Gainesville's City Plan Board postponed the decision whether to approve plans for a one-stop center for the homeless in northeast Gainesville on Thursday.
After the public and the board brought up issues about safety and transportation with the center, Michael Castine, the city's consultant for the project, asked for a chance to fix the board's recommendations.
They will meet again Feb. 21 to decide if the plans for the Gainesville Region/Alachua County Empowerment, or GRACE Marketplace, meet the zoning requirements.
GRACE Marketplace would provide food, showers, laundry machines and access to telephones. but it would not allow overnight stays.
Castine said there is no other center in Alachua County that provides all those services in one place.
Several residents from the area where the center is proposed to be, at 3335 N. Main Terrace, voiced their concerns about the safety and location of the center.
Jennifer Muir, who lives near the proposed location, said the center would be better located elsewhere.
"This facility is located in the worst place," Muir said. "It's going to bring scumbags around our neighborhood."
Candy Ganyo, a former homeless person, said homeless people are not to be feared and need this center's services.
"I am educated; I got a four-year college degree," Ganyo said. "I am not a scumbag. Ninety percent of people out there are not scumbags."
