Truckee Nimby’s on Parade

Ideas & Opinions — Tom Durkin: Truckee NIMBYs on parade

 By Tom Durkin | Columnist Sierra Roots Media

Feb 13, 2025

Tuesday, at the Board of Supervisors meeting, several people from Truckee spoke up to complain that the county was trying to place homeless people in their neighborhood.

How dare the county attempt to give a home to people without a home or hope!

This was, in my opinion, classic NIMBYism (not in my backyard) – willful ignorance combined with prejudice against homeless people, rationalized excuses and ad hominem attacks against elected officials

What happened

Health and Human Services Agency Director Ryan Gruver reported to the supervisors, “Right now, Truckee has almost no homeless services, no permanent location for shelter, no permanent supportive housing.”

In comparison, he said, “Approximately 221 beds of treatment housing on any given night” are available in western Nevada County.

He also explained that the typical notification period was shortened because the county was applying for highly competitive state and federal Homekey+ funding for up to $7.2 million to purchase and renovate three houses in Grass Valley and one in Truckee.

Behavioral Health Director Phebe Bell refuted a NIMBY claim that there were no homeless services in Truckee, “We do have a full Behavioral Health department operating in Truckee as part of a larger Health and Human Services footprint up there.”

However, she said, “Based on the level of attention and concern from the community … I’ve become increasingly concerned for the well-being our clients.”

A radio talk show host who identified himself as only J.D. called himself “the whistleblower.” He said he doesn’t want Nevada County to “move those who are homeless, on the verge of homelessness, suffering from addiction and mental health conditions into single family residential neighborhoods.”

Mike, a resident with lived experience of homelessness, said instead of a residential placement, the county should create a larger facility in commercial or mixed-use zoning. “It’s not appropriate for the community, it’s not appropriate for the homeless.”

Several other speakers and callers supported J.D.’s unproved and disputed claims of malfeasance on the part of the county.

Supervisors respond

After the public comment on the proposed group home, Supervisor Hardy Bullock, who represents Truckee, told the audience that the county had received about 250 written comments, many of which were in favor of the project.

He went on to make a “public apology” for the lack of early information, but he emphasized, “There’s absolutely no lack of transparency or misrepresentation of the facts.”

Bullock added pointedly: “It’s in a residential area because it’s a residence for people – they’re human beings just like us. They can’t be vilified, they can’t be stereotyped, and we can’t apply bias to people that are different from ourselves. That’s the American Way, that’s the Truckee Way and that’s the Nevada County Way.”

He then stated, “We are not pursuing a project in Truckee at this time. We don’t feel like our clients can be successful … We don’t feel like our community is supportive of this population right now.”

The supervisors closed ranks in support of Bullock’s efforts to bring more homeless services to Truckee.

Newly elected Supervisor Robb Tucker said, “Even though [the project] was rushed, I think the staff is doing a great job, the best they can.”

Supervisor Lisa Swarthout came out strongly in favor of Bullock. She informed the protestors: “These projects are technically by-right,” meaning that any independent living facility or group home with six beds or fewer is a project that can go into a neighborhood without town council approval.

“I know this for a fact because I faced this when I was with the city of Grass Valley. There’s probably 50 or 60 of these types of group-home residential units in my district, and in all the years that I’ve been involved, I’ve had very little issues with them,” she said.

Speaking directly to the protestors, she said, “It’s unfortunate that we use the term ‘these people’ because these people are us. They’re neighbors, they’re our friends, they’re people that we went to high school with, people that we might have used to work with who need some assistance.”

 “These are people who live in your community already. We’re not importing people,” she stated.

Chair Supervisor Heidi Hall agreed with her colleagues, saying, “Hardy has advocated exceptionally and relentlessly for services in eastern county since he started on the board.”

Bullock then moved to proceed with the Homekey+ application for the three Grass Valley houses without the house in Truckee. Swarthout seconded the motion. The supervisors voted 4-0 in favor. Supervisor Sue Hoek was absent.

East V West

So, the NIMBYs won this round by embarrassing themselves with blatant disregard for the welfare of their own citizens. As Swarthout noted, this isn’t the first time the community of Truckee has shot down attempts to assist its homeless population.

Personally, I commend the supervisors for their calm and measured response to the attacks on their character and integrity.

As proponents of legalizing alternative housing in RVs/trailers, we at the Sierra Roots/No Place to Go Project have also suffered attacks from NIMBYs who continue to deliberately misinterpret facts and put their interests ahead of their fellow citizens.

Fortunately, people in western Nevada County outnumber the NIMBYs. Although it took six years, the supervisors directed staff during their annual workshop last month to come back later this year with information on how to implement legal alternative housing in RVs/trailers.

What warmed my heart and eased my mind was the clear direction to staff to find a way to declare a “moratorium” on the forced relocation of people already living in RVs/trailers provided they meet minimum health & safety standards.

What the selfish NIMBYs need to understand is that they are why we have a homeless/housing crisis. They are the problem, not the solution.

Tom Durkin is the creative director of the Sierra Roots/No Place to Go Project, the social justice advocacy arm of Sierra Roots, a Nevada City nonprofit serving homeless people. The Project is funded by grants and private donations, which are tax deductible. Durkin may be contacted at tomdurkin@sierra-roots.org, www.noplacetogoproject.com or 530-559-3199.