CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – The City of Charlottesville opened its emergency low-barrier shelter at 2000 Holiday Dr. on Sept. 1 and in the more-than-two weeks since, police have not seen any spike in calls for service near that location, Chief of Police Michael Kochis told Cville Right Now.

“We haven’t seen any increase in calls for service on Holiday Dr.,” Kochis said. “I’m just not sure the data supports the idea that just because a shelter is put somewhere that you have some dramatic increase in calls for service. That’s just not the case.”

As of Friday morning, 68 of 70 beds are currently occupied at the shelter, city spokesperson Afton Schneider told Cville Right Now. Kochis said he has been receiving weekly reports on calls for service in the Holiday Dr. area.

The city cleared a large homeless encampment at Free Bridge once the shelter opened. That site had seen a number of issues, including fires and a sexual assault.

“It’s the old saying, ‘If you live in a hopeless place, you do hopeless things,'” Kochis said. “That was the encampment. That environment over at the shelter, it’s a good environment. Now, it’s a shelter. Nobody wants to live at a shelter. But the folks who are running it know what they’re doing. And there are rules. Low barrier doesn’t mean no barrier. There are still rules there.”

The city has contracted with Central Arizona Shelter Services to run the facility in its temporary form. It is still working with community partners, including the Blue Ridge Area Coalition for the Homeless, the Haven, PACEM and Salvation Army, to develop the permanent shelter.

Business owners who operate in the area had expressed concerns about the impact opening the shelter might have on their operations. Holiday Dr. has a number of hotels and restaurants. Area business owners were furnished a number to call to reach CASS with issues, and a specific point person in the city police department.

In July, the Virginia Restaurant Lodging Travel Association sent a letter to city officials, including City Manager Sam Sanders, outlining concerns about the plans for the Holiday Dr. property. Those included questioning whether camping would be allowed on the property, how bus service and parking would work, how police would keep the area safe, and what lighting upgrades would be made. VRLTA President Eric Terry said his letter was sent in consultation with 12 businesses in the area, including four hotels and two restaurants.

Friday, Terry told Cville Right Now he had not heard from the business owners since the facility opened.

At its height, the Free Bridge encampment had over 100 residents, according to city officials. While some of those people moved to Holiday Dr. and others found other housing options, a number have joined a growing encampment behind the English Inn off Emmet St.

Kochis indicated the city would not be allowing that encampment and others like it to continue, eager to avoid another Free Bridge situation.

“There’s a few of them. We’re aware of where they are. We’re going to address them and make sure they leave,” Kochis said. “Because you cannot camp on city property. The City Manager’s been very clear. We’ll ask them to leave, offer them the resources, tell them they can go to the shelter. And if they don’t, then we have other ways to address that.”