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Agenda Report
April 15, 2024
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TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
THROUGH: Economic Development and Technology Committee (March 19, 2024) FROM: Department of Housing
SUBJECT: AUTHORIZATION TO EXECUTE A CONTRACT WITH THE SHOWER
OF HOPE TO OPERATE A SAFE PARKING PROGRAM
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council:
1) Find that the recommended action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines per Section 15061 (b) (3), the "common sense" provision that CEQA only applies to projects that may have an effect on the environment;
2) Authorize the City Manager to enter into a contract with End Homelessness California, dba The Shower of Hope, in an amount not-to-exceed $305,000 with a contract term ending June 30, 2025, to operate a safe parking program; 3) Authorize the City Manager to amend the recommended contract to extend the term up to three additional years and add up to $915,000 for a total not-to- exceed amount of $1,220,000; and
4) To the extent the contract and amendments could be considered separate procurements subject to the Competitive Selection Process, grant an exemption pursuant to Pasadena Municipal Code (PMC) Section 4.08.049(B), contracts for which the City's best interests are served. These transactions are exempt from competitive bidding per PMC Section 4.08.030 and City Charter Section 1002(F) based on contracts for professional or unique services.
MEETING OF__^/15/2024_AGENDA ITEM NO. . 8__ _
Authorization to Enter into a Contract with The Shower of Hope for Safe Parking April 15, 2024
BACKGROUND:
Need for Safe Parking
Safe parking programs are designed to provide a safe place for people sheltering in their vehicles to park without risk of a citation. These programs offer on-site services including restrooms, handwashing stations, and case management services. Safe parking programs provide a stabilizing foundation upon which homeless and other social services can facilitate movement toward permanent housing.
The needs of individuals sheltering in their vehicles are typically different from chronically homeless individuals living outdoors. By maintaining access to vehicular shelter, individuals participating in safe parking programs may maintain work and community ties not afforded to individuals living on the street. Without safe parking, people living in their cars risk citations, towing, or impoundment fees that increase instability and threaten those ties.
A 2019 National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty study found that 30 to 50% of people experiencing hometessness in West Coast cities lived in their cars. In Pasadena, likely due to the overnight parking ban, vehicular living is not as widespread.
The 2023 Pasadena Point-in-Time Homeless Count found 27 individuals (5% of all people experiencing homelessness) to be residing in their cars, which may indicate that those sheltering in their vehicles are displaced from their home city, at least during overnight hours. Anecdotally, this type of displacement is corroborated by Pasadena- based street outreach workers.
The recently adopted Pasadena Continuum of Care Homelessness Plan recommends "increas[ing] the number of safe parking program sites" in support of Strategy 14:
Strengthen and Increase Access to Essential Services within the Crisis Response Action Area. The plan states, "people living in their cars often lack access to safe and secure places to park, which can create safety concerns, including the risk of crime and harassment" and points to the stabilizing effect that safe parking programs have for people experiencing homelessness.
On June 12, 2023 Council approved zoning code amendments to allow safe parking as an accessory use at certain sites occupied by colleges, transit stations, and religious facilities. Sixty-nine of 74 identified sites belong to religious institutions. Any proposed safe parking program must go through an MCUP process. Ordinance 7414, which codified these amendments, was signed on September 11, 2023 and went into effect 30 days later.
The Shower of Hope
Staff proposes to fund a safe parking program operated by End Homelessness California, dba The Shower of Hope, which would provide up to 25 individuals currently experiencing homelessness in Pasadena and living in their vehicles with a safe space to Authorization to Enter into a Contract with The Shower of Hope for Safe Parking April 15,2024
park and sleep. The Shower of Hope would provide security during overnight program hours, meals, portable restrooms, and case management services. Parking and services would only be provided to individuals enrolled in the program who would have a reserved spot each night. It is expected that participants would remain in the program for 3 to 6 months. The program would take place at the All Saints Church parking lot on the southeast corner of Walnut Street and Euclid Ave and would be contingent on All Saints Church's obtaining a Minor Conditional Use Permit. The site is currently used during daytime hours as a paid parking lot primarily utilized by people going to the courthouse. The Shower of Hope would enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with All Saints Church for nightly use of the property from 7 pm to 6:30 am. Currently the City funds The Shower of Hope to provide weekly mobile showers at All Saints Church to participants of the church's Safe Haven program and other people experiencing homelessness. The Shower of Hope has been operating safe parking programs in the City of Los Angeles since 2019.
On February 17 and 20, 2024 Reverend Mike Kinman of All Saints Church and Housing Dept. staff met with the owners and staff of Morris & Berger, the executive search firm at 390 E. Walnut St. which borders the church parking lot, to discuss the proposed project. Also on February 20, All Saints Church hosted an informational town hall-style community meeting. Eight neighboring businesses and residences, including the Westin Hotel, Alexander Steakhouse, Kaiser, and two apartment buildings were invited. Five people attended the meeting, all members of All Saints Church. As of the time of the writing of this report, an additional informational community meeting had been scheduled for April 10, 2024 with plan for increased outreach to neighbors to promote awareness of the event.
The Department recommends entering into a contract with The Shower of Hope in an amount not-to-exceed $305,000 of State of California Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) funds and term ending June 30, 2025. On February 26, 2024 Council approved amending the PLHA five-year spending plan to include allocating approximately 19% of the City's annual PLHA allocation to safe parking programming.
The Department further recommends authorizing up to three amendments to the recommended contract, each extending the contract by one additional year and adding funding not-to-exceed $305,000 per year for a total not-to-exceed amount of $1,220,000. The Department recommends a competitive selection exemption for which the City's best interests are served due to The Shower of hlope's experience operating safe parking programming in the City of Los Angeles as well as their existing relationship with All Saints Church.
COUNCIL POLICY CONSIDERATIQN:
The proposed actions support the City Council Strategic Planning Three-Year Goals in the areas of supporting and promoting the quality of life and the local economy.
Approval of the recommended actions has the potential to provide essential services for individuals experiencing homelessness in Pasadena. Entering into a contract for the operation of a safe parking is in accordance with the Pasadena Continuum of Care's Authorization to Enter into a Contract with The Shower of Hope for Safe Parking April 15, 2024
Homelessness Plan, General Plan Housing Element, Five-Year Consolidated Plan, and Five-Year Public Housing Authority Plan.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
The actions proposed herein are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15061 (b)(3), the "common sense" provision of CEQA which applies to projects which may have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. Entering into a contract with The Shower of Hope for the operation of a safe parking program will not have a significant effect on the environment and, hence, is not subject to CEQA.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Approval of the recommended actions will have no direct fiscal impact as the PLHA funds are already included in the Department's adopted Fiscal Year 2024 operating budget.
Respectfully submitted,
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WILLIAM K. HUANG I/
Director of Housing
Prepared by:
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Jennifer O'Reilly-Johes
Program Coordinator III
Approved by:
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City Manager