10B
Date: December 17, 2024
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Aram Chaparyan, City Manager
Michelle Ramirez, Community Development Director
By: Viet Hoang, Deputy City Manager | [email protected] Zulma Gent, Management Associate | [email protected] Julia Smith, Senior Business Manager | [email protected] Subject: City Manager and Community Development – Accept and File Update Report on City’s Progress in Addressing Homelessness in Torrance and Approve Extension of 3290 Temporary Housing Program Operations. Expenditure: None.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation of the City Manager and Community Development Director that City Council:
1. Accept and file an update report on the City’s progress in addressing homelessness in Torrance; and
2. Approve the extension of 3290 Temporary Housing Program operations for an additional three-year period beginning June 30, 2025 and ending June 30, 2028.
FUNDING
None required.
DISCUSSION
On June 22, 2021, City Council approved Torrance Civic Center grounds to be the site of a 12-month pilot period for a temporary housing program, 3290 Temporary Housing Village (3290).
On April 12, 2022, the City executed a consulting services agreement with Harbor Interfaith Services (HIS) for the operations of 3290 through June 30, 2023. This contract included the option for two additional 1-year extensions. On April 11, 2023, City Council voted to extend 3290 beyond the 12-month pilot period for an additional 24 months. On June 6, 2023, City Council approved the first extension of the contract with HIS to June 30, 2024. On June 4, 2024, City Council approved the second and final extension of the contract with HIS to June 30, 2025.
If City Council concurs with the recommendation of staff to extend the term of 3290, staff will advertise a formal Request for Proposals (RFP) for an operator of the site. The term of the operations contract will be for three years, in alignment with the recommended extension. Staff 1 City Council
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will then return to Council prior to July 1, 2025, to request approval of the contract with the operator. If an operator other than HIS is selected, staff would recommend an overlap period to allow for the operational transfer to take place.
Funding and Cost Projections
The current cost of the 3290 operations contract is $1,867,002 yearly. Staff anticipates that operating costs will incrementally increase over the proposed three-year extension period due to historical cost increases for line items such as staffing, utilities, and security. The City’s current contract has a higher bed rate than the County’s standard interim housing bed rate due to the cost of two security guards as opposed to the standard model of one. Through the formal RFP process, the City will award the operations contract to the lowest qualified bidder which will dictate the contract cost for the next three years.
The City has been awarded $1,000,000 in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Community Project Funding (CPF) from the Office of Congressman Ted Lieu for the operating expenses of 3290. Since program start, the City has utilized the State of California Permanent Local Housing Allocation Grant (PLHA) as a recurring funding source for the operations of 3290. PLHA funds are captured via a recording fee on real estate documents in the jurisdiction. Because real estate transactions vary based on market conditions and consumer behavior, staff does not have a set figure by which to project PLHA fund availability for the next three years. However, based on past funding, staff anticipates an award of $291,992 - $550,000 yearly from PLHA. In addition to external funding sources, with Council direction, Measure SST funds can be utilized as a recurrent funding source for 3290 operations. $948,477 is currently available in funding from the $1,000,000 SST homeless response budget for FY 2024-25. To utilize SST funds for 3290 operations in future years, the funding would need to be allocated in the City’s yearly operating budget. Should Council choose to utilize SST funding for this purpose in future years, staff anticipates approximately $800,000 yearly from SST that can be budgeted for 3290 operations.
Funding Source Projected Amount Frequency
FY 2023 CPF Congressman Lieu $1,000,000 One-Time
PLHA $291,992-$550,000 Annually
SST (current) $948,477 FY 2024-25
SST (future) $800,000 Annually
Los Angeles County Measure A “Homeless Services and Affordable Housing Ordinance” passed on the November 5, 2024 ballot. Measure A replaces Measure H by raising the sales tax by a half-cent. Measure H was scheduled to sunset at the end of 2026 whereas Measure A has no sunset. The City currently receives $1,284,800 in operations funding from the Cities and Councils of Government Interim Housing Services Fund (CCOGIHS) through Measure H. County Homeless Initiative staff have indicated that there will be guidance on future funding once the voters decide on Measure A. With the passing of Measure A, staff anticipates increased opportunities for interim housing funding through the County of Los Angeles.
Should City Council concur with staff’s recommendation, staff will continue to pursue opportunities for funding. With a longer commitment period of three years of operations, staff anticipates that the City will be more competitive for ongoing funding opportunities. 2 City Council
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Update Report on City’s Efforts to Address Homelessness The City continues to address homelessness through the combined efforts of 3290 and the City’s Street Outreach Team. A dashboard is maintained to track the City's continuing progress in addressing homelessness and can be found at www.TorranceCA.Gov/Homeless. Data is updated monthly.
3290 Temporary Housing Village Outcomes
The goal of 3290 is to connect people experiencing homelessness in Torrance with access to case management and housing navigation services with the goal of attaining permanent housing.
Three meals a day are provided to the temporary residents through a subcontract with Beacon House. Two security guards, through a subcontract with Black Knight Patrol, are on site 24/7, 365 days per year. An HIS Site Director is assigned to 3290 and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the site, and manages staff including case managers, custodian/maintenance staff, and resident aides.
The table below shows the outcomes of 3290 from program start to present. To date, 111 individuals have been enrolled into 3290 and 36 participants have been permanently housed. The 36 permanent housing placements includes 33 matches to permanent housing vouchers and 3 clients who obtained permanent housing through other means such as family reunification.
Clients Permanently Housed via 3290 36
Clients at 3290 Who Are Currently Matched to Housing Vouchers 3 Clients at 3290 Who Have Been Connected to Health Care Services 49 HIS staff continues to match 3290 participants with housing resources through the use of the Coordinated Entry System (CES). The CES is the primary mechanism by which interim housing participants across Los Angeles County are matched with permanent supportive housing (PSH).
PSH is permanent affordable housing in which ongoing supportive services, such as intensive case management services, are provided to residents. The majority of current 3290 participants are high acuity, and thus likely need placement in PSH resources. There are a limited number of openings in PSH units compared to the need across the County.
Street Outreach
The City has operated a Torrance-based Street Outreach Team since 2022. The existence of the Outreach Team has enabled the City to take proactive measures in identifying people experiencing homelessness in Torrance, assessing individual cases, and connecting those eligible for interim housing in Torrance to 3290. The below table shows the Outreach Team’s outcomes from program start-present. The Outreach Team responds to multiple request types from the public, City staff, and self-referrals from potential clients. Additionally, Outreach Coordinators continually drive through the City and visually identify people experiencing homelessness and engage with them. Oftentimes, the Outreach Team must visit an area multiple times to establish a relationship with potential clients or attempt to locate referred and enrolled clients.
Number of Homeless Encampment Clean Ups 38
Number of Outreach Responses 616
Clients Permanently Housed via Street Outreach 32
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The clients permanently housed through the Outreach Team have been primarily through the SHARE! Collaborative Housing program in partnership with the South Bay Cities Council of Governments (SBCCOG). This program connects participants with short-term room rental subsidies as well as assistance in obtaining employment. The Outreach Team also connects participants with permanent housing through family reunification by utilizing the SBCCOG’s Client Aide funds. These funds are crucial in providing client transportation to a family member with permanent housing. The Outreach Team continues to collaborate with other agencies such as LAHSA, Department of Mental Health (DMH), SBCCOG, and Venice Family Clinic to address the needs of each client.
Additional Initiatives
The City continuously looks for additional resources to connect 3290 and Street Outreach participants with housing resources to supplement the CES. The goal of these additional resources is to reduce barriers to transitioning households from interim housing/street homelessness to permanent housing. The SBCCOG is launching a Time-Limited Subsidy Program. This program will provide short-term rental assistance to households at 3290 and enrolled in the City’s Outreach Program. This program is targeted to households who are lower acuity and thus do not require permanent supportive housing. Staff anticipates enrolling participants from both 3290 and Street Outreach in this program beginning early 2025.
On November 19, 2024, the Community Development Department and City Manager’s Office hosted an owner information session regarding housing choice vouchers. The purpose of the information session was to provide information regarding the process of owner participation in assisted voucher programs as well as benefits to renting to assisted tenants. Participants at 3290 have historically been matched to Continuum of Care Vouchers (CoC). By providing detailed information about housing vouchers, staff hopes to dispel any concerns owners may have about renting to assisted tenants.
3290 Termination
Should Council elect not to extend the term of 3290, site operations will cease effective June 30, 2025. The temporary housing units will be returned to the County of Los Angeles for reuse. HIS staff will work with the City to place the current residents of 3290 in other shelter settings. The City will also ask for LAHSA’s assistance with this effort. It is possible that individuals at 3290 will choose not to relocate to another interim shelter and will instead become homeless in the City of Torrance again. With the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in City of Grants Pass v Johnson, the City can enforce its anti-camping ordinance without the requirement of shelter beds.
The City’s Outreach Team will continue to perform outreach in the City of Torrance. However, without the ability to place individuals into 3290, staff anticipates an increased amount of time between outreach and placement in permanent or interim housing. Additionally, one of the most challenging aspects of outreach is searching for clients after initial outreach, as people experiencing homelessness tend to move locations throughout the day/night. This challenge would impact the outcomes of the Outreach Team.
Based on the outcomes listed in the above report, staff concludes that 3290 is an essential piece of the City’s homeless response efforts. The existence of 3290 facilitates the success of the 4 City Council
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Outreach Team and provides the mechanism by which high acuity homeless residents can attain permanent supportive housing.
In conclusion, it is the recommendation of the City Manager and Community Development Director that City Council accept and file the update report and approve the extension of 3290 Temporary Housing Program operations for an additional three years. 5