TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Talyn Mirzakhanian, City Manager
FROM:
Patricia Matson, Senior Management Analyst
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of an Update on the City’s Homelessness Initiatives (No Budget Impact) (City Manager Mirzakhanian).
RECEIVE AND FILE
Body
_________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council receive and file the report detailing various efforts and initiatives staff is undertaking regarding homelessness.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There are no fiscal implications associated with the recommended action.
BACKGROUND:
The City has taken an active role in addressing homelessness both strategically and regionally. In doing so, the City is doing everything possible to assist homeless individuals in obtaining the services needed, while simultaneously ensuring public safety.
On a periodic basis, the City provides an update to the City Council and community on homelessness initiatives that staff has undertaken as well as regional developments. For the purposes of this report, efforts will focus on those relevant and notable since the last update on September 3, 2024.
DISCUSSION:
2025 Homeless Count
The annual Homeless Count was conducted on February 20, 2025, after being postponed due to the Los Angeles County wildfire crisis. Approximately 30 volunteers gathered at the Joslyn Community Center (Deployment Site) and were deployed in teams to one of City’s 12 census tracts in order to conduct the count.
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) reported that 96% of all tracts within our region’s Service Planning Area (SPA 8) were counted on the night of. This is largely due to the fact that LAHSA continues to improve the software applications utilized by volunteers and staff. The software allows staff to submit real time results once the volunteers return to the deployment site to report their findings.
While the 2025 official count data has not been released by LAHSA, the City has the data that reflects what was reported by our volunteers. The unofficial Manhattan Beach Homeless Count numbers for 2025 are as follows:
Unsheltered Persons Counted
Persons on the Street - 2
Persons in Cars - 0
Persons in Vans - 0
Persons in RV’s or Campers - 0
Persons in Tents - 0
Persons in Makeshift Shelters - 0
Total - 2
Vehicles and Dwellings Counted
Cars - 1
Vans - 1
Campers/RV’s - 0
Makeshift Shelter - 0
Tents - 0
Total - 2
Based on this unofficial number, the number of unsheltered persons counted (two) has remained the same since last year’s count in January 2024. Additionally, it should be noted that the vehicles counted (two) are subject to LAHSA’s conversion factor. The conversion factor allows LAHSA statisticians to estimate the number of homeless individuals within a vehicle or dwelling when it is unknown how many individuals are located in vehicles, tents, or makeshift shelters.
As evident by recent data, the City’s actions dedicating resources to enhance the lives of people experiencing homelessness have been impactful as Manhattan Beach has seen consecutive reductions in the number of unhoused individuals counted by LAHSA. In 2018, when the City began taking an active role in addressing homelessness, the point-in-time count revealed 41 unhoused individuals living in Manhattan Beach. Since then, the number of homeless individuals counted has decreased by year as follows:
• 2018 - 41 individuals
• 2019 - 21 individuals
• 2020 - 15 individuals
• 2021 - Cancelled due to COVID-19 Pandemic
• 2022 - 9 individuals
• 2023 - 9 individuals (unofficial)
• 2024 - 2 individuals (unofficial)
• 2025 - 2 individuals (unofficial)
It remains unlikely that official City level results (raw homeless count data plus the conversion rate) will be released by LAHSA due to established concerns over the validity of the data. Considering that the City has a smaller homeless population versus other areas in the County, the official results at the city level are susceptible to a higher error rate (less accurate) when showcasing the number of homeless individuals.
Manhattan Beach Outreach Metrics
The City has utilized a dedicated housing navigator/case manager via Harbor Interfaith Services (HIS) since November 2021. On November 19, 2024, the City Council awarded RFP #1328-25 and approved a new two-year agreement with HIS for the same services (with an option to extend the agreement for a third year).
On a daily basis, the outreach services worker typically has two to four interactions with homeless individuals and actively manages approximately 10 clients who are interested in services. On a monthly basis, HIS provides an individualized report to Manhattan Beach (attachment) that summarizes key metrics and progress toward goals outlined in the contract.
The following information reflects data from the 2024 calendar year and summarizes the reportable metric work completed by the outreach services worker:
• 643 interactions with homeless individuals (including repeat interactions with the same individuals);
• 137 unique clients assisted;
• 33 clients assisted with document production or enrolled with benefits;
• 25 clients referred into interim housing;
• Five treatment program referrals attained; and
• Two stable housing placements.
It is also important to highlight that in January 2025, seven stable housing placements were completed by our outreach services worker.
Functional Zero Street Homelessness Program
On October 1, 2024, the City Council approved the City’s participation in the South Bay Cities Council of Governments (SBCCOG) Functional Zero Street Homelessness Commendation Program.
The program aims to supplement the homeless count data as a tool to monitor homelessness in the community by ensuring that a community’s homeless services system is able to prevent homelessness whenever possible and ensure that when homelessness does occur, it is rare, brief and one-time.
Functional Zero Street Homelessness is achieved when the number of people exiting street homelessness is greater than the number of people entering street homelessness, and the median duration of the current street population is less than 90 days. Participation in the program allows SBCCOG to track, monitor, and report on a City’s progress towards Functional Zero Street Homelessness.
The City of Redondo Beach successfully achieved Functional Zero Street Homelessness in June 2024, and now the City of Hermosa Beach is concurrently participating in the program with Manhattan Beach.
The kickoff meeting between the SBCCOG, the City (Senior Management Analyst and Manhattan Beach’s Homeless Outreach Navigator), and the City of Hermosa Beach was held in January and the team continues to meet monthly. The SBCCOG is continuing to gather data and plans on providing an initial report back to the City Council, which is currently expected in the summer.
At the October 1, 2024, City Council meeting, staff provided a monthly estimate of the staff time required to participate in the program:
“Homeless Outreach Navigator (Contract Employee) - 2 Hours
Assistant to the City Manager/Management Analyst - 1 Hour”
Since initiation of the program in January, our Homeless Outreach Navigator typically dedicates about 10-15 minutes a week to administrative reporting. Additionally, the two staff members listed above participate in the monthly meetings. While the first few meetings have been over one hour, the team anticipates that the meetings will become shorter in the coming months and will more closely match the estimate provided to the City Council.
SHARE! Collaborative Housing
In September 2023, SBCCOG began providing services and funding for the collaborative housing program for the City. From September 2023 - December 2024, the SBCCOG has funded housing for 21 individuals experiencing homelessness in Manhattan Beach. In total, this has amounted to approximately $44,000 in cost savings to the City. SBCCOG has also afforded the City flexibility with housing more than the allotted five individuals as well, thereby increasing the City’s housing opportunities.
Since the City began utilizing housing services in December 2021, the City has observed the following notable metrics (December 2021-December 2024):
• 42 individuals have been placed into SHARE!;
• 114 total months of rent have been paid either by SBCCOG or the City;
• 15% of those placed into SHARE! transitioned to another interim housing solution;
• 46% of those placed into SHARE! transitioned to a permanent housing solution; and
• 39% of those placed into SHARE! returned to the street and continued experiencing homelessness.
Measure A
Measure A, approved by voters on November 5, 2024, will repeal Measure H, the 10-year, ¼ cent sales tax set to expire in 2027, and will replace it with a ½ cent sales tax that has no expiration date unless repealed by voters. Per the County of LA Homeless Initiative, Measure A allows the county to maintain all existing homeless housing and services to support people currently experiencing homelessness in finding permanent solutions, while doing even more to prevent homelessness in LA County.
Measure A will go into effect April 1, 2025, and will generate over $1 billion annually. The funding will be shared by LA County, cities and councils of government, the Los Angeles County Development Authority (LACDA), and the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency (LACAHSA). LACAHSA is the new organization created via legislation (SB 679) to help increase and preserve affordable housing and to prevent homelessness. Their body is made up of leaders including the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (BOS), elected officials representing cities countywide, as well as nonprofit and community leaders.
The tax revenue from Measure A will be allocated as follows:
1. 60% of the total tax revenue to the County for Comprehensive Homelessness Services:
a. Of the 60%, at least 15% of the funds shall be used for the Local Solutions Fund;
b. Of the 60%, at least 1.65% of the funds shall be used for Homelessness Solutions Innovations; and
2. 1.25% of the total tax revenue to the County for Accountability, Data, and Research.
3. The remaining tax revenue shall be allocated to LACDA (3%) and LACAHSA (35.75%).
Allocation of Funds to Local Agencies for Homelessness Services
At least 15% of the proceeds from the sales tax will be allocated to a Local Solutions Fund (LSF) which will be disbursed to cities, councils of governments, and the County on behalf of unincorporated areas via a formula determined by the BOS in consultation with the cities.
Several funding formulas were considered and on March 25, 2025, the BOS approved a formula that would allocate funds determined by data from a multi-year average point-in-time (PIT) count and data from the American Community Survey that accounts for doubled-up student homelessness. This formula would provide the most funding back to the SBCCOG out of all the formulas considered.
SBCCOG projects that our 15 Cities will contribute approximately $80 million annually in sales tax revenue to the measure, but it is anticipated that SBCCOG will receive less than $3 million annually in return. Most of the Measure A funding is centralized at the County level, where it is spent on County shelters and permanent supportive housing. SBCCOG is currently partnering with LA City, the Gateway, and San Gabriel Valley COGs to advocate for returning more funding back to the regions, aiming to decentralize the response to homelessness.
Allocation of Funds to Local Agencies from LACAHSA Funding
LACAHSA funding is based off the Regional Housing Needs Allocation and will be split into two categories. The following are estimates for the two categories provided by SBCCOG for the South Bay:
• Building and preserving affordable housing - $5 million.
• Prevention - $3-4 million that will be used for rental subsidies and legal services to help those at risk of eviction or affected by predatory lending. SBCCOG is working to set up these programs in the South Bay and will have a more detailed update in the coming months.
Additionally, SBCCOG is in the process of exploring the creation of an Affordable Housing Trust Fund to help facilitate the programming of LACAHSA dollars, as well as any other funding opportunities they are able to obtain whether federal, state, or private.
Countywide Goals
Measure A requires the establishment of performance metrics to meet the five goals set forth within its text to guide and assess the collective efforts of all homelessness programs and funding in the Los Angeles region, regardless of whether they are funded by Measure A or other sources. The five goals are as follows:
1. Increase the number of people moving from encampments into permanent housing to reduce unsheltered homelessness.
2. Reduce the number of people with mental illness and/or substance use disorders who experience homelessness.
3. Increase the number of people permanently leaving homelessness.
4. Prevent people from falling into homelessness.
5. Increase the number of affordable housing units in LA County.
The LA County Executive Committee for Regional Homeless Alignment (ECRHA), the Executive Committee defined in the text of Measure A that has the responsibility of establishing a regional governance structure for homelessness services, recommended several target metrics in order to achieve the prescribed goals. The BOS approved the proposed target metrics on March 25, 2025. The following are three notable metrics that have been highlighted by ECRHA:
• Reducing the number of unsheltered people experiencing homelessness by 30% by the end of 2030.
• Increasing (by 57%) the number of people placed into permanent housing, from roughly 20,000 in FY 23-24 to 30,000 people by the end of 2030.
• Decreasing the inflow of newly homeless individuals by 20%, from roughly 66,000 people in FY 23-24 to 50,000 by the end of 2030.
SBCCOG is confident that South Bay will surpass these goals, through the Functional Zero program and utilization of Measure A dollars.
Streamlining LAHSA
The BOS has been considering streamlining LAHSA by consolidating funding and program oversight to a new County-run department after an audit found weaknesses in the agency’s fiscal operations. The goal of the new County-run department would be to efficiently and effectively administer funds and streamline the County’s response to homelessness. The BOS will continue to discuss this at future meetings with the possibility of a new body being formed as early as January 2026.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends that the City Council receive and file the report detailing various efforts and initiatives staff is undertaking regarding homelessness.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
After analysis, staff determined that public outreach was not required for this issue.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The City Council's consideration of an update regarding the City’s homelessness initiatives is not a “project” as defined under Section 15378 of the State California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines because it does not have a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. Therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines, the activity is not subject to CEQA, and no environmental review is necessary.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
ATTACHMENT:
1. Manhattan Beach Outreach Program Outcomes