responsibility on agencies providing services to homeless people that is not placed on other nonprofits and
businesses serving other populations.
Section (J): While “good communication” is vague, any requirement of “good communication” should be
reciprocal with the City having an equal responsibility for good communication with emergency shelters.
Section (M): We oppose any requirement in an ordinance that requires blanket adherence to yet
undetermined rules, regulations, or directives. As we stated earlier in this letter, we are open to a dialogue
with the City regarding how our services can be better-tailored to meet the needs of the community as a
whole, but requiring us to wholesale agree to whatever the City may think is best in the future unreasonably
takes away operating discretion from our organization.
IV. HOURS OF OPERATION
Generally, see our response in Facility Requirements Section (D) above.

Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky

“Life saving. Life changing.”

PO Box 332 Covington, KY 41012 Phone: 859.291.4555 www.emergencyshelternky.org email: info@esnky.net

V. PERMIT APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS AND PROCEDURE:

Section (A): We do not think it is in the best interest of the individuals we serve or our donors to require a
permit process specifically for agencies serving homeless people beyond what other nonprofits or
businesses are required. This ordinance also doesn’t provide information regarding if this is a one-time
permit, annual permit, or other time limited permit nor does it provide due process guarantees for
appealing the denial of a permit.
Section (C): We are again opposed to requiring information or documentation by agencies serving homeless
people that is not required of other nonprofits or businesses operating within the City. For instance, we are
not aware of any requirement that a restaurant submit an annual budget to the City in order to receive a
permit to operate.
Section (D): Regarding this paragraph, our general opposition is described in the previous paragraphs of this
letter.
VI. UNTITLED (Punitive Provisions)
Section VI is another example of a provision of this proposed ordinance that provides the City with a
secondary method of enforcing other laws including the imposition of significant fines. In the October 16,
2019 meeting at the Kenton County Fiscal Court offices, you said that you expected we would object to
many parts of this proposed ordinance on the basis of the additional costs we would incur to implement its
requirements. You further went on to indicate that those increased costs to nonprofits serving the homeless
were an intentional goal of the ordinance. In your opinion, the City cannot recoup from other communities
in our region the “direct and indirect costs” allegedly incurred by the City as a result of our operations. You
theorized that, through our fundraising efforts as a nonprofit serving homeless men and women, we would
be able to collect financial contributions from communities outside of Covington, thus somehow indirectly
reducing the alleged financial burden on the City. The City does not incur direct costs associated with the
operation of the Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky as we receive no funding from the City.
The governments of both the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the United States have enacted
comprehensive schemes of legislation regarding the taxation of nonprofit organizations. Your proposal to
increase the operating costs of and impose fines upon nonprofit agencies serving the homeless appears to
be designed to circumvent tax law. If our ability to raise additional funds to absorb the cost of any fines the
City imposes falls short, it will in fact be the homeless men and women who bear the additional burden of
this ordinance rather than other communities. In addition, the ordinance does not provide any guidance as
to what would be considered “safety related.” Finally, as our mission is to save lives, any prospect of a
directive to cease operations over an alleged violation as opposed to an opportunity to correct any
deficiency is not in the best interest of the people we serve.
Excessive use of City services is lacking a definition (as noted in the draft). In addition, this paragraph would
appear to put financial responsibility for use of City EMS services on agencies providing sheltering to
homeless people in a way that is not done for any other business within the City. Also, regarding EMS calls
for service, this paragraph presumes that somehow being in an emergency shelter leads to increased
medical calls as if those medical needs would not otherwise arise with a homeless person who was without
shelter but on the street in Covington. The emergency shelter employed a nurse practitioner to address
some of the health needs of the people we serve. Our goal was to ensure the homeless have access to
healthcare, and that we could identify and address issues that might otherwise worsen into conditions
needing hospitalization. We did this also knowing that it would somewhat reduce the usage of City EMS
services by homeless men and women.
5

Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky

“Life saving. Life changing.”

PO Box 332 Covington, KY 41012 Phone: 859.291.4555 www.emergencyshelternky.org email: info@esnky.net

 “Violations of other standards” is an overly broad, vague and seemingly unenforceable standard.
Additionally, there is no indication of how fines would be set or who would set those fines.

VII. APPEAL PROCESS:

The draft of the ordinance is lacking any description of due process considerations regarding appeals for
alleged violations of the numerous requirements or denial of a permit under the proposed ordinance.

Sincerely, the Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky:

Kim Webb, Executive Director Steven W. Wilde, Board President

Jason V. Reed, Past President Jamie Weaver, Board Vice President

Tina LeGris, Board Secretary Stephanie Allgeyer Vest, Board Treasurer

cc: Commissioner Michelle Williams

Commissioner Tim Downing
Commissioner Shannon Smith
Commissioner Denny Bowman
Judge Executive Kris Knochelmann

Emergency Shelter of Northern Kentucky

“Life saving. Life changing.”

PO Box 332 Covington, KY 41012 Phone: 859.291.4555 www.emergencyshelternky.org email: info@esnky.net