EAST PALO ALTO
CITY COUNCIL
STAFF REPORT
DATE: February 1, 2022
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Jaime M. Fontes, City Manager
BY: Rachel Horst, Housing and Economic Development Manager Patrick Heisinger, Assistant City Manager
SUBJECT: City Council Consideration of Potential Approaches Regarding Unhoused Residents
Recommendation
Accept the staff report and provide direction regarding the City’s approach to supporting the unhoused population.
Alignment with City Council Strategic Plan
This recommendation is primarily aligned with:
Priority No. 6: Create a Healthy and Safe Community
One of the City’s Five-Year Affordable Housing Strategy goals, as adopted in 2018, is to Increase Housing Opportunities for Formerly Homeless Residents by a total of 80, including 30 Safe Parking and 10 additional opportunities per year. Over the past three years, in alignment with this goal, the City Council has approved several investments to support the City’s unhoused population and residents who are at risk of homelessness.
RV Safe Parking Program
Originally approved on July 17, 2018 the RV Safe Parking Program (“Program”) provides 17 Recreational Vehicle (“RV”) dwellers with a location to park their vehicle so that they may have a designated parking space that does not interfere with the public right-of-way. Program participants have access to facilities and receive case management services from Project WeHOPE on-site at the Tanklage site at 1798 Bay Rd. The Program is currently in its third year. Table 1 below details the financial investment that has supported this program since its inception.
TABLE 1
RV Safe Parking Program Financial Information
Year WeHOPE Investment City Investment Funding Source
Year 1
2019-20
$498,850
$45,350 $200,000 (Overnight)
$118,500 (Overnight)
$100,000 (Site Prep)
$35,000 (Homeless
Assistance)
City Year 1 Total:
$453,500
General Fund
Measure O/General Fund
CIP
General Fund
Year 2
2020-21
$480,350
$144,661 $250,000 (Overnight)
$85,689 (Daytime)
City Year 2 Total:
$335,689
Housing Successor
General Fund
Year 3
2021-22
$446,132
$171,090 $250,000 (Overnight)
$25,042 (Daytime)
City Year 3 Total:
$275,042
Housing Successor
General Fund
$361,101 City Total: $1,064,231
Since the Program was established, Project WeHOPE has been able to move at least 34 of households, who had resided in an RV, into a more stable housing facility, rather than a vehicle.
Approval of Two Manufactured Units to House Formerly Homeless Families On April 21, 2020, via Resolution No. 60-2020, the City Council granted Project WeHOPE the authority to temporarily place two manufactured units on the Tanklage property at 1798 Bay Rd. to provide interim housing for unhoused family households.
Set-Aside Units in the Light Tree and 965 Weeks Affordable Housing Projects In an effort to increase the number of housing units to accommodate unhoused residents, the City Council required the developers of the affordable housing developments known as 965 Weeks and Light Tree to set-aside a percentage of units within each project to house formerly homeless residents, as follows:
• 965 Weeks Street - 135 total units, with 8 units set aside for homeless households; and • Light Tree - 185 total units, with a minimum of 9 units and a maximum of 19 units set aside for homeless households.
Measure O Contracts to Support Households At-Risk of Homelessness As described in detail in a staff report dated December 18, 2021, the City has invested $618,176 from Measure O revenues to assist residents, who may be at risk of homelessness, to remain in their homes. These efforts have been even more important as the COVID-19 Pandemic resulted in many challenges for the City’s most vulnerable households, including difficulties in maintaining employment and paying rents.
Installing Temporary Restroom Facilities at Bell Street Park On October 19, 2021, the City Council directed staff to place temporary restroom facilities at Bell Street Park through January 31, 2022, to provide a humane environment for the local unhoused residents and to mitigate the risk of solid waste conditions at the park.
Recent City Council Discussions Regarding Unhoused Residents On June 1, 2021 and October 19, 2021, in response to the growing encampment at Bell Street Park, staff provided the City Council with an update on the situation, as well as additional context regarding potential legal limitations associated with addressing encampments during the COVID-19 Pandemic, as follows:
· The City adheres to guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) that discourage breaking up encampments to prevent the spread of COVID-19, unless alternative housing is available.
· The City must also take into account the legal implications of any response to homeless encampments. A recent ruling, Martin v. City of Boise, by the United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, limits the ability of jurisdictions to remove homeless individuals from public areas, such as encampments, when there are no safe and adequate shelter alternatives available. Further, in July 2021, the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley sued the City of Mountain View (“Law Foundation v. Mountain View”) for attempting to reinstate their local ban on overnight parking of RVs and other vehicles.
Despite the efforts described above, residents in the City of East Palo Alto, like most jurisdictions in the Bay Area, are still experiencing homelessness and living in RVs and encampments.
The purpose of this staff report is to provide the City Council with an update on various initiatives intended to support the City’s unhoused population and additional options to consider.
Analysis
This staff report is focused on two subsets of the unhoused population: 1) those residing in RVs in the public right-of-way (“RV Dwellers"), and 2) those residing in encampments (“Unhoused Residents”).
Continued Legal Concerns
The legal concerns detailed in the June 1 and October 19, 2021, staff reports, associated with activities such as “sweeping” of unhoused encampments or enforcing certain programs that target unhoused populations, continue to influence staff’s approach to these issues. The recent Law Foundation v. Mountain View lawsuit should also be considered when discussing potential options for addressing the needs of the unhoused and the broader community.
As a result of the Law Foundation v. Mountain View lawsuit, the City of Mountain View has decided not to pursue aggressive enforcement actions for RV dwellers at this time. Their alternate approach involves a focus on education and referral rather than enforcement and criminalization..
Current Status of RV Dwellers
Staff estimates that there are currently 17 households residing in RVs in the public right-ofway. In the past, Public Works staff coordinated with Project WeHOPE to refer RV dwellers to the RV Safe Parking Program. Through this process, eligible RV dwellers would be placed on a waiting list and moved into the RV Safe Parking Program, dependent upon availability. The current lease, Temporary Use Permit (TUP), and funding for the RV Safe Parking Program will expire on April 30, 2022.
In response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, direction from the City Council, and consideration of legal constraints, staff has paused enforcement of the City’s Oversized Vehicle Parking Restriction Ordinance. As a result, an increase in the number of oversized vehicles with residents sleeping inside (most notably RVs) have been seen parked on City streets.
Recommendations for RV Dwellers
1. Public Works will begin notifying and informing owners of Oversized Vehicles in the public right-of-way about the City’s parking regulations and assessing whether the dweller needs assistance with debris disposal. Staff does not recommend enforcement at this time. The proposed approach would focus on providing education and other referral services, with the end goal of assisting each unhoused resident achieve a more stable living environment. However, if an RV dweller disposes of solid waste or other hazardous materials, the City will take appropriate action to maintain its Storm Water Permit.
2. Public Works will conduct a bi-monthly “windshield survey” to identify the number, location, and debris situation of oversized vehicles/RVs to obtain key data that will inform staff in developing recommendations for future actions.
3. The City Council may consider extending the lease and provide up to $250,000 in funding to Project WeHOPE to administer the RV Safe Parking Program for an additional year. If the City Council agrees with this recommendation, staff would return to the City Council in Spring 2022 for action. In addition, Project WeHOPE must seek approval of a TUP extension by the Planning Commission. During the Priority Setting Retreat in early January 2022, the City Council identified the Tanklage site as a potential future location of the Police Department facility. As directed, staff will return with the appropriate analysis of this option before the end of the current Fiscal Year, so an additional year of the RV Safe Parking Program would not impact the potential timeline of locating a future Police Station, should the City Council choose to pursue it.
4. If necessary, staff would be directed to return to the City Council to seek additional budgetary authority to ensure that neighborhoods are not being impacted with debris or other conditions that may arise from the presence of RVs on a given City street.
Unhoused Residents in Encampments
Staff estimates there are currently 5 encampments of unhoused residents throughout the City.
Table 2 below identifies the location and estimated number of individuals residing at each location.
TABLE 2
Unhoused Encampments in East Palo Alto
Location Estimated # of Inhabitants
Bell Street Park 10
Marshland (Menlo Park) 6
Cooley Landing 2
Former Pet Hospital 2
Laurel and East Bayshore 1
Currently, Bell Street Park is the largest encampment of unhoused residents in East Palo Alto.
Since the City began to intervene at Bell Street Park in Fall 2021, at least eight (8) individuals have been housed in more stable living situations. Case managers from San Mateo County and Project WeHOPE have stated that unhoused individuals from other communities have traveled to Bell Street Park due to the fact that people at this location are being housed. As such, the total number of unhoused individuals at the Bell Street Park has not decreased.
Case managers estimate that the Bell Street Park encampment may currently be the largest in San Mateo County. If so, staff recommends that the County deploy additional services and capacity to find better living situations for these individuals.
Without creating additional housing options, staff recognizes that it will be difficult to house all individuals residing in encampments in East Palo Alto. Elsewhere in the Bay Area and throughout California, jurisdictions are opening a pathway through their Zoning Code to allow private property owners to provide housing for unhoused individuals. Most notably, jurisdictions are allowing religious institutions, by way of a Temporary Use Permit (TUP) process, to use their property to host RV dwellers or the placement of micro-homes. In some instances, unhoused individuals are offered temporary residence within an organization’s building, as long as certain health and safety requirements are met.
Table 3 below provides examples of creative options for housing unhoused individuals that could be pursued in East Palo Alto.
TABLE 3
Housing Options for Unhoused Residents
Jurisdiction Description of Program
San Mateo County (multi-jurisdiction) Home & Hope - with administrative offices in Burlingame, serves clients
referred through Coordinated Entry
System (“CES”) and relies on a network
of 30 local faith communities in San
Mateo County to provide overnight shelter
on a rotational basis. During pandemic,
relying on hotels.
Menlo Park/Palo Alto Hotel de Zink - LifeMoves works in partnership with congregations in Palo
Alto and Menlo Park to house unhoused
men and women overnight on a rotational
basis. LifeMoves provides case
management services at its Opportunity
Center and provides overnight
supervisory staff.
Palo Alto Heart & Home Winter Shelter - a
volunteer-run shelter provides seasonal,
overnight, shelter for unhoused women at
different places of worship in Palo Alto for
six weeks at a time.
San Francisco San Francisco Interfaith Winter Shelter
(Episcopal Community Services) -
collaboration of Episcopal Community
Services, San Francisco Interfaith
Council, and San Francisco Department
of Homelessness and Supportive
Housing to provide seasonal shelter
hosted by four local congregations on a
rotational basis for unhoused San
Francisco residents.
Oakland Key updates to zoning and building
regulations -- to increase flexibility, e.g.,
to accommodate RVs and other vehicular
“housing,” and encourage innovative and
alternative forms of construction such as
tiny homes or modular units. “Tiny
Homes”-transitional housing with
services for unhoused residents on Cityowned land.
San Jose/Santa Clara County Winter Faith Collaborative - network of overnight shelter, daytime drop-in
centers, and overnight safe parking spots
provided on a rotational basis by
volunteer congregations in SCC. Key
policy changes - City of San Jose
adopted an ordinance in August 2017 to
create a streamlined process for
temporary and incidental shelters without
the requirement of an approved
Development Permit. “Tiny Homes”-
transitional housing, also known as
Emergency Interim Housing (“EIH”) with
services for unhoused residents on Valley
Transportation Authority (“VTA”) and
Caltrans land.
Summary
Ultimately, the statewide chronic homelessness epidemic will only be solved by building more permanent supportive housing. Over the last five years, significant legislative changes, funding increases, and other advocacy efforts have finally created momentum toward the achievement of supportive housing goals. However, construction of just one affordable housing development, and more so for supportive housing that accommodates unhoused populations, requires extensive time and funding. For jurisdictions like East Palo Alto to house the unhoused with more urgency, the exploration of short-term, flexible concepts will need to be pursued aggressively. Staff seeks City Council direction to pursue several options for providing temporary housing to the City’s unhoused residents until more permanent supportive housing units are built across San Mateo County.
Recommendations for Supporting Unhoused Residents in Encampments:
1. Continue to provide sanitary restrooms at Bell Street Park through April 30, 2022;
2. Direct the City Manager to contact the County Manager to discuss potential options for receiving County assistance to support and house the unhoused encampment residents in East Palo Alto; and
3. Return to the City Council in April 2022 with additional recommendations for both City and County support of the unhoused population in East Palo Alto.
Next Steps
If City Council directs staff to pursue the above recommendations, staff will return in April with a summary of discussions with the County Manager and with specific recommendations and action items for City Council consideration.
Fiscal Impact
There is no fiscal impact associated with this staff report.
Public Notice
The public was provided notice by making the agenda and report available on the City’s website and at the San Mateo Co. Library located at 2415 University Avenue, East Palo Alto.
Environmental
The action being considered does not constitute a “Project” within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to CEQA Guideline section 15378 (b)(5), in that it is a government administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect changes in the environment.