AGENDA REPORT
Meeting Date: September 17, 2024
Item Number:
To: Honorable Mayor and City Council
From: Cynthia Owens, Municipal Affairs Program Manager
Subject: RATIFICATION OF A LETTER SENT BY CITY MANAGER NANCY
HUNT-COFFEY REGARDING THE REDEVELOPMENT OF THE
WEST LOS ANGELES ARMORY
Attachment: 1. Letter
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council ratify the action taken by City Manager Nancy HuntCoffey to send a letter (Attachment 1) to Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath at the direction of Mayor Lester J. Friedman requesting full funding for the redevelopment of the West Los Angeles Armory site (Armory).
INTRODUCTION
Through the Westside Cities Council of Governments (WSCCOG), the City of Santa Monica is asking cities to send letters to Los Angeles County Supervisor Horvath to encourage more funding for the Armory to support the redevelopment efforts, which will assist those who are unhoused with crisis stabilization and substance use disorder services at the Armory.
This item requests the City Council to ratify the letter sent by City Manager Nancy HuntCoffey at the direction of the Mayor, which requests full funding for the redevelopment of the Armory.
DISCUSSION
West Los Angeles Armory & Project Background
The West Los Angeles Armory is a 3.85-acre site owned by the Federal government and operated by the U.S. National Guard. It is located at 1300 Federal Avenue in Los Meeting Date: September 17, 2024
Angeles, adjacent to the West Los Angeles Veterans Administration Medical Center campus, approximately 4.5 miles west of Beverly Hills City Hall.
The project includes the construction and operation of a three-story, approximately 167- bed, 64,800 square foot shelter in the southwest corner of the site. A 160-bed winter shelter operated in the Armory building for more than 10 years (ending operations in April 2020) would be discontinued upon completion of the new shelter. This proposal has been conditionally approved by the Federal government pending confirmation of funding by the County of Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS) originally negotiated with the National Guard to provide a variety of services to people experiencing homelessness at the Armory. Services were to be provided by the Department of Mental Health (DMH), Department of Public Health Substance Abuse Prevention and Control (SAPC), and The People Concern (TPC). Due to funding challenges, DMH and SAPC are no longer involved in the project, and the services have been pared down to include those offered in the Safe Landing “light” model described below.
Current Status and Planned Services
DHS is leading the redevelopment of the Armory to be a lighter version of a traditional Safe Landing model. A typical Safe Landing site serves people experiencing homelessness and has supportive interim housing as well as triage beds and 24/7 clinical services. These services include medical care, mental health care, and sobering services. Clients can eat, sleep, and engage in daily activities. They also receive assistance applying for benefits and securing interim and permanent housing.
At the Armory, the currently proposed Safe Landing “Light “model will include supportive interim housing, some medical care, and 24/7 triage beds, while omitting much-needed sobering services and mental health crisis stabilization that are typically present in a Safe Landing model.
Gaps in Westside Behavioral Health Services & Recommendations for the Armory While Safe Landing Light will be a welcomed addition to the Westside of Los Angeles, there will still be significant gaps in behavioral health care. The City of Santa Monica is interested in working with the WSCCOG member cities (Beverly Hills is a member city) to explore if there might be an opportunity for DHS to site additional services at the Amory to help further close the gaps for services provided to the unhoused.
At the August 8, 2024, WSCCOG meeting, the City of Santa Monica requested the WSCCOG consider sending a letter to the DHS to request DHS continue to explore strategies for siting crisis stabilization and substance use disorder services at the Armory as those services are not being offered in the Safe Landing “Light” model.
Having clinical behavioral health beds for crisis stabilization and substance use disorder treatments on the Westside of Los Angeles would provide a needed and missing element in the continuum of care for Beverly Hills and our neighboring cities.
In 2022, the City of Beverly Hills began enhancing resources for unhoused individuals in the community and now boasts a robust outreach and supportive-housing program with an annual investment by the City of Beverly Hills of over $2 million. While outreach and housing are crucial, sometimes none of those goals can be accomplished if mental health care and substance use disorders are not simultaneously addressed.
Meeting Date: September 17, 2024
As the expansion of services at the Armory would be beneficial to the City’s unhoused population, and to support our neighboring cities as well as the direction given by the WSCCOG Board, the Mayor directed the City Manager to send a letter to Los Angeles County Supervisor Horvath encouraging Los Angeles County to continue exploring paths to make inclusion of behavioral health and crisis stabilization beds at the Armory a reality.
This expansion will provide additional tools and resources which can significantly benefit Beverly Hills and complement the City’s unhoused outreach program to ensure individuals experiencing homelessness on the Westside of Los Angeles can receive the comprehensive care they need in a Westside location.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no anticipated fiscal impact for this item.
Greg Barton,
Fire Chief
Keith Sterling,
Deputy City Manager
Concurred By Approved By
Attachment 1
Nancy Hunt-Coffey VERLY
September 10, 2024County of Los AngelesKenneth Hahn Hall of Administration500 W Temple Street Los Angeles, CA 90012
RE: Inclusion of Behavioral Health and Crisis Stabilization Beds at the West LA Armory Dear Chair Horvath,
On behalf of the City of Beverly Hills, I write to you to respectfully urge Los Angeles County to reimagine services planned for the redevelopment of the West LA Armory (Armory) by expanding programming at the site to include substance use treatment and crisis stabilization beds. As a city committed to partnering with Los Angeles County on addressing the complex needs of our homeless population, we believe incorporating these essential services into the planned development at the Armory site is crucial for our community. Given the limited land available on the Westside to house these services, it would be a missed opportunity to aid the homeless population on the west side of Los Angeles.
The Department of Health Services (DHS) is currently leading the plan to develop a “Safe Landing Light” model site at the Armory. Typically, Safe Landing sites offer triage beds and 24/7 clinical services, including medical care, mental health care, and sobering/substance use disorder (SUD) services. The “light” model at the Armory will include interim beds, some medical rooms, and 24/7 triage beds, with The People Concern (TPC) as the on-site services provider.
Having clinical behavioral health beds for crisis stabilization and substance use disorder treatments on the Westside of Los Angeles would provide a needed and missing element in the continuum of care for Beverly Hills and our neighbors in the Westside Cities Council of Governments (WSCCOG). In 2022, the City of Beverly Hills began enhancing resources for unhoused individuals in the community and now boasts a robust outreach and supportivehousing program with an annual investment by the City of Beverly Hills of over $2 million.
City ofBeverly Hills 455 N. Rexford Drive Beverly Hills, California 90210 t(310)285-1014f(310)275-8159 BeverlyHills.org While outreach and housing are crucial, sometimes none of those goals can be accomplished if mental health care and substance use disorders are not simultaneously addressed.Safe Landing will be a welcome addition to the Armory, yet there will still be significant gaps in behavioral health care. The Westside is in desperate need ofsobering services, detox services, and residential treatment. Considering this, we respectfully request DHS provide these services at the Armory.While some crisis stabilization and SUD services exist on the Westside, they are limited and often at capacity. They are also geographically distant and require transportation between sites, whichcreates an extra barrier for access and can lead to clients falling out of the system of care, particularly for people experiencing homelessness. Co-locating crisis stabilization services andSUD with other planned services will help clients step down from higher levels of care andremain engaged in the system. Given the Armory site is still in the planning phase, there is anopportunity to expand and build added floors to accommodate these additional services.
We acknowledge that funding challenges have led to the scaling down of the originally planned services for the Armory. While funding has always been, and will continue to be a challenge, itshould not be a reason to limit access to essential services, especially at such a critical time when the region’s needs far exceed the availability of services. The WSCCOG is committed to helpidentify sources of funding to sustain these services, but we should not allow this infrastructure opportunity to pass by simply because offering the enhanced services at this site doesn’t seemfeasible in this moment.
We respectfully ask the County to continue exploring paths to make inclusion of behavioralhealth and crisis stabilization beds at the Armory a reality. This expansion will significantly benefit our communities and ensure that individuals experiencing homelessness receive the comprehensive care they need in one accessible location, creating better outcomes for the individuals served and the communities who are desperate to see conditions change.
City ManagerCity of Beverly HillsSincerely,cc: Beverly Hills City Council