Agenda Item B.3
CPMS CONSENT CALENDAR
Meeting Date: February 1, 2022
____________________________________________________________ TO: Mayor and Councilmembers
FROM: Jaime A. Valdez, Neighborhood Services Director
CONTACT: Claudia Dato, Senior Project Manager
Shanna Dawson, Management Analyst
SUBJECT: Response to 2021 Santa Barbara County Civil Grand Jury Report on “Keys to Housing the Homeless”
RECOMMENDATIONS:
A. Review staff’s recommended responses to the Santa Barbara County Civil Grand Jury Report regarding “Keys to Housing the Homeless”; and B. Authorize the City Manager to sign and transmit the City’s Response to the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court, a copy to the current impaneled Civil Grand Jury, and to file a copy with the City Clerk’s Office.
BACKGROUND:
On November 19, 2021, the City re ceived the Santa Barbara County Civil Grand Jury (Grand Jury) report entitled “Keys to Housing the Homeless” (Attachment 1). The subject of this investigation and report are two programs proposed by the State of California in 2020 that were designed to help communities manage their homeless populations:
Project Roomkey and Project Homekey. Both programs were also an urgent response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on homeless people. Roomkey secured short-term hotel/motel rooms for chronically ill elderly homeless people who were at risk of catching and spreading the virus. Homekey was intended to house some of that same population through conversion of available buildings to permanent supportive housing. The State offered one-time funding for the communities able to meet specif ic time sensitive requirements.
California Penal Code 933(c) states, “no later than 90 days after the Grand Jury submits a final report on the operations of any public agency subject to its reviewing authority, the governing body of the public agency shall comment to the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court on the findings and recommendations pertaining to matters under the control of governing body.” It further state s ‘‘All of these comments and reports shall forthwith be submitted to the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court who impaneled the Grand Jury." 1 Meeting Date: February 1, 2022
The City of Goleta received the Grand Jury report on November 19, 2021. Therefore, the City Council is required to respond to this report by February 17, 2022.
DISCUSSION:
The 2021 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury studied the two new Pr ojects as they were implemented in Santa Barbara County. The Roomkey funding ended S eptember 30, 2021; the Homekey funding allocation ended December 31, 2020. These time constraints motivated Santa Barbara County, local municipalities, and other agencies to work together quickly to accomplish the housing goals. According to the Grand Jury Report, there is a lack of available property in the County suitable for either program. Property owners/landlords were reluctant to rent or lease their properties for housing the homeless, and it was difficult to find hotels willing to participate in t he Roomkey program. Suitable properties for sale that might b e used for the Homekey program are also scarce or available at such a high cost as to be financially infeasible. Furthermore, there are not identified local funds to sustai n the two programs without addi tional State and Federal grant allocations. The 2021 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury also examined the barriers that limit the success of the two homeless programs.
After providing a financial overview of Project Roomkey and Project Homekey efforts, the report discusses the methodology of the Grand Jury’s analysis. This included interviews, meetings, and review of numerous news articles, local city and County agendas and staff reports, and State public infor mation posts. While the Grand Jury interviewed staff from the County, City of Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara County Housing Authority, and various service providers, the report does not list any interviews with City of Goleta staff or elected officials. Likewise, although the Grand Jury reviewed several r elevant documents and reports, and attended numerous meet ings, there is no mention anywhere of the well- publicized City of Goleta effort to prepare the City of Goleta Homelessness Strategic Plan and ultimately approve it on April 20, 2021.
Having conducted this research and analysis, the Grand Jury made a number of observations which are detailed in the report. These are summarized below:
Project Roomkey
¾ While not all seniors with chronic illnesses chose to take advan tage of the Roomkey housing continuum due to p rogram restrictions (curfew and no noise, smoking, visitors, alcohol, or drugs, etc.), the Jury learned the target population is more likely to move into a hotel/motel room rather than into congregate shelters. ¾ It was difficult to find hotels/motels to participate in Project Roomkey. Hotel/motel owners were hesitant to house a high-risk population. The Count y was unable to find a willing participant in North County, and only one hotel/motel in South County agreed to rent one wing for a limited period of time.
¾ At the one-year mark of the Roomke y program, administrators wit h the County reported that 56 percent of R oomkey participants had left the s treets and moved into housing.
2 Meeting Date: February 1, 2022
Project Homekey
¾ For Project Homekey, there are local impediments inherent in buying hotels in local communities: limited available real estate, high property value s, expensive rents, a steady and recovering tourism business for hotels, and neighborhood resistance. ¾ As of the writing of the Grand Jury Report, no hotels were willing to sell for conversion to a Homekey site. At that point, the only successfu l Homekey project was a converted office building in Lompoc already owned by the County. ¾ The Homekey Project is meant to be an economical way to house t he homeless.
In an expensive county such as Santa Barbara, State officials have estimated that the average cost of purchase and rehabilitation of existing bui ldings is around $200,000-$250,000 per unit to convert versus a minimum of $450,000 per unit for new construction.
¾ To qualify for more state Homekey funding, the County must be ready with a site, partners, and its own complementary funding.
¾ Identifying possible sites and opening negotiations with the ow ners ahead of funding announcements remains a critical component to success, and the County and its cities and agencies need to work together to put plans in place.
The 2021 Grand Jury recommended that the County, cities, and housing authorities make every effort to secure more housing for homeless people now, at this time when so much State and Federal money is available. The Grand Jury also pointed out that extra funds spent on homeless housing now c an reduce the millions of dollar s being absorbed as “collateral homeless expenses” by county or city agencies from calls for services for fire, police, and ambulance providers, public and environmental health services, hospital and mental health treatment and inpatient stays, jail operations, and in addressing impacts to parks, libraries, streets, creeks and more. Finally, the report concludes that Santa Barbara County and its cities must continue to work together and devise incentives and methods of funding to further the successes of the Roomkey and Homekey programs.
The Report concludes with six findings and associated recommendations. The findings range from “Few hotels and motels throughout Santa Barbara Count y were willing to participate in Project Roomkey” to “The Roomkey and Homekey programs require funding to provide wraparound services f or the homeless.” The City of Goleta is expected to respond to only Findings 1, 2, 3 and 5.
City of Goleta Response
Pursuant to California Penal Code §933 and 935.59.05, the Santa Barbara County Grand Jury requests each entity to respond to the enumerated findings and recommendations within the specified statutory time limit. Responses to Findings must be either agree with, wholly disagree with, or partially disagree and include explanations.
Furthermore, responses to recommendations shall include one of the following:
• Has been implemented, with a brief, summary of the implementation actions taken • Will be implemented, with an implementation schedule
3 Meeting Date: February 1, 2022
• Requires Further Analysis, with an analysis completion date of less than six months after the issuance of the report
• Will not be implemented with an explanation of why
From the City of Goleta’s perspective, the Grand Jury’s recommendations require some level of collaboration with the County, local non-profit organi zations and/or regional partners to accomplish. Most recommendations are prefaced with “ the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors and all city councils within the County” [should]:
Recommendation 1: establish programs similar to Roomkey Recommendation 2: develop a roster of hotels and motels willing t o participate in a Roomkey-type program.
Recommendation 3: identify possible Homekey sites including government owned properties in each jurisdiction.
Recommendation 5: develop and implement a plan for funding Room key and Homekey-type programs.
In all cases, staff has indicated that the City is already working with the County and other partners to address these issues and points out the extraordinary financial resources the City Council has committed to hel ping the homeless. This includ es the $536,565 for CityNet to fund implementation of a Project Roomkey-style progr am to provide bridge housing with the goal of finding permanent housing for 50 peopl e over the course of the fiscal year.
In responses 1-3, staff indicated that the City agrees with the findings and has already implemented and continues to implement the recommendations. However, under Finding 5, staff indicated that the City disagrees partially with explanation. The City of Goleta, as a small municipality, should not be expected to fund programs s uch as Roomkey and Homekey on its own. Project Homekey represents a significant investment in the creation of housing. Currently, cities s uch as Goleta, without the benef it of bond funds or other sources set aside for the large-scale capital costs associated with housing development, cannot reasonably commit to the kind of ongoing capital subsidy P r o j e c t H o m e k e y provides. However, as stated in response to previous findings, staff pointed out that the City of Goleta has reserved $600, 000 in ARPA funding toward the a c q u i s i t i o n o f a Homekey site in Goleta by the County Housing Authority, should its application for funding be successful. Staff also noted that the City will also continue to work with the County and other members of the HOME Consorti um to fund Homekey projects, permanent supportive housing, and other affordable housing projects in the region.
Staff is asking the City Council to review the draft responses an d authorize the City Manager to sign a letter inclusive of the responses for transmittal to the Honorable Gustavo Lavayen who is the Presiding Judge (Attachment 2). 4 Meeting Date: February 1, 2022
FISCAL IMPACTS:
There are no fiscal impacts to the drafting, approval, and transmission of the response to the Grand Jury’s findings and recommendations.
ALTERNATIVES:
Responses are required by Penal C ode 933.05. As such, there is no alternative to responding to the Grand Jury’s report but altered responses can be requested of staff so long as responses can be submitted to the Grand Jury by the Feb ruary 17, 2022, deadline.
Reviewed By: Legal Review By: Approved By:
___________________ ___________________ _____ ____________ Kristine Schmidt Megan Garibaldi Michelle Greene
Assistant City Manager City Atto rney City Manager ATTACHMENTS:
1. 2021 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury Report “Keys to Housing the Homeless”
2. City of Goleta Letter with Draft Responses to the 2021 Civil Grand Jury Report on “Keys to Housing the Homeless”
5 ATTACHMENT 1
2021 Grand Jury Report:
Keys to Housing the Homeless
6
7 2021 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury Page 1
THE KEYS TO HOUSING THE HOMELESS
Two State Programs Offer Rooms and Homes
SUMMARY
In 2020, the State of California (State) proposed two programs to help communities manage their homeless populations: Project Roomkey and Project Homekey. Both programs were also an urgent response to the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent disastrous effects on the homeless.
Roomkey secured short-term hotel rooms for chronically ill elderly homeless who were at risk of catching and spreading the virus. Homekey was intended to house some of that same population through conversion of available buildings to permanent housing. The State offered one-time funding for the communities able to meet specific time sensitiv e requirements. Santa Barbara County (County) took advantage of the State’s offers to provide temporary and p ermanent housing to some of the County’s homeless.
The 2021 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury (Jury) studied the two new Projects as they were implemented in Santa Barbara County. The Roomkey funding ended September 30, 2021; the Homekey funding allocation ended December 31, 2020. These time constraints motivated Santa Barbara County agencies to work together quickly to accomplish the housing goals.
The County has found it difficult to duplicate its successes wi th Projects Roomkey and Homekey. There is a discouraging lack of available property in the County, and property owners are reluctant to turn over what they have for the purpose of ho using the homeless. Nor are there identified local funds to sustain the two programs without addi tional State and Federal grant allocations. The 2021 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury looked into the barriers that limit the success of the two homeless programs.
INTRODUCTION
The COVID-19 virus increased the need for homeless services, h ighlighting the dire conditions for a subset of the unhoused population who were especially at risk of contracting the virus – the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions. In the sp ring of 2020, hospitals were filling up at a time when people were exposed to the virus. At the same time, homeless shelters were required to implement social distancing, which forced them to reduce their population (at one shelter by more than 60 percent and at another by 13 percen t) because of COVID and send some individuals back into the streets. The County needed to de termine the best way to protect the homeless.
Confronting this challenge, the State of California initiated a plan with generous funding for the counties struggling with how to protect the homeless from the v irus. Using Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Econo mic Security Act (CARES) funding, the State offered two programs, Project Roomke y and Project Homekey, to stimulate community participation in these innovative housing programs for the homeless.
In April 2020, Governor Newsom announced Project Roomkey, which would get people experiencing homelessness and at risk of getting COVID into participating hotels or motels on an emergency basis. Roomkey was intended to open underused hotel o r motel rooms for the
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homeless who needed to isolate or quarantine from exposure to COVID-19. The State’s goal was to find up to 15,000 rooms to temporarily shelter these homeless in supervised programs with case management . Jurisdictions who participated also agreed to then re-house the m into permanent housing, supported by services.
As a first response to the pandemic, Roomkey was considered an interim response to a public health crisis that had already strained the health care system. The original program termination date was June 30, 2021; it was later extended to September 30, 2021. Statewide, a total of $150 million was dedicated to the initial Project Roomkey in June 20 20. The Governor added another $62 million in November 2020 in order to avoid evictions of those homeless in rooms when the program was set to end in December 2020.
Project Homekey was intended to be the next step in the longer term crisis of homelessness by converting hotels and other similar buildings to permanent housing. On June 30, 2020, the State introduced Homekey for homeless housing using $600 million of c oronavirus relief funds for the program statewide, and $300 million to help efforts to reduce homelessness. Similar to Roomkey, Homekey was conceived as a State partnership with citi es and counties applying for grants, this time to purchase hotels, motels and other appropri ate but underused buildings for conversion. The rehabilitated uni ts would provide permanent hou sing for the homeless. By the end of 2020, more than $846 million had been awarded to 48 jurisdictions for 94 projects across the State.
In the process of tackling homeless vulnerability during the pandemic, Santa Barbara County and its cities made promising steps to address homelessness with th e one-time State funding. The County leased rooms in a hotel in South County for Project Room key for a limited time and converted an office building in North County for permanent hous ing using Project Homekey funding. A great deal of collaboration among County agencies we nt into the accomplishment of these two projects, establishing important groundwork for any future homeless projects. Yet even with outside funding either ending or being time-restricted, th e long-term future of Projects Roomkey and Homekey, including property acquisition and conversion, in Santa Barbara County is uncertain.
METHODOLOGY
The 2021 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury interviewed representa tives from homeless assistance programs across the County, Santa Barbara County Hou sing and Community Development Division, and the City of Santa Barbara Community D evelopment Department.
The Jury also interviewed representatives from the Santa Barbar a County Public Health and Santa Barbara County Behavioral Wellness Departments, as well a s the Santa Barbara City and County Housing Authorities. The Jury met with an affordable hou sing contractor, a homeless shelter case manager, and a homeless shelter executive director . Additionally, numerous news articles, local city and County agenda letters, and State public information posts were reviewed.
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OBSERVATIONS
Project Roomkey
In February 2020, the Santa Barbara County Housing and Community Development Division reported a total of 1,897 homeless county wide, of which 1,223 were unsheltered, 674 in emergency shelters or transitional housing. One month later, the Board of Supervisors declared a local emergency for the pandemic. County officials quickly formed a COVID-19 Homeless Task Force Response Team and devised emergency solutions to strategi c problems hitting the homeless population. With shelters needing to minimize occupanc y and various agencies closing down, the homeless lost access to beds and to such services as showers and meals. The Santa Barbara County Task Force devised alternative sites for beds and services. One first step was the opening of the gym at Santa Maria High School; it was converted to a shelter for 71 homeless individuals for two months. Concurrently, the Public Health Dep artment began by securing a limited number of rooms as emergency shelters in hotels in North and South County in or der to protect those at risk of contracting COVID-19.
The Task Force also initiated steps that led to participation w ith the State in Project Roomkey.
By the end of April 2020, the County was able to open rooms at a hotel in South County. The City of Santa Barbara and People Assisting the Homeless (PATH) helped organize this novel response to the pandemic. Roomkey in the County began with 40 homeless individuals. In Santa Barbara County, county officials prioritized individuals over age 65 with a serious health condition, then those under 65 with a serious health condition, and lastly those over 65. The age qualification was later lowered to 55. FEMA later made these criteria for Roomkey housing official for all the chronically homeless in the State.
Santa Barbara County Public Health did a medical review to esta blish adherence to Center for Disease Control guidelines for those who were invited to join t he program. The homeless came from the hospital emergency rooms and shelters, but mostly from the streets. Originally, they were invited to stay 90 days, but extensions were allowed. At i ts peak, there were 70 occupants participating in Project Roomkey. By October 2021, the Project had sheltered over 190 individuals.
While not all seniors with chronic illnesses chose to take adva ntage of the Roomkey housing continuum due to program restrictions (curfew, and no noise, sm oking, visitors, alcohol, or drugs, etc.), the Jury learned the target population is more likely to move into a hotel room rather than into congregate shelters.
Locally, it was difficult to find hotels to participate in Proj ect Roomkey. Hotel owners were hesitant to house a high-risk population. The County was unable to find a willing participant in North County, and only one hotel in South County agreed to rent one wing for a limited period of time. Even the drop in hotel occupancy during the pandemic w as not enough to entice hotel owners to turn over their rooms to a county-run program for the homeless. The original Roomkey hotel returned to tourism at the beginning of 2021. Fortunately, the County was able to lease another hotel in South County with rooms for 80 individua ls and rent as many as ten hotel rooms in Santa Maria.
One intention of the Roomkey program was to house individuals until they could transition into permanent housing, a process estimated to take 90 days. Success fully staying in a hotel room was considered a stepping-stone to independent living. By the e nd of September 2021, eighty-
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eight individuals were able to make the transition. The most vulnerable were the first to be rehoused with services.1 With the fortunate timing of units becoming available in newly opened apartment complexes with the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara, nine formerly homeless moved into existing available units. Others “voluntarily or involuntarily exited” the program, according to the County. At the one-year mark, program administrators within the County reported to the Jury that 56 percent of Roomkey particip ants had left the streets and moved into housing. The rate dropped slightly by the program’s end in September due to a lack of available units, reducing the ability to re-house clients.2 It has been estimated that the cost of housing one person in a hotel room with provided services is $180 per night. Services include security, staff, meals, tra nsportation, and supplies. FEMA will reimburse the County only up to $90 per night, and the County must make up the difference.
FEMA reimbursement is expected to end in December 2021. Behavio ral Wellness and Public Health continue to provide wrapa round services, which include c ase management and medical and mental health care. To date, the County has been able to ta p into CARES funds and homeless program funds from the Department of Social Services t o pay the extra room and service costs. With Roomkey, local hospitals, County, and municipal public services were spared some heavy recurring costs and services related to caring for this dependent population.
The first Project Roomkey in Santa Barbara County received more than $1 million in State funding. Project Roomkey is dependent on funding from the State and Federal government, and the program cannot continue unless the County identifies anothe r revenue source. The 2021-22 California State budget is maintaining $150 million in funding for a modified Project Roomkey and Rehousing Strategy, with the intention of allowing resident s of Roomkey to stay until they can find permanent housing. From that, Santa Barbara County wil l receive a baseline allocation of $772,384 for the work of transitioning the formerly homeless. That money will be used to re- house at least 40 of those remaining in the Roomkey motel.
Project Roomkey has been a model for other programs in the County . City Net in the City of Santa Barbara has been inviting homeless individuals to stay in 15 different motels located around the city for six months. City Net’s program, known as th e scattered model, is being considered for future hotel/motel leasing in the County because of its reduced impact on surrounding businesses and neighborhoods. City Net also established a temporary Roomkey-type program in Santa Barbara. After the Loma Fire within city limits in May 2021, the Santa Barbara City Council voted to pay for a program to shelter those living in encampments through the four- month fire season. Full-service motel rooms are expensive, 3 but the City of Santa Barbara felt it
had to do something to reduce the threat of fires from homeless encampments in fire-prone areas.
Roomkey has served as a stimulus for thinking creatively about homeless issues and for opening doors to homeless housing. Overall, Project Roomkey motivated t he County to find a quick and easily accomplished solution for the most vulnerable homeless at a critical time.
1 This follows the National Alliance to End Homelessness, Housin g First protocol of housing the most vulnerable first.
2 The Housing Authorities of Santa Barbara County and the City o f Santa Barbara have several affordable housing projects in progress now. Each development includes some units for formerly homeless clients. There should be a greater movement through the housing continuum again once the H ousing Authority units are available, which will increase the re-housing rate percentage again.
3 The daily cost of the room was estimated at $109/day, plus $157 /day for services. (Nick Welsh. “Upper State Street Motel May Rent All Rooms to Homeless.” Santa Barbara Independent. June 26, 2021.)
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Project Homekey
Project Homekey is California’s evolutionary next step after Project Roomkey. The State hoped that some of the Roomkey hotels would become part of Homekey’s permanent housing program.
While none of the hotels were willing to sell to the County, th e Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara (HASBARCO) applied for and received one grant award of $3.12 million to acquire an office building in Lompoc and repurpose it to perman ent housing with supportive services for its residents. The County added $1.5 million. The building had originally been an apartment building and then was converted to an office building used by the County’s Behavioral Wellness Department. Some remodeling was needed to create apartments again.
The State not only challenged jurisdictions to find buildings t o rehabilitate for the homeless, but it also imposed tight time restrictions in the application proc ess. Project Homekey was announced June 30, 2020. Local governments had to identify prop erties, have remodeling plans, partners, and a proposal in place by August 13, five weeks afte r the announcement of funding.
They then needed to purchase the properties, revitalize them, a nd, finally, occupy them by the end of the year. In Lompoc, 14 residents and one manager moved into their new homes just before and just after the deadline of December 31, 2020. All in all, this was a five-and-a-half- month process.
With news of the Homekey grant program, the director of HASBARC O called emergency meetings with the County and its agencies. The County assembled a task force from all involved agencies to break down bureaucratic walls and speed up the proc ess.4 One advantage that the County had was that the office building to be converted was alr eady owned by the County. The Planning and Development Department was able to self-permit and do its own inspections, and regulations such as land use, zoning, and building codes could be streamlined. HASBARCO engaged a developer who was familiar with the most efficient wa ys to get things done and who worked up to seven days a week. The City of Lompoc contributed to the teamwork. The State also cooperated in easing certain deadlines, understanding the imposition of the short timeline.
Construction projects in this County typically take three to fo ur years. The spirit of collaboration moved this project forward in less than six months, an unparalleled accomplishment in recent Santa Barbara County building history.
The Homekey Project is meant to be an economical way to house the homeless. State officials have estimated that the state average for the cost of purchase and rehabilitation of existing buildings in Project Homekey came to $147,974 per unit (includi ng an average local match of $23,987), while the cost of building from the ground up comes to $400,000 per unit. 5 In an
expensive county such as Santa Barbara, the Jury was told the p er unit cost is considered to be around $200,000-$250,000 to convert and a minimum of $450,000 per unit to build from the ground up.
Clients moving in to the Homekey units were vetted by the County’s Coordinated Entry System (CES), which assesses clients and matches them with services. S till being a time of a pandemic, clients were selected with the first criteria of protecting the m from COVID-19. They also had to
4 Expediency minimizes costs during construction. That way, more m o n e y c a n b e s p e n t o n t h e p u r c h a s e o f buildings.
5 Office of Governor Gavin Newsom. “Governor Newsom Announces Maj or Homekey Milestone: All 94 Sites Closing Escrow Ahead of Deadline.” December 29, 2020. In another estimate made on April 5, 2021, Lou Hirsh of Co-Star News quoted the conversion estimate to be $138,513, and the building average was $400,000 per unit.
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be able to live responsibly and independently . Homeless officials have told the Jury that many homeless no longer want to live in a congregate setting; they want their own space, and this often helps their stability. All supportive housing includes services (e.g., health care, mental health, and case management), which are considered essential for their success in independent living.
As permanent residents, the clients have to pay rent. Typically , the formerly homeless are issued a Section 8 voucher.6 This Federal program allows clients to pay only 30 percent of their income (often Social Security or Disability Benefits) toward rent. The Federal government pays the rest.
VA Supportive Housing (VASH) is available to take care of rent payments for veterans.
While the COVID-19 pandemic depressed hotel demand from tourism , no owners were willing to sell their properties for the purpose of being transformed t o homeless housing. Acquiring hotels will only be more difficult when tourism is flourishing again. The Jury was told that local officials have “scoured the universe” looking for available pro perties that were willing to sell to the County, yet could find only one pre-owned possibility in North or South County for the Homekey project. In the end, the site selected for Homekey was offered by a County department, Behavioral Wellness.
For Project Homekey, there are local impediments inherent in bu ying hotels in local communities: limited available real estate, high property value s, expensive rents, a steady and recovering tourism business for hotels, and neighborhood resist ance. Often in planning housing for the homeless, there is a need for negotiations with neighbo rhoods. The Jury heard that the onset of the pandemic temporarily fostered a more tolerant view of housing the homeless. There were no protests against the Homekey project. HASBARCO ’s goal is to be a good neighbor. In addition to hosting neighborhood forums, both Housing Authorities address community concerns in all its housing projects. Their housing developments are lan dscaped, maintained well, and have onsite supervision for the security of neighbors, as well as its clients. Moreover, the Department of Behavioral Wellness provides case management services for every resident.
The County hopes to create Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with cities, which could consolidate funding and foster regional cooperation. Santa Barb ara City and County Housing Authorities have worked with corporations and banks to gain their investment in community housing, mostly through tax credits. Local leaders have approac hed church organizations and school districts for support. More housing alliances could be f orged with hospitals and service organizations to apply for Homekey funds, for example. County d epartments such as Behavioral Wellness, Public Health, and Soc ial Services could band togethe r to apply for funding for projects. While these concepts can help, funding for housing fo r the homeless continues to be dependent upon State and Federal money.
Homekey funding comes at a time when the State is contributing extraordinary amounts of money to solve homelessness. The 2021-22 State budget earmarked $1.45 billion for Homekey, Round 2, and an additional $1.3 billion the following year. The State is allowing more flexibility in the criteria in the types of buildings to convert and the amount of time to convert them.
Jurisdictions have between the end of September 2021 and the be ginning of May 2022 (or until all funds are exhausted) to submit an application. Once funding is awarded, jurisdictions have eight months to expend the funding and 12 months to complete co nstruction. The building must
6 The County estimates 80% of those transitioning into permanent housing require a subsidy. The County’s Phase II Community Action Plan to Address Homelessness calculated a need for a total of 531 long-term subsidies and 835 permanent supportive housing units for the County.
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be fully occupied within 90 days after completion. However, the re is no guarantee of receiving an award from the State. Santa Barbara County must apply and co mpete with other California counties and jurisdictions for these limited-time funds.
As of September 2021, no sites had been identified for homeless projects. There is no line item in the budget for acquisition of property to house the homeless at the County level or within city jurisdictions. To qualify for more state Homekey funding, the C ounty must be ready with a site, partners, and its own complementary funding. 7 Given the temporary nature of the State funding, agencies need to apply the lessons from the first Homekey succe ss in terms of quick acquisition of a site, ready funding, and inter-departmental cooperation. The County has created a “strike team,” but other jurisdictions could also help prepare plans to take advantage of funding opportunities. Identifying possible sites and opening negotiati ons with the owners ahead of funding announcements remains a critical component to success. Above all, to secure the legacy of the Homekey program, the County and its cities and agencies need to work together to put plans in place.
CONCLUSION
The confluence of a pandemic and a State budget surplus created an exceptional opportunity for those that work with the homeless population. The cost and magnitude of the homeless issues must be addressed with the cooperation of the Federal, State, a nd local governments. For 2021- 22, there is $150 million in State funding available for Roomke y and $1.45 billion for Homekey.
The County and cities would not be able to consider leasing or purchasing buildings for these homeless programs and providing services without this funding.
The 2021 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury concluded that the Cou nty, cities, and Housing Authorities would do well to make every effort to secure more housing for the homeless at this time when State and Federal money is available. Incentives that the County offers community partners now could produce more positive outcomes than at any other time. In the long run, extra funds spent on homeless housing now can reduce the millions of dollars being absorbed as collateral homeless expenses by county or city agencies such as fire, police, ambulance, public and environmental health, hospitals, jails, parks, libraries, mental health clinics, public works, street maintenance, and more. In the future, savings from these respective departments could be combined for homeless projects.
While Roomkey and Homekey have only helped a fraction of the to tal homeless in the County, the two projects have set a precedent and illuminated the way f or similar projects to house the homeless. County agencies can work together to accomplish rapid results. It took a global emergency to bring community partners to the table with a true sense of collaboration. Now that those alliances are established, these agencies can more effectively coordinate the work to purchase and convert buildings for formerly homeless residents. Santa Barbara County and its cities must continue to work together and devise incentives and methods of funding to further the successes of Projects Roomkey and Homekey.
7 In the meantime, County, state, and Federal funds are being al located to other forms of homeless housing:
$1,935,000 over three years for an encampment response program, and $4,935,560 over three years for a new shelter, pallet homes, and a tiny home project. The County hope s to add 100 available beds with these three programs. It also hopes that Project Homekey will add the same number of beds for the homeless. Only the first year is considered for funding now. Without state funding and Federa l grants, these programs would have to be curtailed also.
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FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Finding 1
During the COVID-19 pandemic Proj ect Roomkey demonstrated the value of providing rooms, with appropriate services, for the vulnerable elderly homeless with underlying health conditions.
Recommendation 1
That the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors and all city councils within the County establish programs similar to Roomkey in both North and South C ounty to continue to provide rooms, with appropriate services, for vulnerable elderly homele ss with underlying health conditions.
Finding 2
Few hotels and motels throughout Santa Barbara County were willing to participate in Project Roomkey.
Recommendation 2
That the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors instruct the Santa Barbara County Community Services Department to form an alliance with all city councils within the County to develop a roster of hotels and motels willing to participate in a Roomkey-type program.
Finding 3
Buildings for Homekey conversion have been difficult to locate and acquire.
Recommendation 3
That the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors and all city councils within the County identify possible Homekey sites including government owned properties in each jurisdiction.
Finding 4
Project Homekey called upon various Santa Barbara County depart ments to work together creatively, quickly, and economically to transform a County own ed office building into housing for the homeless.
Recommendation 4
That the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors instruct the Santa Barbara County Community Services Department to solidify a team to replicate t he successful efforts in converting buildings efficiently into housing for the homeless.
Finding 5
Both Project Roomkey and Project Homekey are reliant on short-term or one-time funding from the State and Federal governments.
Recommendation 5
That the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors and all city councils within the County develop and implement a plan for funding Roomkey and Homekey-type programs.
15 2021 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury Page 9
Finding 6
The Roomkey and Homekey programs require funding to provide wra paround services for the homeless.
Recommendation 6
That the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors direct the S anta Barbara County Public Health, Behavioral Wellness, a nd Social Services Departments, a long with the Santa Barbara County Community Services Department, to explore options for funding for wraparound services.
REQUEST FOR RESPONSE
Pursuant to California Penal Code Section 933 and 933.05 , the Santa Barbara County Grand Jury requests each entity or individual named below to respond to the enumerated findings and recommendations within the specified statutory time limit:
Responses to Findings shall be either:
x Agree
x Disagree wholly
x Disagree partially with an explanation
Responses to Recommendations shall be one of the following:
x Has been implemented, with brief summary of implementation actions taken x Will be implemented, with an implementation schedule
x Requires further analysis, with analysis completion date of no more than six months after the issuance of the report
x Will not be implemented, with an explanation of why
Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors – 90 Days
Findings 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Recommendation 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
City of Buellton – 90 Days
Findings 1, 2, 3, 5
Recommendation 1, 2, 3, 5
City of Carpinteria – 90 Days
Findings 1, 2, 3, 5
Recommendation 1, 2, 3, 5
City of Goleta – 90 Days
Findings 1, 2, 3, 5
Recommendation 1, 2, 3, 5
16 2021 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury Page 10
City of Guadalupe – 90 Days
Findings 1, 2, 3, 5
Recommendation 1, 2, 3, 5
City of Lompoc – 90 Days
Findings 1, 2, 3, 5
Recommendation 1, 2, 3, 5
City of Santa Barbara – 90 Days
Findings 1, 2, 3, 5
Recommendation 1, 2, 3, 5
City of Santa Maria – 90 Days
Findings 1, 2, 3, 5
Recommendation 1, 2, 3, 5
City of Solvang – 90 Days
Findings 1, 2, 3, 5
Recommendation 1, 2, 3, 5
17 ATTACHMENT 2
City of Goleta Letter with Draft Responses to the 2021 Civil Grand Jury Report on “Keys to Housing the Homeless”
18 CITY COUNCIL
Paula Perotte
Mayor
Stuart Kasdin
Mayor Pro Tempore
Roger S. Aceves
Councilmember
James Kyriaco
Councilmember
Kyle Richards
Councilmember
CITY MANAGER
Michelle Greene
February 2, 2022
Pamela Olsen, Foreperson
2021 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury
Santa Barbara County Courthouse
1100 Anacapa Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
RE: 2021 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury Report: The Keys to Housing the Homeless
Dear Madame Foreperson and Members of the Grand Jury,
The City of Goleta is pleased to provide the following response s to the above referenced report as requested in the November 19, 2021, letter to the City:
Finding 1
During the COVID-19 pandemic Project Roomkey demonstrated the value of providing rooms, with appropriate services, for the vu lnerable elderly homeless with underlying health conditions.
Recommendation 1
That the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors and all city councils within the County establish programs similar to Roomke y in both North and South County to continue to provide rooms, with appropriate services, for vulnerable elderly homeless with unde rlying health conditions.
City of Goleta Response: Agree: Has been implemented
On August 17, 2021, the City Council authorized the expenditure o f $530,565 in a contract with CityNet, a statewide nonprofit home less service provider, to provide services similar to those outlined in Project Roomkey.
Specifically, the project provides:
x Outreach and Engagement – Two staff will contact homeless people living in encampments or other areas not fit for human habitati on three times per week. People will be assessed, provided food, water, and 19 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury Response
February 2, 2022
sanitation products, and invited to participate in the homeless ness Coordinated Entry System.
x Housing Navigation – CityNet staff will offer homele ss people immediate shelter in either a local motel room, the newly opened Hedges House of Hop e in Isla Vista, or one of the two Goleta beds at the PATH Shelter. At the same time, e fforts will be made to secure permanent affordable housing through rental assistance or permanent supportive housing options. This effort involves the rental of 5 motel roo ms for the duration of the agreement for use t o provide “bridge housing” while more perm anent housing is arranged.
x Case Management – Each homeless person will be enrolled in a collaborative case management process that will track and guide people into transi tional and/or permanent housing with ongoing supportive services like crisis management , motivational interviewing for lifestyle changes, access to physical and beha vioral healthcare providers, financial assistance and food assistance and other supports.
Finding 2
Few hotels and motels throughout Santa Barbara County were will ing to participate in Project Roomkey.
Recommendation 2
That the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors instruct the Santa Barbara County Community Services Department to form an alliance with all city councils within the County to develop a roster of hotels and motels willing to part icipate in a Roomkey-type program.
City of Goleta Response: Agree: Has been implemented
The City of Goleta has contracted with the non-profit, CityNet, for finding, negotiating and securing hotels in the greater Goleta region. As the Grand Jury found, this process has proven to be very challenging. Most hotel providers have no interest in participating in this program. Additionally, in November of 2021, two residen ts placed in a local motel int he City of Goleta caused disturbances and damage to the pro perty. The initial response from the motel’s management was to terminate the relationship with CityNet.
Through negotiations with the manager, CityNet has been able to r e s t o r e t h i s relationship.
Currently, only one motel in the City of Goleta has agreed to p articipate in this RoomKey style effort. CityNet, working on behalf of the City of Goleta, will continue to look for other motel and hotel providers.
20 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury Response
February 2, 2022
Finding 3
Buildings for Homekey conversion have been difficult to locate and acquire.
Recommendation 3
That the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors and all city councils within the County identify possible Homekey sites including government own ed properties in each jurisdiction.
City of Goleta Response: Agree: Has been implemented
As of January 10, 2022, two hotels are in negotiation with the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara for the purpose of submitting a Project Homekey application with the State of California. The staff in the City of Goleta h ave worked closely with Housing Authority staff to support this effort. One Homekey pro ject is located in the City of Goleta at 6021 Hollister Avenue, currently the Super 8 Motel. On January 11, 2022, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors approved a reservation of $3,047,501 in American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) funds, HOME-ARP fund s, and additional ARPA or Homeless Housing Assistance and Prevention Program (HHA P) funds, to the Project. In addition, on January 5, 2022, the City Council of t he City of Goleta reserved $600,000 in ARPA funding for the Housing Authority Homekey proj e c t t o a c q u i r e t h i s site for permanent supportive housing for homeless individuals, contingent on a successful Homekey 2.0 application.
Furthermore, the City of Goleta has committed staff resources t o supporting potential developers with the search for commercial property that might b e converted to residential under the Project Homekey competitive funding.
Finding 5
Both Project Roomkey and Project Homekey are reliant on short-t erm or one-time funding from the State and Federal governments.
Recommendation 5
That the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors and all city councils within the County develop and implement a plan for funding Roomkey and Homekey-type programs.
City of Goleta Response: Disagree Partially
The City of Goleta, as a small municipality, should not be expe cted to fund programs such as Roomkey and Homekey on its own. Project Homekey represe nts a significant investment in the creation of housing. Currently, cities such a s Goleta, without the benefit of bond funds or other sources set aside for the large- scale capital costs associated with housing development, cannot reasonably commit t o the kind of ongoing capital subsidy Project Homekey provides. However, as stated in response to previous findings, the City of Goleta has reserved $600,000 in ARPA fund ing toward the 21 Santa Barbara County Grand Jury Response
February 2, 2022
acquisition of a Homekey site in Goleta by the County Housing Authority and is committed to streamlining the process to making this site and o ther commercial properties work for housing. Such efforts would include considering the impact of zoning laws and building codes.
In addition, for fiscal year, 2021-22, the City of Goleta has c ommitted a record amount of funding to combatting the problem of homelessness. To date, over $827,000 has been committed to housing people who are homeless. The bulk of these funds, $536, 565, has been to pay for a Project Roomkey-style program withou t the benefit of the one-time State funding. This effort is proposed to house 50 people permanently over the course of the fiscal year. Should this effort be successful, the City would consider continuing this program in the 2022-2023 fiscal year.
The City of Goleta looks to county, state and federal support to help create affordable housing within its City limits. The City of Goleta will continu e to use CDBG and other funding sources to support outreach and bridge housing for the homeless. The City will also continue to work with the County and other members of the HOME Consortium to fund Homekey projects, permanent supportive housing, and other affordable housing projects in the region. With a City Council committed to creati ng more affordable housing and ending homelessness, actions such as inclusionary r equirements, zoning changes, and developer waivers have already occurred and will a lso be part of future efforts.
This concludes our responses to the Grand Jury’s Report. For an y additional assistance we can provide on this, please feel free to contact Jaime Valde z, Neighborhood Services Director at [email protected] or by phone at 805-961-7568.
Sincerely,
Michelle Greene
City Manager
cc: Jaime Valdez, Neighborhood Services Director
The Honorable Judge Gustavo Lavayen, Presiding Judge, Santa Barbara County Grand Jury, 312 East Cook Street, Santa Maria, CA 93454
Santa Barbara County Grand Jury
Digital Copy to: [email protected]
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