Action delayed on homeless shelters

Las Vegas officials took no action Thursday on requested permits for two homeless shelters operating on a piece of downtown real estate.

The Las Vegas Planning Commission had been scheduled to consider the permits for the Little Hotel and the Victory Hotel in the 300 block of South Main Street, just blocks away from the Fremont Street Experience.

New Genesis, a Colorado-based nonprofit group, has been leasing the hotels as transitional housing since May.

Consideration of the permits was postponed to the planning commission's Jan. 24 meeting.

Homeless advocates say the 52 beds in the hotels provide crucial housing while clients get counseling, get sober and get a job. The properties are for sale and the owner intends to demolish the hotels eventually, but considers the shelter's activities preferable to letting the buildings sit empty.

Mayor Pro Tem Gary Reese, however, said downtown already has enough social service providers, and that other cities in the valley need to chip in to help the homeless so that the population isn't concentrated in downtown Las Vegas. The hotels are in Ward 3, which Reese represents.

Mayor Oscar Goodman backed Reese at a news conference on Thursday.

"I feel that we have accepted more than our share of the problem," he said. "It's not just Las Vegas' problem.

"We don't need any more shelters, particularly in those two facilities. They look like they're about to fall down. I don't want to see any homeless people get hurt."