People vs. pets debate precedes city's purchase of new animal adoption center

The Richmond City Council on Tuesday approved a proposal to spend $2 million to purchase a building to use as a more visitor-friendly animal adoption center after an emotional debate over whether the city was prioritizing the needs of animals over humans.

Richmond Animal Care & Control had been pushing for the city to purchase a warehouse-style building in the Fan District, and a large crowd of animal lovers wearing RACC paw-print stickers turned out Tuesday to back the agency’s request at the meeting.

But a few council members were taken aback by the idea that the city could find millions in funding on something that they said might be nice to have but shouldn’t take precedence over the unmet needs of struggling people. The vote to approve the building purchase was 7-2, and came near the end of a meeting that lasted past 11 p.m.

Councilor Stephanie Lynch (5th District), a social worker, was particularly emotional as she said she felt like she was “in a different universe” hearing about spending millions to shelter animals when the city hasn’t funded a shelter for children and families who also have no place to go.

“This is not why I came to council. Not for this,” said Lynch, who represents the district the proposed adoption center is in.

The humans vs. animals line of thinking seemed to touch a nerve with several RACC supporters who argued animals improve the lives of people and vice versa.

“They make the lonely less lonely,” said Susan Coombes, one of dozens of speakers who asked the council to support the new adoption center.

RACC Director Christie Peters said her agency helps people who might be struggling with homelessness, eviction or addiction issues by giving them a place to leave their pets to tend to other needs. She told the story of a woman who temporarily gave RACC her dog because she wanted to go to rehab to turn her life around partly so she could take better care of the dog.

“Her love for her dog was a catalyst for immense change in her life,” Peters said.

The 10,561-square foot building at 2310 W. Cary St. that will be used for the adoption center was originally a car dealership, but was more recently used as art studio space.

Peters told council members her agency is “bursting at the seams” at its current location, lacks isolation space for animals and has inadequate meet-and-greet rooms for the public to interact with cats and dogs up for adoption.

Chief Administrative Officer Lincoln Saunders said the city’s goal in proposing the purchase was to have an adoption center in a more visible location “where people are.”

“The goal is to get animals adopted and not have to euthanize otherwise healthy animals,” he said.

The Stoney administration suggested funding the adoption center by redirecting $2 million set aside for improvements to Commerce Road. The money taken from the road project can be covered with additional federal funding, officials said.

Depending on how long it takes to close on the property, Peters said, the new adoption center could be up and running within a year.

Councilor Ellen Robertson (6th District) also questioned how the city could fund a nice new adoption center when people in her district are struggling to get sidewalks, drainage projects and other badly needed capital investment. Robertson said she didn’t want to make the issue a “racial thing,” but pointed out the people she was talking about didn’t look like the mostly white pro-RACC crowd at Tuesday’s meeting. 

She also questioned why people on the North Side should have to travel further to adopt a pet when, under the current setup, pets are adopted at the RACC facility at 1600 Chamberlayne Ave.

“I don’t think that’s balance,” Robertson said. “I think if we’re going to have adoption it should be equally accessible.”

In talking about the need for the new facility, some RACC supporters indicated they wanted to separate some of the functions the agency provides instead of trying to do everything in one small space.

Dr. Alice Ulrichs, a veterinarian at RACC, said the agency might see “felons” or dog fights or people angry at animal control in the same lobby as families looking to adopt a pet.

“This is very chaotic,” she said. “And it requires armed security to keep everyone safe.”

Both Robertson and Lynch expressed frustration that the project appeared to be skipping the regular budgetary process that involves decisions about which capital projects should get funding and which should not.

Council President Kristen Nye (4th District) argued that sometimes opportunities to purchase properties come up unexpectedly and can’t always be planned well in advance.

“That space that they are in right now is tiny, y’all. And they do a lot with it,” Nye said, adding that a more inviting and comforting space could lead to more adoptions because animals wouldn’t be “freaking out.”

During the public comment period of Tuesday’s meeting, housing advocate Bridgette Whitaker dialed into the meeting remotely from Scott’s Addition. She launched into a speech about how all the construction behind her in the up-and-coming neighborhood didn’t seem to be doing much for the homeless and thanked council members for pushing back on the proposed animal adoption center.

Nye asked her to stay on the topic she signed up to speak about, which Whitaker had described as “current status of the human services department.”

“There are no human services!” Whitaker replied.