_______________________________
Kathleen Ward
Mayor, City of San Clemente
Attachment 1
City Hall ● 910 Calle Negocio, San Clemente CA 92673 ● (949) 361-8200 ● www.san-clemente.org Page PAGE \* MERGEFORMAT 2
October 17, 2023
Supervisor Katrina Foley
400 W Civic Center Dr.
Santa Ana, CA 92701
Supervisor Foley,
Thank you for your efforts to improve life in Orange County and your dedicated representation of San Clemente. We hope you will always feel welcome in our community and can count on our support as you navigate the challenges in insuring that the quality of life for all Orange County residents is maintained.
You have been consistent in your request that we, as a city, reach out with any concerns which would fall under your purview as our elected Supervisor. We would request that you review the following narrative as this situation has created such an issue.
In the past few weeks, a resident, and board member of a local nonprofit, has publicly announced that his organization is actively seeking a property to secure as a Permanent Supportive Housing development here in San Clemente. This individual has further stated that the County has committed to funding the purchase, and renovation, of a local motel to convert into such a facility. This assertion, whether accurate or not, has a large number of our residents concerned. The concern is that the County would actively participate in such a project without consulting with our city officials.
Several years ago, a nonprofit organization purchased an apartment building in San Clemente which they operate as PSH. Pursuant to the process of conversion, several long-time low-income residents were evicted and replaced with new low-income renters. This practice is inconsistent with our city’s desire to serve San Clemente residents who have been fortunate enough to secure affordable housing in this challenging rental market. We want to ensure that our hard-working Hispanic, Asian, Senior, Disabled and Military Veteran residents are not displaced if future projects are proposed. We certainly do not want to experience a situation where funding from the County attempts to solve one problem while creating other, potentially more damaging, issues later. We trust your commitment that the County will not fund alternative housing options in a city, without that city’s intention to do so, still stands. It is our opinion that if such a project were initiated, the odds of success would be greatly enhanced if the County and the impacted city were able to collaborate BEFORE the planning stages.
Once again, thank you for everything you have done while representing your constituents in San Clemente. If you have any questions, or need any clarification presented in this correspondence, please do not hesitate to contact our City Manager.
Respectfully,
Chris Duncan, Mayor Victor Cabral, Councilmember
Mark Enmeier, Councilmember Steve Knoblock, Councilmember Rick Loeffler, Councilmember
CELEBRATING 90 YEARS OF INCORPORATION
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
AND CITY COUNCIL
Chris Duncan
Mayor
Steve Knoblock
Mayor Pro Tem
Victor Cabral
Mark Enmeier
Rick Loeffler
CITY MANAGER
Andy Hall
910 Calle Negocio
San Clemente, CA 92673
Phone: (949) 361-8200
“The Spanish Village
by the Sea”