4/28/2023
1 Evaluation of
the Benton LifeMoves Project
by Safe Santa Clara
April 25, 2023
Agenda
Part I: Community Sentiment
Part II: Project Evaluation
1. : Environmental Impacts
2. : Neighborhood Safety
3.: Location Concerns 2.4:
Site SpecificC o n c e r n s
5. : Fiscal and Developer Concerns
6. : Credibility and Accountability of the County and LifeMoves Part VIII: Alternative Plan and Benton Proposal
Part IV: Conclusion
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2 Part I: Community Sentiment
5293 wet signatures from local residents strongly opposing Benton project https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWdCFJ8DDHg
Part I: Community Sentiment
Participants in Community Meetings
● 80%+ strongly oppose Benton
project
● Project supporters include
professionals from housing advocacy
organizations who donot live in the
neighborhood
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3 Part I: Community Sentiment
Hundreds of local residents protests against Benton project at Earl R Carmichael Park, Mission City Church, and Santa Clara City Hall.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gY8mUCrEO0https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEhXev9F0Ms Part II
Project Evaluation
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4 Part 2.1
Environmental Impacts
Environmental Impacts
● High Density - up to 248 people on 1 acre land
● Increase in foot traffic at this busy intersection (Lawrence, Benton, Floral Vista)
● Increase in vehicle traffic
● Increase in parking
● Waste Management
● Bioretention Compliance
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5 Part 2.2
Neighborhood Safety
Neighborhood Safety
Low Barrier Entry
● Criminal background
● Serious mental problems
● Drug addictions
Understaffed police force
“Low barrier entry…we prefer to take, to be honest, the more challenging elements of the population ”
- Brian Greenberg, LifeMoves
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6 Public Safety Data on Milpitas Homekey Project
● Total police calls increased by300% in 2022
● Councilmember Chua and Vice Mayor Carmen Montano challenged Consuelo that the county had changed the admission criteria without informing the city, and their screening process is not working.
● Ziploc bags of methwere found on site.
● Problematic tenants and drug addictions were not likely to be removedfrom the site due to State law.
● Only 10 Milpitas homelesslive within the 132 units apartment. ○ No staff onsite to repair elevator, fire alarm, smoke detector, etc.
○ Tenants from the business park next door “were leaving, and the business owner put the property on sale because of the negative impacts from Hillview Ct.”
“When compare the crime statistics,
Hillview Ct will outpace any apartment
complex in the city of Milpitas.”
- Jared Hernandez, Milpitas Police Chief
“Screening process needs to improve.
Because obviously the residents you
are selecting are committing crimes.”
- Carmen Montano, Mayor of Milpitas
Source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BR0sffdNLg&t=9458s, starts 2:37:00 https://www.youtube.com/live/1sqJldTlpmU?feature=share&t=2570, starts 43:00 Neighborhood Safety
Source:
https://www.youtube.com/live/1sqJldTlpmU?feature=share&t=2570, starts 43:00 https://abc7news.com/hillview-court-apartments-milpitas-supportive-housing-broken-elevator-disabled-residents-elderly/12856383/ Neighborhood Safety
– Reeve, resident of 1000 HIllview Ct
Public Safety Data on Milpitas Homekey Project
● As of November 2022:
○ Striking crime rate remained
○ Councilmember Karina R. Dominguez (who is the initial supporter for this project) visited the site one day prior to city’s scheduled check, and commented angrily: There was no 24/7 security, no one there checking-in visitors…carpets and restrooms are so dirty in the 2nd and 3rd floors… no eviction for crimes. “These need to be addressedimmediately.”
● As of February 2023:
○ Milpitas requested additional police of ficers to be funded by County since August 2022, but has yet to receive a response from the County.
○ Disabled occupants are stuck due to broken elevator for at least 8 months. “It goes down at least once a week”, said Reeve, one of the residents.
“Tenants are afraid for their lives.”– Karina, councilmember "People are afraid to come out of their rooms. I don't
leave my room without an open knife."
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7 Neighborhood Safety
Public Safety Data on LifeMoves Mountain View
Significant increase
Public Safety Data on Bella Vista
29 incidents at or next to Bella Vista since
Jan 21. Majority are drugs/narcotics,
vandalism, assault, car break‐ins.
Note that the Bella Vista interim housing
was opened in February 2023.
Neighborhood Safety
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8 Neighborhood Safety
Public Safety Data at Five San Jose sites
Ms. Consuelo Hernandez cited a news report by
KQED that complaints are down after interim
housing sites opened (ref: third community
meeting)
It was misleading because
● None of the 5s i t e sa r ei n residential areas
● Data was skewed by only one site
○ Number of calls increased for 4 sites
● Data showed the longer a site has been open,
the more crimes it generates
● Changes in types of crimes
Part 2.3
Location Concerns
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9 Location Concerns - Land Purpose
2,500-3,000 local families visiting
each year for community and family
events during the holiday seasons
Location Concerns - Schools
● The county failed to show any research on impacts
to this neighborhood. Using schools as an example:
○ 02/14/2023: c ounty and Lifemoves knew
nothing about how many sc hools are in the
vicinity
○ 03/02/2023: the c ounty said there were only
4 schools within in 1.5 miles. This is wrong.
○ 03/09/2023: the c ounty showed only 6
schools and 8 daycares within 1.5 miles. Still
wrong.
● 15 schools (10,483 students) and at least 31
daycares within 1.5 miles of Benton location; no
other Santa Clara communities have such a dense
concentration of schools.
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10 Location Concerns - additional
● Distance to Job Opportunities: no proof this location has more job opportunities ● Distance to Transport: El Camino bus corridor, located 0.9 miles from the site (~18min walk for healthy adults without bags etc.)
● Distance to Supportive Services: lack of easy access to locations for transportation, healthcare, food distribution, government benefits, and support services ● Liquor Store: across Benton
● Proximity to Bella Vista Interim Housing: less than 0.5 mile ● Similar Project Location: commercial/light industrial Part 2.4
Site SpecificC o n c e r n s
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11 Site SpecificC o n c e r n s-S i t eD e s i g n
● Fence Design: a fence on the creek side, but it is unclear if fences will also be installed on the other three sides of the site, and what type of fence will be used.
● Entrance: There is no clear information regarding the number of entrances to the site and whether they will be controlled. ● Parking: It is unclear whether the 80 parking spots provided, which include the parking lot for LifeMoves staff, will be sufficient for a maximum of 248 residents.
● Building Height: There is confusion regarding the number of stories the building will have. In the first and second community meetings, LifeMoves stated the building would be 4 stories, but in the fourth meeting, they claimed it could be 2 stories. Meanwhile, the Notice letter sent by the City of Santa Clara stated that the building would be 3s t o r i e s .
Site SpecificC o n c e r n s-O n s i t eP o l i c y
Detailed policy is not provided:
● Screening process is unclear
● Eviction policy is unclear
● Curfew policy is unclear
● Guest policy is unclear
● Drug policy is unclear and drug
test will be performed
● etc
Slide from the third community meeting
Multiple sex harassessment incidents happened
at LifeMoves MTV, but the sex harassers were
not evicted.
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12 Part 2.5
Fiscal and Developer Concerns
Fiscal & Developer Concerns - Funding and
Operation
● $3.3M - $4.3M estimated annual operating cost
($55k per person); unclear funding sourcefrom
year 1 to year 15+.
● A psychiatric unit requires a minimum 1:6
licensed nurse/patients radio, 24 hours a day
by California law. Yet LifeMoves recommends
only ONE vocational nurse for 200 unscreened
homeless tenants, where 57% have serious
mental issues.
Source:https://osh.sccgov.org/project-homekey-scc/benton 23 24
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13 Fiscal & Developer Concerns: Evidence from
LifeMoves Palo Alto
● LifeMoves’ Palo Alto project cost estimate
increased from $17.6 million to $26 million, just
two months after its approval, and then
skyrocketed to $34.4 million within a year of
approval.
● LifeMoves is removing 24/7 security and onsite
supportive servicesin order to cut $2 million cost
● LifeMoves is also planning to shrink spaces for
families, dining and common area, r educe common
bathrooms, and fence.
● The City of Palo Alto confronts a $6 million
funding de ficit, covering only construction costs
and not accounting for the annual recurring
operational costs that will persist year after year .
Source of Funds for
Capital cost Amount
Homekey $21,732,228
Sobrato $5,000,000
Total received $26,732,228
Estimated construction
cost as for March 2023
$34,400,000
Construction cost gap $8 millon
Source: https://paloaltoonline.com/news/2023/03/30/as-costs-rise-palo-altos-transitional-housing-project-seeks-to-reduce-amenities https://osh.sccgov.org/project-homekey-scc/benton
Part 2.6
Credibility and Accountability of the County and
LifeMoves
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14 Credibility and accountability
● Though the county and LifeMoves had multiple opportunities, they consistently provided false or misleading information.A fact-check list is provided in the next slide.
● County also invited housing advocacies who don’t live in the neighbourhood to s peak in support at all four community meetings.
● Also 300+ questions from the community are still not fully answered.
Topic Question/Concern County/LifeMoves said… Fact Check Terminology County and LifeMoves
provided false and
misinformation and intend to
mislead the city and the
community
“Shelter” is an old model, which is totally different from “interim/supportive housing” that Benton is proposed
for.
“Shelter”and “interim/supportive housing” are used interchangeably in past community meetings by Consuelo.They are the same thing, meaning the target population is homeless and onsite supportive service will be provided.
1000 Hillview Ct, Milpitas is a permanent supportive housing.
Safety Impact on crime rates or
service calls on the site or
neighborhood
Consuelo said no data have showed crime would
increase in and near the shelter
> 300% increase in police calls at and around Milpitas' 1000 Hillview Ct Apartments; Consuelo attended the meeting and acknowledged the significant crime surge.
Safety Number of Schools Nearby First time knew nothing about number of schools Second time counted only 4 within 1.5 miles
Third time missed all the schools west of Lawrence
15 schools with 10,483 students;
At least 31 daycares within 1.5 miles
Safety Pedestrian safety concern No one will walk passing by the location, as there is no path available for walking past it.
Pedestrian paths in every direction. Regular foot traffic from families, seniors, couples with strollers, and students on weekdays and weekends.
Students frequently visit the 711 across Benton for snacks.
Location Proximity to Grocery Walking distance to necessities 0.9 miles or minimum 18 minutes walk to nearest grocery Location Proximity to Health Services Kaiser is close by Kaiser requires insurance; Only emergency services without insurance Location Local Homeless Folks Homeless individuals are already present in the area.
We should provide them with shelter here.
Allocation based on queue, no guarantee of housing Santa Clara's homeless in this shelter; Milpitas facility data shows only 10 Milpitas homeless in 132-unit apartment; as of 2022, two years since its launch, only 25 out of 274 homeless in Milpitas have been housed Location Proximity to bus stop Public transportations is very close by The closest bus stop is on El Carmino & Henderson, 1 miles away from the Benton location, and 21 min walk.
Location Proximity to liquor store Ignored Across the street. Research shows that people with mental illnesses who frequently consume alcohol experience worsened symptoms, leading to an increased propensity for violence and criminal behavior.
Credibility and accountability - County and LifeMoves consistently provide false and misleading information 27 28
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15 Topic Question/Concern County/LifeMoves said… Fact Check Data on
homeless
number
County and LifeMoves
provided false and
misinformation and intend
to mislead the city and the
community
MTV’s homeless number dropped because of the
shelter built
Mountain view city’s homeless number dropped: is because of the new RV parking restriction!
After Mountain View banned oversized vehicles from parking on the majority of city streets in 2019 and began enforcing those rules in 2022, Lieber speculated, some of Mountain View's homeless population may have relocated to areas that are more lax about RV street parking.
Data on
crime rate
Impact on crime rates or
service calls on the site or
neighborhood
Consuelo sited KQED’s newsthat complaints are
down after interim housing sites opened.
That statement is very misleading. First, none of the five San Jose sites in that news are in the residential area. They all in industrial area. Second, the bar chart in the presentation shows the total number for all the five sites, because one site is much larger than the other four so it skews the average. If you filter by sites, you will find 3 out of 5 sites have increased crime numbers compared with before they were open. This data also didn’t take into account many types of crime, such as violence, drug-related, mental disordered, theft and felon crime. So to sum up, the data supporters provided in fact is exactly consistent with the milpitas interim housing data we found, which is the crime rate tripled after the site opened. The crime rate is unacceptable.
Credibility and accountability - County and LifeMoves consistently provide false and misleading info (con’t) Credibility and accountability
Failure to Fulfill Commitment: Evidence from LifeMoves MTV ● 2nd lowest successful rate
○ 281 clients exited the program between its opening May 2021 a nd September 2022, only 73 individuals, or 26%, were placed in permanent housing, the 2nd lowest rate of successful exitin the county.
● Disqualified management and staffing:
○ Former client physically assaulted by the first program directorin 2021, there is still an outstanding arrest warrant for the director
○ A former client reported multiple sexual harassment cases;however, the second site director cannot remove the harassersdue to LifeMoves' policy against relocating drug addicts from the site until they conquer their addiction—a feat that is nearly impossible in 90-120 days.
○ Shuffled at least 3 directors within only 1.5 years of operation ● Services are missing:
○ Multiple clients never received specializedsupport in searching forhousing ○ Shortage of case managers,housing specialists; no licensed nurses (only interns). ● Crimes to the nearby business:
○ Testimony from nearby business has reported burglaries and littering issues.
Consequently, they hired a 24/7 security guardat their own expense. ○ MTV has added dedicated police forceto patrol at the site.
Lifemoves MTV has the
second lowest rate of
successful exit, 26%.
The other shelters ahead of
Lifemoves range from 41% to
70% of clients moving into
permanent housing. Many
returned to street and
chose not to extend the
contract with Lifemoves.
Source: https://www.almanacnews.com/news/2023/03/30/lifemoves-mountain-view-promises-to-help-homeless-clients-find-stable-housing-in-three-months-the-vast-majority-dont https://paloaltoonline.com/news/2023/03/30/lifemoves-mountain-view-promises-to-help-homeless-clients-find-stable-housing-in-three-months-the-vast-majority-dont 29 30
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16 Part VIII
Alternative Plans and Benton Proposal
Opposite to what we have been stereotyped and
misunderstood as “sel fish house owners”, our
empathetic community cares a lot about homeless
people and truly want to help. We will never
surrender to sacri fice community safety, yet there are
alternative plans we will consider . Alternative plans
that will end in a win-win situation.
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17 Appropriate locations
● We have so far identified several
lands that is convenient to job
opportunities, facilities and
transportation.
● The City and County should
continue their search for suitable
land if pursuing interim housing
remains a goal.
Lincoln st & Civic Center Dr.
De La Cruz Blvd & El Camino Real,
next to Santa Clara Police Station,
as an expansion to the existing
supportive housing facility
Seven lands at intersection of
South Bay Fwy, Gold St, &
Lafayette St.
Parking Lots at Levi's Stadium Central Expy & San Tomas Expy What could be considered for Benton land?
● Proximity to schools makes this site a potential good fit for “rent-to-own” affordable housing for teacherswho have
a livelihood in or around Santa Clara.
● This “rent-to-own” affordabl e housing could also consider law-abiding families, whose members do not have any
substance abuse or criminal records, have good credit
scores and jobs to afford rent.
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18 Part IV
Conclusion
Conclusion
● The city should vote NO to this project
● Neighborhood stronglyoppose this project
● Site evaluation shows serious concerns from multiple
perspectives including environmental, safety,fiscal, etc ● Alternative sites should be identified and evaluated by the County and LifeMoves
● SafeSCC proposes rent-to-own affordable housing for
teachers and law-abiding families
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