11/01/2025
We are still very opposed to this program and do not want it held at Vineyard Church next year. Neighbors have had to deal with many issues from Safe Bay. Chum is not responsive to any neighbor complaints.
The screening is torn and barely held together. It is an ineffective barrier that wouldn’t be allowed as a “screen” in any other circumstance. It is sagging and transparent and is not six feet tall. The snow fence is torn and laying down in areas and was never repaired. We believe all parties (neighbors and Safe Bay residents) deserve privacy that is up to city standards that tax-paying entities would be held to. This looks like a junkyard.
There are constant problems with toxic car exhaust building up in the area because people are allowed to park along the lot line that is a few feet from backyards, and they run their cars for extended periods of time. Neighbors met with city councilor Randorf and a Chum staff member. They were told there would be an idling area established near the building and away from houses. This has not been established or enforced at all, and when a neighbor asked a Safe Bay employee about it this week while a car was idling on the property line, they said they were not aware of this policy.
Chum had issues with their staff not enforcing rules and letting many users stay past the 8:00 am leave time in the mornings. They refuse to screen for s*x offenders. Chum and Vineyard Church still do not have the required security cameras installed. Our neighbors have had to deal with threatening letters sent through the mail, strangers parking in front of their houses, online harassment, and trash dumped on their property. Because there is no privacy, neighbors avoid using their backyards while Safe Bay is operating, which is around 15 hours a day.
We are still asking Vineyard Church to move people to the front parking lot and away from houses. We urge Chum to find a new location for next year that is not in a residential area, can deal with excessive and constant exhaust fumes, and has proper fencing already in place.
The city is now deciding on new safe parking rules that would allow these sites to occur in any parking lots without any citizen input, permitting, limits, screening, or oversight. Our neighborhood is very opposed to the city trying to get rid of this public permitting process. When you have people on the Planning Commission who openly admit that this project doesn’t meet the city codes but then vote for it anyway, it’s disheartening. Now the city wants to do away with due process all together.
Chum’s Safe Bay parking program wraps up season at Vineyard Church
https://www.northernnewsnow.com/2025/10/31/chums-safe-bay-parking-program-wraps-up-season-vineyard-church/
