EAST PALO ALTO
COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
DEPARTMENT
STAFF REPORT
DATE: April 4, 2023
TO: Melvin Gaines, City Manager
FROM: AMY CHEN, COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR BY: Karen Camacho, Housing & Economic Development Manager SUBJECT: Potential Use of Tanklage Property for Temporary Police Station & RV Safe Parking Program Transition
Recommendation
• Provide direction on which, if any, temporary police department design option the City should further pursue on the Tanklage Property
• Adopt a Resolution authorizing the City Manager to:
A. Negotiate and execute a Fourth Amendment to the License and Grant Agreement (“Fourth Amendment”) with Project WeHOPE, in a form approved by the City Attorney, to extend the RV Safe Parking Program through October 30, 2023; and B. Allocate $125,010 in Housing Successor funds to operate the RV Safe Parking Program (“Program”) for an additional six months or less.
Alignment with City Council Strategic Plan
This recommendation is primarily aligned with:
· Promote housing, economic and workforce development
· Promote public health and safety
· Ensure our financial and organizational health
· Implement the facilities master plan
Background
The City owns and controls 1798 Bay Road (“Tanklage Property”). The former Redevelopment Agency transferred the 1.38 acres Tanklage Property to the City in 2011. As a former Redevelopment Agency property, the site can only be used for a public use. Since July 2018, the City has permitted Project WeHope to use the Tanklage Property to operate the RV Safe Parking Program (“Program”), as further described below. The Special Use Permit (SUP) for the Program will expire April 30, 2023.
On May 18, 2021, the City Council adopted the City of East Palo Alto Facilities Master Plan (“Plan”) which included specific objectives and recommended actions. Objective #3 of the Plan, “Develop a Short-Term Strategy for the Police Department,” was prioritized by the City Council because the current leases for properties utilized by the Police Department will expire on October 31, 2025.
The Tanklage Property is one the few properties the City owns that does not have a designated long-term use. On April 19, 2022, the interim city manager and a representative from Group 4 Architecture, Research + Planning, Inc. (Group 4) presented a plan to the City Council to explore design options for a temporary police station at the Tanklage Property. The City Council acknowledged then that there were few viable alternatives to locate a police department within City limits that could be developed within a timeline that coincides with the October 31, 2025 expiration of the existing police department leases. The Council directed staff to amend the City’s existing agreement with Group 4, adding $128,750 for Group 4 to explore police department design options at the Tanklage Property. The Council also expressed a desire to be informed about the RV Safe Parking Program status when asked to provide direction about alternative uses of the Tanklage Property.
This staff report discusses the police department design options at the Tanklage property. It also provides an update on the RV Safe Parking Program and staff’s recommended approach to phase out the Program by October 31, 2023. A six-month phase out of the RV Safe Parking program should allow adequate time for Project WeHope to coordinate transitions for the remaining program participants. October 31, 2023 also provides the City with two years to complete the development of a temporary police department at the Tanklage Property, which corresponds with the estimated construction timelines for police department design options presented in this report.
Analysis
Tanklage Property as Temporary Police Department
The City currently leases 13,000 square feet (SF) of building space across two properties for the police department. The City owns the manufactured offices at 141 Demeter Street, but the structures are well beyond their useful life and need replacement. The leases for each property have base rents that increase each October. As shown in Table 1 below, the remaining lease terms require the City to pay from $254,400 (October 2022 - October 2023) to $271,200 (October 2024 - October 2025) per year to rent the two properties used by the police department.
TABLE 1
Current Properties Utilized by the Police Department
Location Functions Usable Space Monthly Rent Lease
Expiration
141 Demeter • Administration
• Investigation • Patrol
• Training • Records
6,000 SF $15,200 -$16,100 10/2025
219 Demeter • Property/Evidence
• Investigation • Training
• Meeting
7,000 SF $6,000 - $6,500 10/2025
Total (Monthly) $21,200 - $22,600
Total (Annual) $254,400 -$271,200
The City did not intend for the properties at 141 and 219 Demeter Street to be long-term homes for the police department. The configuration of both properties is not optimal for public safety operations. Whether for temporary or permanent police buildings/campuses, the City should strive to develop sites that adequately meet the needs of our community and the staff that serves the community.
Tanklage Property Not Suitable for a Permanent Police Department The arced/crescent-like shape of the 1.38 acres Tanklage Property and the property’s narrow frontage on Bay Road present challenges that make designing a police department that fits the City’s design vision for Bay Road unattainable. The City, or any developer, would likely need to acquire 1800 Bay Road (formerly Lee’s Backhoe) and the adjacent property to design a cohesive project that fit’s the City’s design vision. Like the existing police department at 141 Demeter Street, which was also intended to be a short-term location, the Tanklage Property will only have one vehicular entry/exit way, which also makes the site unideal for public safety function.
For these reasons, the City should consider the Tanklage Property as a temporary police department location. The Group 4 proposed design options include temporary facilities with expected building lives of 10 to 15 years and 25 to 30 years. The expected building life of a traditional/more permanent built option would be 30 to 40 years.
Given the current development proposals in East Palo Alto and the potential for the City to modify existing facilities based on these proposals and other City initiatives, including the construction of a library on Pulgas Avenue and the City exploring with San Mateo County a potential redesign or reconstruction of 2415 University Avenue, there may be viable alternative locations for a permanent police department in the next 8 to 15 years. Staff does not believe that any alternative locations will be secured within a timeline that allows police operations to be moved before the current leases expire in October 2025.
Design Options
Group 4 evaluated two police department design options at the Tanklage Property - a 16,000 SF building design and a 19,000 SF building design. As shown in Table 2 below, the only differences between these two options are increases in the square footage of each space.
Each space in the 19,000 SF option is bigger than that proposed in the 16,000 SF option.
TABLE 2
Potential Police Department Design Options
Space Option 1 Option 2
Police Lobby 820 980
Police Administration 930 1,129
Police Records 1,050 1,271
Criminal Investigations - Public 800 945
Criminal Investigations - Staff 2,275 2,763
Property & Evidence 3,070 3,686
Patrol 1,975 2,372
Staff Support Spaces 2,835 3,416
Building Support 1,115 1,325
Net Total 14,870 17,888
10% Building Envelope Factor 1,487 1,789
Total Police Building Area 16,357 19,677
In addition to two different size options, Group 4 explored three different building types - modular relocatable, pre-engineered, and traditional buildings. Modular relocatable and preengineered buildings are described below.
Modular relocatable buildings are commonly used as temporary facilities, they are constructed off site and transported to the development site which has many advantages, such as less construction waste, faster construction time, and less risk during construction. They have the advantage of being easy to transport and once the need for them has passed they can be relocated and repurposed for other uses. The expected lifespan of a relocatable modular building is not as long as pre-engineered or traditional construction because of how they are assembled and designed for transport. Of the three construction types considered relocatable modular buildings have the shortest life expectancy and the lowest cost, they also have the advantage of being available on a lease basis. Modular relocatable buildings are commonly used on school campuses for additional classrooms.
Pre-engineered buildings are like modular relocatable buildings in that their major components are manufactured at a factory; however, the components are then assembled on the site. Preengineered buildings are assembled similarly to conventional construction once their components are on site. Pre-engineered buildings advantages are that the construction time is faster than traditional construction, they are typically more cost effective than traditional construction with similar life expectancy benefits, and they have the flexibility to be customized such that they can aesthetically be designed more like traditional construction.
Costs Options
The projected costs for a police department at the Tanklage Property vary depending on the size and building types. Table 3, below, shows preliminary cost estimates for different size options and building types. These cost estimates are for total costs including site preparation, buildings, site development, design, permitting, etc. For modular relocatable buildings, the City could lease or buy the modulars. Comparing leasing to buying modular relocatable buildings, Group 4’s cost estimates show that leasing is more cost effective than buying modular relocatable buildings for a temporary police department. It would take 76 years for the leasing costs to be equal to the costs for buying modular relocatable buildings. This is true for both the 16,400 SF and 19,700 SF options.
TABLE 3
Cost Options (estimated total project costs)
Building Size Building Type
Modular Lease Modular Buy Pre-Engineered Traditional
16,400 SF $6,900,000 + $82,000 annual lease $13,200,000 $17,000,000 $25,400,000 19,700 SF $7,400,000 + $98,500 annual lease $14,900,000 $19,300,000 $29,500,000 Council Direction Needed
Given the October 2025 end of the City’s leases of properties used for the police department, and the unlikelihood of alternative locations for a police department, staff requests council direction on which design option the City should further pursue for a police department at the Tanklage Property. Table 4, below, is an evaluation matrix showing the costs, estimated design/construction timeline, and expected building life of each building size, type, and lease/buy option.
TABLE 4
Evaluation Matrix
Building Size Building Type
Modular Lease Modular Buy Pre-Engineered Traditional
16,400 SF $6,900,000 + $82,000 Annual
Lease
$13,200,000 $17,000,000 $25,400,000
19,700 SF $7,400,000 + $98,500 Annual
Lease
$14,900,000 $19,300,000 $29,500,000
Design &
Construction
Timeline
6 - 10 Months 6 - 10 Months 24 - 30 Months 24 - 30 Months Expected Life of
Building
10 - 15 Years 10 - 15 Years 25 - 30 Years 30 - 40 Years With Council’s direction on the building size, type, and potentially whether to lease or buy the building, staff will seek bids for design and construction. Staff will return to Council to discuss approval of any bid and discuss next steps.
As the Tanklage Property is currently used for the RV Safe Parking Program, the remainder of this report provides an update on the Program and recommends a 6-month extension to phase out the program at the Tanklage Property.
RV Safe Parking Program
Originally approved on July 17, 2018 the Program provides 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. According to the Menlo Park Fire Department, the Program can accommodate up to 17 RVs. The Program has accommodated 17 RVs at its peak, but enrollment is now down to less than half (only 8 RV households currently remaining). Program participants have access to facilities and receive case management services from Project WeHOPE on-site at the Tanklage Property at 1798 Bay Rd. The Program is currently in its fourth year. Table 5 below details the City’s financial investment that has supported this program since its inception. Project WeHope has also invested more than six hundred thousand in the program. The current lease, Temporary Use Permit (“TUP”), and funding for the RV Safe Parking Program will expire on April 30, 2023.
TABLE 5
RV Safe Parking Program Financial Information
Year City Investment Funding Source(s)
Year 1 2019-20 $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 $250,000 (Overnight); $85,689
(Daytime) City Year 2 Total:
$335,689
Housing Successor General Fund
Year 3 2021-22 $250,000 (Overnight); $25,042
(Daytime) City Year 3 Total:
$275,042
Housing Successor General Fund
Year 4 2022-23 $250,000 (Overnight) City Year 4
Total: $250,000
Housing Successor General Fund
City Total: $1,314,231
The original intent of the Program was to provide a temporary overnight parking site. Project WeHOPE provides social services and essential amenities to Program participants, who may park their RVs on-site between the hours of 7:00pm and 7:00am daily. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and County Shelter-in-Place Order, Project WeHOPE expanded the Program with City authorization and funding support to allow RVs to remain on-site 24 hours a day. The temporary 24-hour operation of the Program stayed in place and was funded by the City from April 2020 to April 2022. In April 2022, City Council determined to go back to overnight operations and extend the contract for an additional year.
Project WeHOPE is authorized to operate the Program on the Property via an Interim/Special Use Permit and a License and Grant Agreement (Agreement - Attachment 2), both of which expire on April 30, 2023. The SUP/IUP permits this special use of the Property for one year and may be renewed up to two times with the approval of the Planning Commission. The SUP/IUP permit has already been extended the maximum number of times. In addition to authorizing Project WeHOPE to operate the Program, the Agreement provides for a $250,000 grant from the City to support Program operations from April 2022 through April 2023.
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 who may be in transition.
These two units are currently not occupied and will be moved prior to October 30, 2023. At this time, Project WeHope is looking for a new location of these two units.
RV Safe Parking Program Outcomes
The Program has been very successful at finding permanent housing solutions for individuals and families living in RVs. Since 2018, the Program has assisted 110 total participants. Of those, 42 have transitioned to permanent housing, 15 are currently participating in the program, 34 have declined housing or found alternative arrangements and 19 have left the program. Of the 42 households who located permanent housing, 25 are individuals and 17 are families with children.
TABLE 6
RV Safe Parking Program Participant Outcomes (2020-2023) Participant Outcomes As of April
2021
As of April
2022
As of April
2023
Left the Program 15 19 19
Declined housing or found alternative arrangements 24 34 34 Currently participating in the Program 11 15 15
Transitioned into permanent housing 34 36 42
Total participants since 2018 85 104 110
The breakdown of Program participation and outcomes is shown in the Table 7, below. As shown, 13 households remained in East Palo Alto, while 20 households relocated within San Mateo County, and three found housing in surrounding Bay Area counties. Six households relocated outside of the Bay Area. Participants relocated to a mix of housing types: a single room, housing voucher placement (rental), affordable rental, and ownership housing.
TABLE 7
RV Safe Parking Program Participants Transitioning into Permanent Housing Locations (2020- 2023)
Housing Locations
of Program
Participants
Participants as
of April 2021
Participants as of
April 2022
Participants as
of April 2023
Type of Housing
(as of April 2023)
East Palo Alto 11 12 13 11 Single room 2
Housing Voucher
San Mateo County 15 15 20 15 Single room 5
Housing Voucher
Bay Area 3 3 3 1 Single room 2
Housing Voucher
Other 5 6 6 5 Affordable rental 1
Purchased house
Total 34 36 39
At around this time last year (in March 2022), the Program had 15 participants onsite, with 1 household coming off the waitlist and entering the program. Eight households, or 15 individuals, remain in the Program.
Please note that in addition to maintaining the RV parking lot, Project WeHOPE has placed two manufactured homes on the site, as authorized by the Agreement. These modular homes are used for 1 to 30 days at a time to help individuals transition from vehicles, the street, or shelters into permanent supportive housing. To date, there have been 12 individuals/families who have lived in the modular homes.
Existing RV Safe Parking Program Participants and Exit Plans Given that park closure is imminent, for the past 30 days, WeHOPE has closed the waitlist and has been reaching out to the eight existing households seeking to provide support on the residents’ exit plans.
Table 8, below, is a summary of the existing households and their exit plans:
TABLE 8
RV Safe Parking Program Remaining Participants
Household # of
Individuals
Exit Plan Summary
1 1 adult 4
children
They will be moving to the Mountain View RV program by September of this year
2 1 adult 4
children
This household may qualify to move to the Mountain View RV program in April of this year
3 1 adult and 1
child
No exit plan presented to WeHOPE yet
4 2 adults No exit plan presented to WeHOPE yet
5 1 adult This individual will be moving to Move Mountainview on April 1, 2023 6 1 adult No exit plan presented to WeHOPE yet
7 1 adult No exit plan presented to WeHOPE yet
8 1 adult No exit plan presented to WeHOPE yet
WeHOPE is making good progress and believes that a contract modification will enable them to help the remaining families and individuals obtain assistance in finding housing.
RV Safe Parking 6-Month Extension and SUP to TUP Process Given that the SUP/IUP expires April 30, 2023 and all three extensions have been exhausted, staff is proposing to extend the Program through a Temporary Use Permit (“TUP”) from April 30, 2023 through October 30, 2023, consistent with East Palo Alto Municipal Code Chapter
18.94. Because the proposed duration is over 31 days, the 6-month extension for the RV Safe Parking must be approved via a major TUP, an administrative permit which requires a Director’s hearing. The Director’s hearing is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, April 13, 2023. The Community and Economic Development Director can take action on the TUP after the Director’s hearing. Upon the issuance of an approval, there is also a two week appeal period where a member of the public can appeal the decision to the Planning Commission.
Staff have met several times with Project WeHOPE to assess the need for Program services and develop a recommendation for a phase-out of the program given the imminent need to change site use. Although the Program can accommodate up to 17 RVs, WeHOPE has stopped accepting new applicants off the waitlist and is working on assisting the eight remaining households find permanent alternative housing solutions.
Staff recommends that the City Council consider extending the Program in its current, overnight form for an additional six months to allow Project WeHope and RV residents to accommodate enough time to find alternative accommodations. City Council still has authority to extend the contract with Project WeHOPE for the additional six months, and allocate funding for operations during that extension.
With this agreement, participants would be allowed to remain in the Program for an additional 30 days at a time with regular overnight operations. Regular overnight operations of the park include parking from 7PM to 7AM. WeHOPE is also requesting that the City continue the exemption to allow Program participants to leave their unattended RVs on the RV lot during the nonoperational hours (7 AM - 7 PM). WeHOPE understands that the remaining eight households who are utilizing the site need to go to work and do not have a safe place to park their RVs. The RV lot will be locked which means that program participants will not have access to their RV from 7 AM to 7 PM. Security will unlock the RV lot at 7 PM and then program participants can enter the RV lot.
Staff also recommends that WeHOPE establish new 30-day Participant Agreements with the remaining eight households, giving each the possibility of up to five extensions to remain as long as they continue to work in close collaboration with WeHOPE to establish an exit plan.
Alternatives to Recommendations
The following are this report’s recommendations along with potential alternatives to the recommendations with discussion. This is a trial effort for staff to include alternatives to recommendations for Council to consider. Nevertheless, the recommendations reflect what staff believes is the best option.
· Recommendation 1- Provide direction on which, if any, temporary police department design option the City should further pursue on the Tanklage Property « R1 Alternative 1 - Direct staff to explore other options to relocate the police department.
This could include exploring options to purchase property for a permanent police department.
o Staff would recommend this exploration not go beyond October 2023, which would leave 2 years for design and construction of a police department at the Tanklage Property.
« R1 Alternative 2 - Direct staff to make further attempts to negotiate lease extensions at 141 and 219 Demeter Street.
o Attempts by previous City staff to extend the lease at 141 Demeter have been futile.
« R1 Alternative 3 - Provide other direction
· Recommendation 2 - Adopt a Resolution authorizing the City Manager to:
a. Negotiate and execute a Fourth Amendment to the License and Grant Agreement (“Fourth Amendment”) with Project WeHOPE, in a form approved by the City Attorney, to extend the RV Safe Parking Program through October 30, 2023; and b. Allocate $125,010 in Housing Successor funds to operate the RV Safe Parking Program (“Program”) for an additional six months or less. « R2 Alternative 1 - End the RV Safe Parking Program when the Special Use Permit expires April 30, 2023.
o Staff believes that a 6-month extension would provide sufficient time to phase out the program.
« R2 Alternative 2 - Extend the RV Safe Parking Program by a shorter or longer term than 6 months.
o If the Tanklage Property will be used for a temporary police station, the RV Safe Parking Program should not operate at the site beyond October 2023. « R2 Alternative 3 - Provide other direction regarding the RV Safe Parking Program.
Fiscal Impact
The Fourth Amendment to the RV Safe Parking Program contract with Project WeHOPE commits $125,010 in Housing Successor funds to Project WeHOPE to support the operation of the Program through October 2023. The monthly cost of $20,835 includes staff position costs (program manager, Dignity on Wheels driver, Dignity on Wheels intake, case management, security, and administrative overhead), as well as supplies, portable restroom and servicing, and laundry and shower services. Payments to Project WeHOPE will end whichever comes first - October 2023 or in the month that the program has no more participants. If the latter comes first, any unused funds will be returned to the Housing Successor Fund.
Public Notice
The public was provided notice by making the agenda and report available on the City’s website and on a bulletin board located at City Hall: 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.
Attachments
1. 1.Resolution
2. RVSPP Third Amendment Agreement