Norman Businesses Look For More Options After City Unveils Plans For New Homeless Shelter

Norman business owners say they are trying to work with the city as officials talk about plans for a new temporary homeless shelter.

One Norman resident, whose business is next door to the proposed shelter, said he is trying to find middle ground with the city.

“Immediately the feelings we collectively got was, 'how much worse can it get?'” Tarahumara's co-owner Alex Romero said.

Romero said his restaurant has struggled with people sleeping around the premises and going to the bathroom on the outdoor dining patio. 

"We're just trying to relocate this temporary shelter, not cancel it,” said Romero. 

Romero said he doesn't want to attack people experiencing homelessness and has given food, water, and employment to those without a permanent home, but his concern is safety and the reputation his family has worked so hard for. 

“I would hate that people who have loved this place for so long, that their idea [of us] will diminish,," Romero said. "The last thing we want to do is move somewhere else." 

The City of Norman said they are looking to transform a vacant building next door to Tarahumara's into a temporary homeless shelter, and believe it is worth exploring.

 No one wants a day and night homeless shelter in their neighborhood, but we know it needs to exist,” Ward 4 City Councilmember Helen Grant said. 

Grant said ten people who want beds are being turned away from the existing temporary shelter every night.

However, Grant said the proposed location may not pan out.

"For those that are super upset right now, just watch and see," Grant said. "We both see the problem, our solutions are not perfect, but they are evolving.” 

The Planning Commission public meeting to discuss the proposed shelter is being held at 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 10, at Norman City Hall.

The co-owners of Tarahumara's said they plan to present a petition with over 500 signatures asking to relocate the proposed shelter.