Whidbey Homeless Coalition is gathering signatures online in support of a proposed overnight shelter in Central Whidbey.

The group’s petition on Change.org, “Support the new Haven location,” has nearly 300 signatures as of Tuesday morning. The effort comes ahead of a July 18 hearing before the Island County hearing examiner on whether the group should be issued an occupancy permit.

The coalition’s proposal is to convert a former Jehovah’s Witness Church on Morris Road to an overnight shelter for homeless people. Having a permanent location means the organization can also offer showers, laundry facilities and connections to housing support and other county services.

The coalition opened The Haven in 2017 with the help of faith-based and community partners. Since then it’s operated as a “pop-up” shelter hosted by Oak Harbor churches on a rotating basis, but the group has sought a permanent location.

The coalition was awarded a $415,000 shelter grant from the state Department of Commerce to purchase the building and property. The grant was passed through Island County; the board of commissioners approved a contract with the coalition for the grant a year ago.

Coalition officials began applying for permits in 2020.

“Along the way, we’ve encountered opposition from a small but vocal group of community members who offer resistance to the idea, but no solutions to the very real problem of our unsheltered neighbors, including families with children,” the petition states.

The opposition included a petition of more than 300 people who are against the project at that location and a successful appeal of the county’s decision approving the project.

The county hearing examiner vacated the approval of the Type II application earlier this year, finding the county erred in allowing the coalition to proceed with a two-phase sign plan review process. A Type II site plan review would allow the shelter to house 12 people overnight. The group, however, plans to eventually house up to 30 people, which means it would need a Type III permit in the future.

“Substantial evidence in the record demonstrates that, from the outset and consistently throughout the permit review process, the Applicant has intended for the project to provide an emergency night-to-night shelter for up to 30 people, which would require Hearing Examiner approval through the Type III decision process involving an open record public hearing,” the report stated.

The group is now seeking a straight-forward, unphased Type III side plan review.