DATE:
June 27, 2023
CATEGORY:
Consent
DEPT.:
City Manager’s Office
TITLE: Authorization to Extend Operation of the
Safe Parking Lots and Execute Various
Agreements to Provide Annual and One-
Time Funding for Homeless Services
Programs
RECOMMENDATION
1. Adopt a Resolution of the City Council of the City of Mountain View Authorizing the City Manager or Designee to:
(1) Amend the Lease Agreement with Terra Bella II, LLC, for Safe Parking to Extend the Term Through June 30, 2024;
(2) Amend the Lease Agreements with the County of Santa Clara for the Operation of Safe Parking at: (a) Shoreline Amphitheatre Lot B and 1020 Terra Bella Avenue to Extend the Term Through June 30, 2024 and Add a Fire Safety Provision; (b) 1020 Terra Bella Avenue to also Add a Required Transition Plan; and (c) 87 East Evelyn Avenue to Extend the Term Through September 21, 2023 and Add a Fire Safety Provision; and
(3) After the City has Acquired 87 East Evelyn Avenue, Further Extend the Term of the County of Santa Clara’s Lease Agreement for Safe Parking Through June 30, 2024;
And Finding These Actions to be Exempt from the California Environ mental Quality Act Under California Code of Regulations Title 14, Sections 15301 and 15061(b)(3), to be read in title only, further reading waived (Attachment 1 to the Council report).
2. Adopt a Resolution of the City Council of the City of Mountain View Authorizing the City Manager or Designee to Execute Fiscal Year 2023-24 Funding Agreements with:
(1) The Community Services Agency of Mountain View, Los Altos, and Los Altos Hills for Housing-Related Services and Focused Outreach for Individ uals Living in Vehicles in an Amount Not to Exceed $162,000; and
(2) The County of Santa Clara for Preventing and Ending Homelessness in Mountain View in an Amount not to Exceed $825,000, to be read in title only, further reading waived (Attachment 2 to the Council report).
Authorization to Extend Operation of the Safe Parking Lots and Execute Various Agreements to Provide Annual and One-Time Funding for Homeless Services Programs June 27, 2023
3. Adopt a Resolution of the City Council of the C ity of Mountain View Recognizing the Community Services Agency of Mountain View, Los Altos, and Los Altos Hills (CSA) as a Resource Hub for the Unhoused and Unstably Housed in the Community and Authorizing the City Manager or Designee to Execute a Fiscal Y ear 2023-24 Agreement with CSA for a Capital Funding Contribution in a Total Amount not to Exceed $1,000,000, to be read in title only, further reading waived (Attachment 3 to the Council report).
4. Adopt a Resolution of the City Council of the City of Mountain View Authorizing the City Manager or Designee to Enter into a Fiscal Year 2023-24 Revenue-Sharing Agreement with the County of Santa Clara for a Two -Year Operational Funding Commitment for the LifeMoves Mountain View Interim Housing Community in a Total Amount not to Exceed $2,400,000, to be read in title only, further reading waived ( Attachment 4 to the Council report).
BACKGROUND
This Council report focuses on timely actions related to the City’s safe parking program, interim housing, and support services for unstably housed residents. The report also provides additional attached information regarding homelessness in Mountain View and the City’s extensive homeless programs and initiatives. A more comprehensive memorandum describing needs and services was provided to Council on December 15, 2022 and is included as Attachment 5 to this Council report. Updated information will be provided in the next annual communications later in fall 2023 as staff is refining reporting , associated collateral , and enhancing public communications to be more reader -friendly using infographics (Attachment 6). Some of this information is highlighted in this report and on new pages on the City website under the Human Services Division.
Homelessness Trends in Mountain View and Living-in-Vehicles Count
2022 County Point-in-Time Homeless Count
The County of Santa Clara completes the comprehensive, biannual, “point -in-time” (PIT) homeless count, which serves as a baseline for understanding homelessness in the region. This count includes the unsheltered and unstably housed, enumerating those individuals and families who are sleeping in emergency shelters and transitional housing , as well as people sleeping on the streets, in vehicles, abandoned properties, or other places not meant for human habitation.
The County’s count considers residents living in recreational and other vehicles as unsheltered .
The most recent PIT count was in 2023. The overall number of homeless individuals decreased by 1.2% Countywide (to 9,903). At the same time, there was a 4% decrease in the number of Authorization to Extend Operation of the Safe Parking Lots and Execute Various Agreements to Provide Annual and One-Time Funding for Homeless Services Programs June 27, 2023
unsheltered individuals. Mountain View’s 2023 PIT data, along with all other City -level data (except San Jose) is anticipated to be released in this month.
Over the prior three County PIT counts for which city -level data is a vailable, the number of homeless people in Mountain View had increased from 416 in 2017 , to 606 in 2019, and then decreased to 346 in 2022. The 2022 count of 346 is a decrease of 43% from 2019.
Since the 2019 PIT count was done, the City has opened LifeMoves Mountain View, an interim housing community that has 100 units and provides intensive case management and support services designed to return people to stable housing. This has made a substantive contribut ion to the options for homeless residents.
City Living in Vehicles Count
To augment the information from the County count, the City also conducts an annual street -by- street count of vehicles that appear to be in use for living purposes. A count was cond ucted in January 2023. A map of the locations with residents living in vehicles, showing areas of higher concentration in the City, is included in Attachment 7. As shown in Figure 1 below, over the past six years, the count of vehicles in the public righ t-of-way used for living has ranged from 200 to 300 vehicles, with the recent counts trending downward. Since the December 2018 count, more than one-half of the counted vehicles have been recreational vehicles (RVs). Between the count in February 2020, w hich was before the opening of the safe parking lots, and the most recent count in January 2023, there was a decrease in vehicles used for living purposes in the public right-of-way, although this decrease was not by the same amount as the vehicles transitioned to safe parking. The chart below shows the latest numbers from January 2023. The next City count will be conducted in January 2024.
Authorization to Extend Operation of the Safe Parking Lots and Execute Various Agreements to Provide Annual and One-Time Funding for Homeless Services Programs June 27, 2023
Figure 1: City of Mountain View Vehicle Count Trend (2017 to January 2023)
Homelessness and Housing Services
For the past seven years, the City has been studying and taking action to address the challenging rise in homelessness and unstably housed individuals. Today, the City is a recognized leader in addressing this regional problem, looking at all options, and forging strong partnerships with the County of Santa Clara and many community-based organizations.
Based on Council direction, staff aimed early on to connect with the Countywide system to leverage resources and expand public and private part nerships to address the needs of those who live in vehicles and others experiencing or are at risk for homelessness in Mountain View.
The needs and services related to homelessness can be viewed within a continuum for “coordinated care,” which includes ho melessness prevention, rapid rehousing, permanent supportive housing, emergency shelter, and interim/temporary housing. Finally, the effectiveness of the continuum of coordinated care relies on extensive communication and coordination across providers as well as ongoing outreach to residents in need of assistance.
Highlights of key City actions to increase housing options along the continuum are summarized in Figure 2 below.
Authorization to Extend Operation of the Safe Parking Lots and Execute Various Agreements to Provide Annual and One-Time Funding for Homeless Services Programs June 27, 2023
Figure 2: Key Actions to Increase Housing Options Along the Continuum of Care
Safe Parking Background
The City has been instrumental in supporting the formation of a local, nonprofit, safe parking provider (MOVE Mountain View); launching small, safe parking programs at faith -based locations; adopting a Safe Parking Ordinance to facilitate the creation of s afe parking locations on private lots; securing three dedicated safe parking lots; partnering with the County of Santa Clara to provide safe parking and a range of other services to support unstably housed residents on a path to permanent housing; and growing to become the largest safe parking provider in the region with the capacity for up to 114 parking spaces (includes both faith-based lots).
Currently, four sites are in operation (three City-secured and one faith/congregation lot). These sites are at or near capacity with an average, over time, of 130 to 150 unduplicated participants living in 80 vehicles. The City recently expanded the number of safe parking spaces at Shoreline Lot B, and the capacity impact will be included in next year’s report. A majority of the participants are families and are residing in oversized vehicles (O Vs), such as RVs. A comprehensive safe parking overview was provided at the February 14, 2023 Council meeting (Attachment 8). At this meeting, Council took action to inc rease the number of oversized vehicle spaces that may be
Authorization to Extend Operation of the Safe Parking Lots and Execute Various Agreements to Provide Annual and One-Time Funding for Homeless Services Programs June 27, 2023
used for safe parking at Shoreline Amphitheatre Lot B and authorized the associated agreements required for the expansion.
City-Secured Lots
The City has been instrumental in securing three lots for the provision of safe parking at Shoreline Amphitheatre Lot B, which is owned by the City but leased to Live Nation, during the concert season; Evelyn Avenue, which is leased from the Valley Transit Authority (VTA); and Terra Bella Avenue, which is leas ed from Terra Bella II, LLC (an Alta Housing company). The City has taken the lead in identifying and negotiating the use of these lots, funding lot preparation, providing funding for safe parking services, and identifying opportunities for increasing vehicle capacity on the sites. The current capacity of the lots (including the faith-based lots) is summarized in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Existing Safe Parking Lot Capacity
Lot Planning Zone Vehicle Type
Capacity
(living spaces
are noted in
bold)
Time Frame
Available
Terra Bella
(Alta Housing)
General
Industrial
(MM)
OVs with some
passenger
vehicles
9 OVs Use of the lot
has been
extended
through June
2024.*
Shoreline Lot B
(on Crittenden
Lane)
*Includes the
expanded number
of parking spaces
Public Facility
(PF)
OVs with some
passenger
vehicles
46 OVs,
2 Americans
with Disabilities
Act (ADA)
commuter
vehicles,
1 loading zone
space
Could be
ongoing for as
long as Council
directs, Live
Nation extends
the agreement,
and County
Environmental
Health approves
the plan.
Authorization to Extend Operation of the Safe Parking Lots and Execute Various Agreements to Provide Annual and One-Time Funding for Homeless Services Programs June 27, 2023
Lot Planning Zone Vehicle Type
Capacity
(living spaces
are noted in
bold)
Time Frame
Available
Evelyn Lot (former
VTA parking lot)
General
Industrial
(MM)
OVs with some
passenger
vehicles
30 OVs,
21 flex spaces
(for either living
or commuter
parking
purposes,
where a buffer
is only required
for spaces used
for living
purposes)
Includes 2 ADA
commuter
vehicles,
1 loading zone
space, and
+15 commuter
vehicles spaces
Until
construction for
affordable
housing begins
(estimated
Q1 2026).
St. Timothy’s Lot
(faith)
*On hiatus
Single-Family
Residential—
R1
Passenger
vehicles
4 No end date
designated at
this time.
Lord’s Grace (faith) North
Bayshore
Precise Plan—
P(39)
Passenger
vehicles
4 No end date
designated at
this time.
EXISTING TOTAL 114 safe parking spaces
________________________
* Alta Housing is open to shorter -term extensions in the future depending on the development of the affordable housing site.
County Agreements for 24/7 Safe Parking
In March 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic and emergency and public health orders to shelter- in-place, the need for safe parking became even more urgent. Through a series of actions on February 25, March 17, and March 27, 2020, the City Council approved various lease and funding Authorization to Extend Operation of the Safe Parking Lots and Execute Various Agreements to Provide Annual and One-Time Funding for Homeless Services Programs June 27, 2023
agreements for the County to administer 24/7 safe parking services at all th ree lots. This was further extended on September 8, 2020 with Council actions that authorized 24/7 safe parking operation on a temporary basis through an adopted resolution and made several other modifications to increase passenger vehicle spaces for a mi x of commuter parking and vehicles used for living on City-owned or -controlled lots. On June 8, 2021, Council authorized extensions of the 24/7 safe parking contracts with the County and a new lease agreement with Terra Bella II, LLC, for the Terra Bella lot along with a sublease to the County for safe parking operations.
This has led to the full utilization of OVs in the City’s safe parking sites consistently for more than three years.
LifeMoves Mountain View Background
On August 13, 2020, the City su bmitted a joint proposal with LifeMoves to the State’s Project Homekey Program. Council approved the authorizing resolution on August 25, 2020 for application to the program (Attachment 9). Project Homekey is a Statewide effort to rapidly sustain and expand housing for persons experiencing homelessness and impacted by COVID -19.
The purpose of this program is to build off the success of Project RoomKey (existing hotels), with Homekey (acquisition of existing buildings and eligible prefabricated modular containers as well) being the next phase in the State’s response to protecting Californians experiencing homelessness that are at high risk for serious illness and are impacted by COVID-19.
The program is administered by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) with $600 million in grant funding available to local public entities, including cities, counties, or other local public entities, such as housing auth orities recognized within California to purchase and rehabilitate housing, as well as hotels, motels, vacant apartment buildings, and other buildings and convert them into interim or permanent, long -term housing.
The program has provided an opportunity to expand sheltering capacity in Mountain View to respond to homelessness and to quickly add innovative solutions to the City’s affordable housing effort, especially during the pandemic.
In May 2021, the City celebrated the phased opening of the LifeMoves Mountain interim housing community. Located at 2566 Leghorn Street, LifeMoves Mountain View helps people experiencing homelessness transition to permanent housing through case management and housing location services. The site features innovative modular units for 100 households with beds for approximately 124 people. The site includes ample space for case management meetings, dining, recreation, laundry, and even dog kennels. At LifeMoves, every individual or family has a private room with heating, air conditioning, and a front door that locks. LifeMoves Mountain View is not only a facility, but also a program that is focused on the needs of clients and their well-being. The program may be well-suited for some and not others.
Authorization to Extend Operation of the Safe Parking Lots and Execute Various Agreements to Provide Annual and One-Time Funding for Homeless Services Programs June 27, 2023
ANALYSIS
Overview of Recommended Actions
This report recommends Council action to continue 24/7 safe parking use of the three City - secured lots (Shoreline Lot B, Evelyn, and Terra Bella), all of which are leased to the County of Santa Clara (County), which contracts with and oversees a safe parking service provider. For the Terra Bella lot, it is necessary to extend the lease agreement with the property owner, Terra Bella II, LLC. Therefore, staff recommends an amendment to the lease agreement. Staff is also recommending amendments to existing agreements with the County to extend 24/7 safe parking use at these three sites and authorize the City Manager or designee to enter into an agreement with the County for safe parking operations through the contracted service provider a nd a case worker for permanent supportive housing through June 30, 2024 for a total agreement amount not to exceed $825,000 for Fiscal Year 2023-24.
Additionally, this report includes recommendations for Council to authorize the City Manager or designee t o execute an agreement with the Community Services Agency (CSA) for case management/housing information and referral services and focused outreach for individuals living in vehicles through June 30, 2024 for a total agreement amount not to exceed $162,000 for Fiscal Year 2023-24.
Finally, staff also recommends Council authorize the City Manager or designee to enter into a separate revenue -sharing agreement with the County of Santa Clara to enable two years of operations for Fiscal Year 2023 -24 and Fiscal Year 2024 -25 for the LifeMo ves Mountain View interim housing community in a total amount not to exceed $2,400,000 and authorize the City Manager or designee to execute another agreement with the CSA for a capital funding contribution in a total amount not to exceed $1,000,000.
As further described below, the various programs the City provides are made possible through a series of agreements with multiple partners that require being renewed on an annual basis. In addition, there are some new one-time agreements discussed below.
Recurring Recommendations
One-Year Extension to 24/7 Safe Parking Program Term
The need for safe parking has continued throughout the COVID -19 pandemic and continues through the current recovery/transition period due to the pandemic’s impact on economic stability and housing security for Mountain View’s vulnerable populations. In addition, staff has observed several ongoing benefits of 24/7 operations at the City -secured lots. These full-time hours allow access to water, medical services, showers, and hygiene services, which continue to Authorization to Extend Operation of the Safe Parking Lots and Execute Various Agreements to Provide Annual and One-Time Funding for Homeless Services Programs June 27, 2023
be essential, and also provide more effective on -site access to case managers. Furthermore, by not requiring safe parking vehicles to leave the sites during the day, these vehicles are not relocated to City streets, and participants can experience more consistency and stability to help them move onto the next steps on their path to housing. Since these City -secured lots do not have daytime uses, there is no impact on the availability of parking for other needs.
The continuation of 24/7 safe parking at City -secured lots will require amendments to existing agreements for the Shoreline Lot B, Evelyn lot , and Terra Bella lot and to the agreement with Terra Bella II, LLC, for the City’s use of the Terra Bella lot.
The continued use of the Evelyn lot requires two amendments to the sublease agreement with the County. In September 2021, the City executed a long-term ground lease agreement with the VTA with the option to purchase the Evelyn lot. This ground lease agreement allows for the use of the Evelyn lot for safe parking through September 21, 2023. The continued use of the Evelyn lot beyond June 30, 2023 requires an amendment to the sublease agreement with the County to extend the term for the Evelyn lot until September 21, 2023. The City’s purchase agreement of the Evelyn site is expected to be executed by June 30, 2023. Upon close of escrow of the purchase and acquisition, the continued use of the Evelyn lot requires an additional amendment t o the sublease agreement with the County to further extend the lease term for the Evelyn lot until June 30, 2024.
In addition, the amendments to the existing agreements for the Shoreline Lot B, Evelyn lot, and Terra Bella lot will include fire safety provisions to grant City access to the lots for annual fire extinguisher inspections to ensure functionality of life-safety devices at these sites.
Lastly, the amendment to the existing agreement for the Terra Bella lot will also include a required transition plan in anticipation of the closure of the lot due to a future affordable housing development at the site.
Staff recommends Council authorize the City Manager or designee to modify the lease agreement with Terra Bella II, LLC, for the City’s use of the Terra Bella lot for safe parking through June 30, 2024 and the no -cost lease agreements with the County for their use of Shoreline Lot B, the Evelyn lot, and the Terra Bella lot for a 24/7 safe parking program to extend the term through June 30, 2024 (as discussed above), add a fire safety provision to each, and add a transition plan for the Terra Bella Lot.
Funding Agreement with the County of Santa Clara for Continuation of Safe Parking
The Fiscal Year 2023 -24 Recommended Budget includes $700,000 to fund 24/7 safe parking services, which includes ongoing operational costs and the cost to cover the expanded program, the largest in the County, at Shoreline Lot B that was approved at the February 14, 2023 Council Authorization to Extend Operation of the Safe Parking Lots and Execute Various Agreements to Provide Annual and One-Time Funding for Homeless Services Programs June 27, 2023
meeting (Attachment 8). This funding amount includes case management for all safe parking participants. The agreement with the County will provide for operations through a contracted provider (the current provider is MOVE Mountain View). The Recommended Budget also includes continued funding of $125,000 for a caseworker for permanent supportive housing for the chronically homeless.
Staff recommends Council authorize the City Manager or designee to enter into a funding agreement with the County in the amount of $825,000 for these services through June 30, 2024.
Funding Agreement with the Community Services Agency of Mountain View , Los Altos , and Los Altos Hills for Case Management and Focused Outreach and Assessments
Since 2017, t he City has contributed $60,000 each year, which was matched by the County through a revenue -share agreement , for case management services provided by CSA. The combined $120,000 provided funding for a percentage of three CSA case management staff salaries. Due to County procurement limitations, the $60,000 matching grant has not been available going forward from Fiscal Year 2022-23. To maintain service levels of housing problem- solving and referral and case management services for Fiscal Year 2022-23, at the June 14, 2022 Council meeting, Council authorized an agreement with CSA to include continued City funding of $60,000 with an additional $60,000 commitm ent from the City funded from the grant provided to the City by Destination: Home for a total of $120,000. Through the Fiscal Year 2023 -24 revenue-share agreement, the County continues to provide significant funding for safe parking and other continuum-of-care services.
As noted in the Background section above, the City has 861 additional affordable housing units in various stages of development, with approximately 353 units estimated to be completed over the next two years, including Crestview Hotel, per manent supportive housing, and rapid rehousing sites. In the County, the community queue is used to fill spaces in permanent supportive housing and rapid rehousing programs. The community queue consists of eligible households generated from the standard assessment tool that considers a household’s situation and identifies the best type of housing intervention to address their situation.
In 2022, more than 3,500 people obtained permanent housing, an 18 % increase over the year before. To narrow the gap to “functional zero,” meaning that the number of housing placements is greater than the number of households entering homelessness, it is critical that eligible households get assessed. To ensure the most vulnerable households experiencing homelessness do not miss out on supportive housing opportunities, the City desires to contribute $42,000 to CSA to fund a portion of a full -time case manager’s salary who will dedicate 70% of their time conducting focused outreach and completing assessments to help the M ountain View living-in- vehicle population become a part of the community queue for Fiscal Year 2023 -23. The additional $42,000 is to be funded from the grant provided to the City by Destination: Home.
Authorization to Extend Operation of the Safe Parking Lots and Execute Various Agreements to Provide Annual and One-Time Funding for Homeless Services Programs June 27, 2023
Staff recommends Council authorize the City Manager o r designee to execute an agreement with the Community Services Agency of Mountain View, Los Altos , and Los Altos Hills for housing problem-solving services, housing information, and referral case management services in the amount of $120,000 and new focused outreach and assessments for individuals living in vehicles in the amount of $42,000, for a total agreement amount no t to exceed $162,000 for Fiscal Year 2023-24.
New, Refined, and One-Time Recommendations
Capital Funding Agreement with Community Services Agency of Mountain View , Los Altos , and Los Altos Hills
CSA provided a letter to Council dated February 28, 2023, which included a request for $2 million to support their capital funding campaign, noting their need to acquire and develop a new facility to meet increased service demands. The request was for the City to consider this as a part of the budgetary process for the Fiscal Year 2023-24.
As the Emergency Assistance Network safety net provider for the City of Mountain View, CSA has been providing vital social services for residents, such as emergency financial assistance for rent and utilities, homeless services, food and nutrition, senior case management, a daily senior lunch program, outreach to vulnerable populations, and more for over 65 years. Assisting over 6,000 individuals annually, CSA provides services to all in need regardless of race, ethnicity, language, country of origin, immi gration status, age, religious belief, gender, or sexual orientation. CSA notes the demand for the essential social services provided by CSA has significantly increased.
Since the beginning of the COVID -19 pandemic, CSA has had a 34% increase in the numb er of clients served. Within the last year alone, CSA had a 47% increase in the number of unhoused individuals served.
The CSA proposed capital project is in two phases: first, the existing site rehabilitation (Phase I), and second, the Food and Nutrition Center (FNC)/Storage (Phase II). Phase I is an 18-month-long project, starting construction approximately in October 2023. Phase II is the Food and Nutrition Center/Storage or other uses, with the location still to be determined, and is also associated with some of the City’s competitive bids for Evelyn lot use that will be heard as a separate item on the Council agenda for June 27, 2023.
Associated with the capital funding request, City staff expressed interest in collaborating to have CSA serve as an official “ resource hub” for information to the homeless in the City. This aligns with the City’s current and ongoing collaborations with CSA to serve the community’s most vulnerable populations and the needs of our residents, including case management for the unhoused. Additionally, this aligns with Council’s ongoing policy direction to leverage resources Authorization to Extend Operation of the Safe Parking Lots and Execute Various Agreements to Provide Annual and One-Time Funding for Homeless Services Programs June 27, 2023
and partnerships to support the City’s unhoused residents. CSA concurred that , should capital funding be approved, they will agree to incorporate this commitment into the resulting funding agreement.
Importantly, none of the factors associated with the still-to-be-determined second phase change the importance of the existing CSA facility as it would remain the core hub for resources and navigation to residents in need. Therefore, City funding would be aimed at the first phase while also helping to serve as a catalyst for the overarching capital funding campaign.
Staff recommends Council recognize the Community Services Agency of Mountain View, Los Altos, and Los Altos Hills (CSA) as a resource hub for the unhoused and unstably housed in the community and authorize the City Manager or designee to execute an agreement with CSA for a capital funding contribution in a total amount not to exceed $1,000,000.
Revenue-Share Agreement with the County of Santa Clara for LifeMoves Mountain View
As noted in the August 25, 2020, Council report (Attachment 10), one of the core challenges to the initial LifeMoves project proposal was the financing required for program operations. The annual operating cost for the project is $2.4 million for each of the first five years. The application submitted request ed $1.2 million for the first two years, leaving $2.4 million remaining for Years 1 to 2, and $7.2 million for Years 3 to 5 (for a total operating gap of approximately $9.6 million). On September 8, 2020, the City Council committed $2.4 million to support project operations. The City’s funding commitment was based on the future community benefits payment to the City from the Google Landings Project . Council approved the Google Landings Project on June 23, 2020 (Attachment 11). The community benefit was paid in May 2022. The City’s commitment is needed for the interim housing facility operations costs after the State grant for operations phases out after the first two years.
Staff recommends Council authorize the City Manager or designee to execute a revenue - sharing agreement with the County of Santa Clara to enable two years of operations for Fiscal Year 2023 -24 and Fiscal Year 2024 -25 for the LifeMoves Mountain View interim housing community in a total amount not to exceed $2,400,000.
Future Safe Parking Program Opportunities
The City’s efforts to establish and expand safe locations demonstrate a longstanding commitment to addressing the needs of vulnerable residents. Safe parking is one strategy among many the City employs to meet the housing and supportive service needs of h omeless and unstably housed Mountain View residents. The City has developed the largest safe parking program in the County, which serves on average approximately 150 to 160 people now and is expected to grow to up to 175 individuals every month with the expansion at Shoreline Lot B.
Authorization to Extend Operation of the Safe Parking Lots and Execute Various Agreements to Provide Annual and One-Time Funding for Homeless Services Programs June 27, 2023
Staff will continue to engage with lot owners to maintain capacity and/or find additional sites for safe parking as part of the broader efforts to assist the unhoused and unstably housed. Staff has been meeting with affordable housing developers , and staff sees possibly two prospective options to further explore as likely transition lots, depending on timing.
In the meantime, staff anticipates an opportunity to extend the safe parking program at the Terra Bella lot in short increments until the development date for that site is finalized.
Finally, staff intends to devote significant focus over the next year to the development of a Homeless Response Strategy and Expenditure Plan. The purpose of this effort is to analyze and refine existing programs and services and determine additional solutions for homelessness and housing instability. While safe parking is an important form of temporary shelter, the hope is to build out the City’s range of partnerships and policies to make a more sustainable impact on this critical regional issue.
FISCAL IMPACT
City funds in the amount of $825,000 for the annual agreement with the County and $162,000 for the annual agreement with CSA are included in the Fiscal Year 2023 -24 Recommended Budget. The funding is from several sources, including the General Housing Fun d, which also includes a portion of a grant from Destination: Home ($102,000) and limited-period funds , including public benefit. An additional budget is needed to enter into an agreement with CSA for a capital funding contribution in a total amount not to exceed $1,000,000. City funds in the amount of $2,400,000 for a two -year operational funding commitment for the LifeMoves Mountain View Interim Housing community are included in the Fiscal Year 2023 -24 Recommended Budget.
CONCLUSION
This report recommends a variety of recurring actions needed to extend the duration of the current safe parking program. It also provides background information on the development and scope of the safe parking program; data on key City actions to increase housing options along the continuum of care through June 2022 (with Fiscal Year 2022 -23 data to be shared in the next annual communications later this year); new, refined, and one-time recommendations for the authorization of one -time funding for homeless services programs; and an update on the on - going identification efforts for potential further expansion of safe parking.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Do not adopt the recommended resolutions.
2. Provide other direction to staff.
Authorization to Extend Operation of the Safe Parking Lots and Execute Various Agreements to Provide Annual and One-Time Funding for Homeless Services Programs June 27, 2023
PUBLIC NOTICING
Agenda posting, web, and social media advisories, and a copy of the report was sent to Santa Clara County representatives, CSA, MOVE Mountain View, Alta Housing, Live Nation, Destination: Home, and other community-based organizations and stakeholder group members, shared with the safe parking lots via the operator, and, as feasible, others who have corresponded with the City Manager’s Office on this topic.
Prepared by:
Kimberly S. Thomas
Deputy City Manager
Parneet Dhindsa
Human Services Manager
Approved by:
Audrey Seymour Ramberg
Assistant City Manager
KST-PD/MS/6/CAM
609-06-27-23CR
203117
Attachments: 1. Resolution for Amending the Safe Parking Lease and Sublease Agreements
2. Resolution for Executing a Fiscal Year 2023-24 Funding Agreement with the Community Services Agency and County of Santa Clara
3. Resolution for Executing a Fiscal Year 2023 -24 Funding Agreement for a Capital Funding Contribution
4. Resolution for Entering into a Fiscal Year 2023 -24 Revenue-Sharing Agreement with the County of Santa Clara for a Two-Year Operational Funding Commitment for the LifeMoves Mountain View Interim Housing Community
5. Council Memorandum Dated December 15, 2022
6. Safe Parking Program Infographic
7. Map of Living in Vehicle Count Trend—January 2023
8. Council Report Dated February 14, 2023
9. Resolution for Authorizing Joint Application to the Project Homekey Program
10. Council Report Dated August 25, 2020
11. Council Report Dated June 23, 2020