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The Marietta Ohio Planning Commission will be reviewing a request to establish an emergency overnight homeless shelter within the city.

A public hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in Room 10 at the Armory in Marietta for officials to discuss the project and more.

The Washington County Homeless Project is requesting a special exception to set up an overnight shelter at 315 Third St., near the police station and next door to the Ohio Means Jobs building.

“This is the meeting to consider our application for special use,” said Robin Bozian who serves as the treasurer of the Washington County Homeless Project. “They have a special community use provision, and we are asking for that special use.

“It is a matter of hearing what we are proposing to do, and it is up to the planning commission to see if it makes sense. Of course, we think it does.”

The Washington County Homeless Project recently purchased the property to set up an overnight facility.

“Washington County and Marietta do not have an emergency overnight shelter, and that is what we purchased it for,” Bozian said.

Organizers are imagining a capacity of 12-15 people, but that depends on what the city decides, she said. They are planning for it to be open in the evenings from 6 or 7 p.m. at night until 7 a.m. 8 a.m. the next morning. There are also plans to move the project’s daytime operations to this location as well.

The Washington County Homeless Project sees around 40 people a day who are either homeless or at risk of homelessness, with some people living in tents or cars who are facing challenges in finding permanent housing.

“It is very difficult to move them into more permanent situations and help them obtain jobs and get them the health care they need when they are living in that precarious situation,” Bozian said. “The idea is if we can provide an emergency overnight shelter, we can provide them with a little bit of stability and help them move forward in getting what they need and access the resources they need.”

Bozian said they do have support in the area for their efforts.

“We have had a lot of success in helping people move into permanent housing and getting them off the streets,” she said. “This would provide another tool in the toolbox to help people move forward.”

Marietta Mayor Josh Schlicher, who serves on the Planning Commission, said the proposal had been voted down once in the past and the Washington County Homeless Project has reapplied.

This meeting Wednesday will consider this new application, he said.

“I know there were some concerns from the neighbors and adjoining property owners,” he said.

Their concerns involved the clientele and how these people will be processed. The site is within 1,000 feet of a day care facility so that prohibits anyone convicted of sexual offenses from being allowed to stay there.

“It is (a) big concern how it will be administered,” Schlicher said, adding there were concerns about the volume of people they want to serve in a small space.

There have been concerns about people camping on the site and its parking area in back as well as over trash that was left there and had to be cleaned up by the city and paid for by Washington County Homeless Project, the mayor said.

“There are concerns mainly with the clientele and how they will be managed,” Schlicher said. “There are property owners with valid concerns.”

There have been requests to review an operations plan from the Washington County Homeless Project which was sent to the commission.

“They did deliver a plan but it didn’t address some of the core issues that the commission had,” Schlicher said. “They have resubmitted that, so I think some of the concerns might be addressed.

“I’m not sure if everything will be addressed so there will still be some discussion at the meeting.”

Officials will go over what is being proposed and can be allowed to be done there, the concerns neighbors brought up at previous meetings and more. The mayor said some people’s views have not changed.

“It will be interesting to see how it all comes together and is delivered to the commission,” Schlicher said.