Ogden City Council announces communication plan on proposed homeless housing project
OGDEN — The Ogden City Council is going to take the next month to contemplate the location of a proposed permanent supportive housing project.
The Weber Housing Authority is seeking to turn a property it has owned since 2019 — the former Aspen Assisted Living on Madison Avenue — into housing for up to 25 people facing chronic homelessness. Utah state law stipulates that a county housing authority may not undertake a project within a city’s boundaries unless the governing body of the city adopts a resolution declaring there is a need for the county authority to exercise its powers within that city.
During its Dec. 3, 2024, meeting, the Ogden City Council considered adopting a resolution declaring a need for the Weber Housing Authority to complete its proposed project.
During a special meeting on Jan. 14, the Ogden City Council voted 6-0 to extend the resolution granting the Weber Housing Authority permission to move forward with the project to a later date.
Though no official action was taken on the item, a communication plan was announced for the extended resolution on whether to grant the Weber Housing Authority permission to move forward with a project to turn a former assisted living facility into a shelter for those experiencing homelessness.
However, after concerns were expressed by some council members and members of the public, the board voted 6-0 Tuesday to extend the resolution again.
“The council voted to extend action,” City Council Executive Director Janene Eller-Smith said at Tuesday’s meeting. “I’m not sure there’s an equivalent in Robert’s Rules of Order — it’s something, as council staff, we came up with to allow the council some time to get to action when there’s some sort of unknown elements. If there’s work to be done and we’re not sure how long it’s going to take, that’s why items are sometimes extended.”
She said administrators feel they need about a month to contemplate the request further.
“In talking with the administrative staff, they feel like they probably need about 30 days to do some work, to see if they can identify any other areas where the project could go,” she said. “There’s some grant issues that they need to work through, some financial issues with Weber Housing Authority. They want to involve some other key stakeholders. That is just going to take a little bit of time.”
Eller-Smith said a progress report on the matter will head up the Feb. 18 city council meeting.
“For those interested parties, you can learn at the beginning of the meeting what’s going to happen,” she said. “You won’t have to stay through any of the other items on the agenda. The mayor and/or his administrative staff will give a report on what they’ve been able to accomplish in that 30 days.”
She noted that the Feb. 18 meeting won’t include a final decision on the resolution.
“At that point, we can better decide … whether there’s another date we need to extend to to give them more time or whether or not we can set a date for final consideration,” she said.
For more on the supportive housing project, visit aspenvillage.my.canva.site/.