City Council and Authorities Concurrent
July 14, 2026

July 14, 2026 Item 7
1 City Council MeetingSanta Clara Family Community Project:Public Hearing RTC 26-1574Action on Agreement for the Funding and Operation of a 30-unit (90-bedrooms) Homekey Interim Housing Development on Santa Clara County-Owned Land Located at the Southeast Corner of Lawrence Expressway and Benton StreetJuly 14, 2026 Purpose:–Provide an update on the need for interim family housing–Provide an update on the design and operation of the Santa Clara Family Community Project–Explain the roles of project partners–Implementation of adopted Housing Element (Action 1)–Consider entering into an Operations Funding Agreement with the County to memorialize key terms for the projectSanta Clara Family Community Project2 1 2
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2 May 2, 2023 City Council Meeting, vote 4-3:•Authorize the City Manager's Office to negotiate and execute a three-party letter of intent between LifeMoves, the County of Santa Clara, and the City of Santa Clara that defined roles and responsibilities for the financing, operations and construction management for the Homekey grant application for the property located at Lawrence Expressway and Benton Street in a final form approved by the City Attorney;•Authorize the County of Santa Clara to update the City of Santa Clara's Permanent Local Housing Allocation 5-year plan by adding activity six to the County's PLHA plan to assist persons who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness and allocating year 3, 4, and 5 funding, after deducting administrative costs, to the Benton/Lawrence interim housing to help fund operations; and•Provide direction to return to City Council for approval of a budget amendment appropriating up to $5,500,000 from special revenue funds for operations at the Benton/Lawrence interim housing site; and include an Annual Review in the Letter of Intent.Santa Clara Family Community Project3 City of Santa Clara Staff•Elizabeth Klotz, Assistant City Manager, City Manager's Office•Afshan Hamid, Director of Community Development, City of Santa Clara•Adam Marcus, Housing & Community Services Manager, City of Santa Clara•Jennifer Beyers, Assistant City Attorney, City Attorney's Office•Cpt. Michael Crescini, Division Commander, Santa Clara Police Department•Sgt. Kyle Cardin, Community Services Unit, Santa Clara Police Department•Sgt. R.J. Otico, Community Response Team, Santa Clara Police Department•Greg Pensinger,Homelessness Management Analyst, Housing & Community ServicesSanta Clara Family Community Project4 3 4
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3 County Office of Supportive Housing Staff•Hilary Armstrong, Deputy Director•KJ Kaminski, DirectorLifeMoves Staff•Nick Hodges, Interim CEO/COO•Paul Simpson, CFO•Elmer Martinez Saballos, Director of Community Engagement/Public Affairs•Anat Leonard-Wookey,VP of Programs and ServicesSanta Clara Family Community Project5 Presentation Overview•Background•Project Design & Operations (LifeMoves)•City & County Agreement•Next Steps•Staff RecommendationSanta Clara Family Community Project6 5 6
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4 Santa Clara Family Community ProjectBackground – Initial Concept for Single Residents City Council study session on Project HomekeyJuly 13, 2021 City Council study session on Homelessness, feedback to apply to Project Homekey for transitional housing siteAugust 24, 2021 City Council study session, feedback to continue to identify a site within Santa ClaraNovember 9, 2021 County Board directs County Office of Supportive Housing (OSH) to identify potential sites for interim housing in proximity to services and to work with local jurisdictions to bring forward projectsNovember 2021 City’s Homelessness Taskforce identifies need for interim housing in Santa ClaraApril – October 2022 LifeMoves and Sobrato Philanthropies approach County with proposal to build interim supportive housing at Lawrence-Benton siteFall 2022 City Council feedback to conduct outreach and explore interim housing at the Lawrence/Benton siteJanuary 10, 2023 City, County and LifeMoves staff conduct outreach including two in-person meetings and two virtual meetings. Meetings were well attended and community members raised concerns about the suitability of the site, impacts on public safety, and the viability of the project.Early 20237 Santa Clara Family Community ProjectBackground – Family Concept submitted for Homekey funding Project team makes significant changes to the project reducing density from 124 units to 30 units and changing the target population from singles to families with children.2023City Council authorizes the City Manager’s office to negotiate and execute a three-party letter of intent between the City, County and LifeMoves and allocated $6.5 million in funding for operations of the project.May 2, 2023 -June 27, 2023Homekey application submitted to HCD (County and LifeMoves as co-sponsors)July 2023City/County negotiation, Building Permit, NEPA processWinter 2026City-County Operating AgreementJuly 2026State awards $25.7 million in Homekey Round 3 funds to the projectJune 30, 20258Budget Reappropriation for the Benton/Lawrence Interim HousingOctober 29, 2024 7 8 July 14, 2026 Item 7
5 97,6316,5567,3949,70610,0289,90310,71147837727232644046179402,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,0002013 2015 2017 2019 2022 2023 2025Homeless Population Over TimeSanta Clara CountyCity of Santa ClaraNeed for Interim Housing(Source: Santa Clara County Biannual Point in Time Count Reports) Reducing Homelessness Inflow10
PreventionRental AssistanceAffordable HousingInterim Supportive HousingPermanent Supportive Housing(Source: Santa Clara County Office of Supportive Housing, HMIS) 9 10
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6 Unhoused Households w/ Children (2025) 11(Source: Santa Clara County Office of Supportive Housing, CY2025 HMIS) City County
Unhoused Households with Children (2021-2025) 12Santa Clara County City of Santa Clara 1,28795CY-20251,390103CY-20241,439112CY-20231,31396CY-202289083CY-2021*(Source: Santa Clara County Office of Supportive Housing, HMIS) *Numbers likely impacted by COVID-19: lower capacity to administer assessments, eviction moratorium, programs offering emergency rental assistance 11 12
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7 Family Interim Housing Demand and County Waitlist 13(Source: Here4You Hotline Database) Average: 285 Families Average: 33 Days Housing Continuum14
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8 Additional InsightsPatty Wong, City Librarian15
Community Need 16o136 students experiencing homelessness7 from Pomeroy Elementary17 from Santa Clara High SchoolFrom the School District:o7 families requiring affordable housing instruction and resourceso1 family requiring additional housing support from Abodeo255 inquiries from individuals/families through partnership with Salvation Army outreachFrom the Library (Read Santa Clara):oTRUST tabling for the community – mental health resourcesOther Library Resources:
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Agreement for Funding and OperationCounty – LifeMoves Agreement Homekey Agreement Santa Clara Family Community ProjectAgreements between Project Partners36 35 36
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19 The County's Role•Long-term partner with the City to reduce homelessness•Landowner•Homekey c0-sponsor•Funder for construction•Funder for operations•Quality assurance and oversight37Santa Clara Family Community ProjectThe City's Role•Long-term partner with the County to reduce homelessness•Funder for operations City/County Operating Agreement Key Terms•Operating Agreement Term: Funding for operations for seven years with the option to extend beyond seven years if funding is available and future City Councils approve in their sole discretion.•Population Served: Exclusively for homeless families with minor* children for 30 years so long as shelter beds do not go vacant beyond the point allowed by State guidelines and that this does not prevent the County and LifeMoves from fully complying with the Homekey Standard Agreement with the State of California.•Local Preference: First priority will be given to households with children enrolled in the Santa Clara Unified School District or who are affiliated with Santa Clara. This requirement applies for 30 years.38Santa Clara Family Community Project37 38 July 14, 2026 Item 7
20 Target Population•Santa Clara Families w/ minor children*•North County Families w/ minor children*•County Families w/ minor children*•In the unlikely event there are no families with minor children in need of shelter, other sub-populations will be considered•308 families on the shelter waitlist (July 2026)39Santa Clara Family Community Project City/County Operating Agreement Key Terms•Community Meetings: Community meetings will be held to receive and respond to feedback on issues or concerns that arise quarterly for the first two years and then as needed. At least one meeting will be hosted during construction. Meetings will be open to all community members.•City Funding Sources: The City has committed $6,592,139 for the first seven years for operations. This includes both local and PLHA funding.•Reporting: Quarterly on unduplicated clients served, average length of stay, returns to homelessness, and more.40Santa Clara Family Community Project39 40 July 14, 2026 Item 7
21 City/County Operating Agreement Key Terms•Sex Offender Registry Verification: LifeMoves will check referred clients against the public sex offender register prior to enrollment. Clients in the registry will not be allowed to access this facility. Beyond this, state law will not allow background checks. This requirement applies for 30 years.41Santa Clara Family Community Project 42Tours and Feedback•City and County Staff toured LifeMoves family shelters:–San Mateo, First Step–Menlo Park, Haven Family House•Staff met with San Jose and San Mateo PD and community development staff and heard best practices and positive feedback•Ongoing coordinationSanta Clara Family Community Project41 42 July 14, 2026 Item 7
22 Project Modifications in Response to Community Input 43 124 units – singles & couples4-stories30 units – families3-stories Modifications to the Project44Current Project (Families)Original Concept (Singles)30 En Suite Units80-100 Units (124 Units at 3-1-2023 Meeting)Families with minors for 30 years if no vacancySingles and Couples3 Stories4 StoriesKitchenettes in Units24-7 Professional StaffingQuarterly Community Meetings for 2 yearsSingle Point of AccessLocal PreferenceScreening for Sex OffendersQuarterly reportingSanta Clara Family Community Project43 44 July 14, 2026 Item 7
23 Conclusion•Adopted Housing Element includes action to increase interim housing•The County is a Homekey co-applicant and owns the land•Homekey project entitlement is ministerial per state law•Homekey projects are exempt from CEQA•The Building Permit process is nearly complete•An Operating Agreement ensures the City has a formal seat at the table and memorializes key terms for operations45Santa Clara Family Community Project Next Steps•City and County Operations Agreement (July 2026)•NEPA environmental review process (summer 2026)•Building Permit Issuance (summer 2026)•County/LifeMoves/HCD Agreement (summer 2026)•Groundbreaking (Late summer 2026)•Occupancy (TBD 2027)46Santa Clara Family Community Project 45 46
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24 Staff Recommendation1. Authorize the City Manager or designee to execute the operations agreement with Santa Clara County Office of Supportive Housing committing up to $6,592,139 in PLHA and local funds for operations at the Benton/Lawrence Homekey family interim housing project, subject to the review and approval as to form by the City AttorneySanta Clara Family Community Project47 Santa Clara Family Community Project48
Section 2 of Exhibit B will be updated to read “The Project shall serve up to 36 families through its 90 bedrooms”47 48