ACTION:
____________________________
Clerk/Secretary
Department: City Manager Item No: D3
Prepared by: Jonathan Lung, Homeless Services Program Mgr. Meeting Date: March 25, 2025 Imelda Huerta, Assistant City Manager
John Conley, City Manager Agenda Location: Discussion
SUBJECT: STANDING COMMITTEE ON HOMELESSNESS ORGANIZATIONAL RECOMMENDATION RECOMMENDATION: Receive and discuss recommendations from the Standing Committee on Homelessness regarding organizational options for its continuation, and provide direction to staff.
CORRELATION TO CITY COUNCIL GOALS: Homelessness & Housing.
PRIOR ACTION: On January 14, 2025, directed staff to provide options for a community centered group to advise on the Strategic Plan to Address Homelessness (Vote: 5-0).
On January 23, 2024, created a Brown Act Standing Committee made up of Mayor Franklin and Deputy Mayor Melendez with remaining councilmembers as ex-officio members (Vote: 4-0-1, Green abstained).
STATEMENT ON THE SUBJECT: On January 23, 2024, the Standing Committee on Homelessness (SCoH) was created by the City Council to meet on the third Thursday of each month at 8:30 a.m. The purpose of the SCoH was to dedicate additional time to receiving thorough updates from staff regarding the implementation of the Strategic Plan to Address Homelessness (Strategic Plan) and allow more in- depth discussion between the Committee Members to report back to the City Council.
The first SCoH meeting was called to order on February 15, 2024, and five more SCoH meetings were held in March, April, May, June, and August of that year, with the June 20, 2024 meeting hosting a Strategic Plan Update. SCoH meetings were cancelled from September 2024 through January 2025 and resumed with the February 20, 2025 regularly scheduled meeting.
On January 14, 2025, the City Council directed staff to provide options for a community centered group to advise on the Strategic Plan, and at the February 20, 2025, SCoH meeting, the following options were provided and discussed by the SCoH Committee members:
Option 1:
Continue the Standing Committee on Homelessness in its current format, with Deputy Mayor Melendez and Mayor Franklin rotating as Chair and Vice Chair, and the remaining councilmembers as ex-officio members.
AGENDA
REPORT
CITY COUNCIL
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
SUCCESSOR AGENCY
BUENA SANITATION DISTRICT
JOINT POWERS FINANCING AUTHORITY
Directed staff to draft an ordinance to establish a seven member Homelessness Commission; schedule five Standing Committee meetings during even months, five Commission meetings during odd months, and two Strategic Plan Workshop meetings; reschedule the Standing Committee meeting to the fourth Thursday of even months; and appointed Councilmember Jeff Fox as Ex-Officio member to the Standing Committee.
MEETING DATE: March 25, 2025 PAGE 2
SUBJECT: STANDING COMMITTEE ON HOMELESSNESS ORGANIZATIONAL RECOMMENDATION Option 2:
Appoint community members to serve on the SCoH with voting authority equal to the Chair and Vice Chair. There is no limit to how many committee members may be appointed.
Option 3:
Establish a Homelessness Commission, which would be comprised entirely of appointed community members excluding councilmembers, to replace the SCoH. This would be a staff-led body with Commission recommendations brought to City Council by City staff.
Option 4:
Eliminate the SCoH and hold quarterly workshops with updates on the Implementation of the Strategic Plan to Address Homelessness. Currently, updates on the Implementation of the Strategic Plan are brought to City Council on a semi-annual (twice a year) basis. Updates would be received by the entire City Council, which would allow adoption of Resolutions in support of the Strategic Plan, relieving the twice-monthly City Council meetings of Strategic Plan items, and allow community member and stakeholder presentations and feedback.
Option 5:
Eliminate the SCoH and continue semi-annual workshops on the Implementation of the Strategic Plan only.
The discussion also included the meeting venue and meeting times. Venues discussed were the Council Chambers, Morris B. Vance Community Room, and virtual meetings rooms for the public. Start times for any of the above options included 8:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m., and 5:30 p.m.
After a discussion of the options above, The SCoH members agreed to recommend 12 total homelessness meetings per year to the City Council. Five SCoH meetings would be held during even months with a start time of 8:30 a.m. The recommendation also includes the formation of a seven- member Homelessness Commission which would meet five times during odd months with a start time to be determined. The remaining two meetings would be reserved for the continuation of the semi-annual workshop with an update on the Implementation of the Strategic Plan to Address Homelessness, with one providing updates between January and June, and the other providing updates between July and December.
Approval of this recommendation would require an ordinance, establishing the Homelessness Commission, to be adopted at a future City Council meeting.
Staff also recommend voting to appoint councilmember Fox as an ex-officio member of the SCoH, as he was not a city councilmember during the creation of the SCoH on January 23, 2024.
FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact associated with this item.
EXHIBITS:
1.February 20, 2025, Standing Committee on Homelessness meeting minutes 03/25/2025 D3 2 of 5
Standing Committee on Homelessness
February 20, 2025
Meeting Minutes
The February 20, 2025 Standing Committee on Homelessness was called to order By Chair Melendez at 8:39 am in City Council Chambers, 200 Civic Center Drive, Vista, California.
Committee Members Present:
Deputy Mayor Katie Melendez, Chair
Mayor John Franklin, Vice Chair
Staff Present
Imelda Huerta, Assistant City Manager
Bevely Roxas, Assistant City Attorney
Kathy Valdez, City Clerk
Josh Sino Cruz, Assistant to the City Manager
Jonathan Lung, Homeless Services Program Manager
Daniel Sturman, Management Analyst
Pledge of Allegiance
Chair Melendez led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Approval of Minutes
Approved the September 19, 2024, meeting minutes.
D1. Discuss Different Organizational Options to Continue the Standing Committee on Homelessness (SCOH)
Homeless Services Program Manager, Jonathan Lung, presented five potential organizational options for homelessness governance. The options included:
1.Continue the SCOH in its current format, with Deputy Mayor Melendez and Mayor Franklin rotating as Chair and Vice Chair, and remaining councilmembers as ex-officio members
2.Appoint community members to serve on the SCOH with voting authority equal to the Chair and Vice Chair.
3.Replace the SCOH with a Homelessness Commission, which would be comprised entirely of appointed community members.
4.Consolidate the SCOH and semi-annual Strategic Plan Update Workshops •Quarterly Strategic Plan Updates, which would include all councilmembers, allowing formal City Council actions.
5.Continue with the semi-annual (twice a year) Strategic Plan Update workshops only with intermediate items requiring City Council action e.g. contracts, grant funds, brought to regularly scheduled City Council meetings (eliminate SCOH) DRA
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EXHIBIT 1
Committee members and staff discussed the following:
• Currently doing options 1 and 5
• Chair Melendez recommended establishing a homelessness commission, increasing the number of workshops, and including stakeholders in commission appointments.
• Chair Melendez noted to keep internal working group and discussed a combination of options 3 and a modified option 4 with more long-term strategic planning and evaluation of spending.
• Vice Chair Franklin opposed the formation of another commission, citing the additional burden on staff, questioning the criteria of commission applicants, and expressing concern that recommendations of the commission may not align with the City Council’s views. He emphasized that the Council has the final decision- making authority and that it should not be delegated.
• Vice Chair Franklin also noted that commissioners do not have spending authority, and noted that public attendance at current meetings remains low, despite open invitations, and the interference of the meeting timeframes with the public’s family time and other obligations.
• Chair Melendez argued that a commission would enhance public engagement, ensure better accountability for public funds, and provide expert perspectives in an advisory capacity. Emphasized that the commission would not make final decisions but serve in an advisory role to staff and Council. • A comment was made regarding holding some meetings virtually to assist with participation.
• Chair Melendez expressed needing to have a commission with individuals with lived experience, business, aptitude, and expertise. She also agreed to have the commissioners evaluated similar to other commissioners. • Vice Chair Franklin commented on outreach for these meetings. • Assistant City Manager Huerta stated that staff will work on improving meeting notifications and outreach.
• Assistant City Attorney Beverly Roxas stated that any formal commission formation would require City Council approval and ordinance revisions.
Pete Haggard, Buena Creek Navigation Center, emphasized the need for mandatory attendance at these meetings for city-funded contractors, expressed concerns that fear of repercussions may prevent contractors from speaking openly at these meetings, and suggested scheduling meetings later in the day for increased accessibility.
Helene Bell, St. Francis Church, thanked the City Council and staff but noted that meeting notifications were received late. They emphasized the importance of long-term solutions and questioned whether funds are being effectively allocated to address homelessness.
Ex-Officio member Corinna Contreras commented through Zoom and supported the idea of a commission.
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After deliberation, the Committee agreed to make the following recommendation to the full City Council:
• Establish a Homelessness Commission with seven members, meeting every other month (on odd months) in the evening, five times per year. • Maintain the Standing Committee on Homelessness (SCOH), meeting in opposite months (even months) of the Commission, five times per year, at 8:30 am. (Will continue to meet monthly until the establishment of the Commission). • Continue to hold two evening Workshop meetings (semi-annual) focused on long-term strategic planning. Consider making these a joint City Council/Commission working dinner meeting in the Community Room and include long-term strategic planning.
• Continue to include General Homelessness Update on the agendas • Request for Assistant City Attorney to review if Commission information can be filtered through the Committee before bringing forward to City Council.
Adjournment
Chair Melendez adjourned the meeting at 10:09 am
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