TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
George Gabriel, Senior Management Analyst
SUBJECT:Title
Quarterly Update on the City’s Homelessness Initiatives (City Manager Moe).
RECEIVE REPORT
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council receive and file the quarterly update on the City’s homelessness initiatives.
Body
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There are no fiscal implications associated with the recommended action.
BACKGROUND:
The City has taken an active role in addressing homelessness, strategically and regionally. In doing so, the City is doing everything possible to ensure public safety while also assisting homeless in obtaining the services needed, and respecting their rights. Over the past three years, the City of Manhattan Beach has taken the following actions thus far:
• Approved the “Five-Year Plan to Address Homelessness in our Community” that created goals that align with the County of Los Angeles’s objectives;
• Adopted an Anti-Camping Ordinance prohibiting camping and storing personal property in public areas. Signage with this information, has been placed in multiple locations within the City;
• Appointed a Homelessness Liaison responsible for homelessness initiatives and concerns;
• Participated in the county-wide Homelessness Counts the past two years to assist with understanding the size and scope of homelessness. Fifteen individuals were counted in Manhattan Beach in 2020 (down from 41 individuals in 2018 and 21 in 2019);
• Created a Homelessness Task Force of 11 residents and stakeholders to assist in: 1) developing a proposal to obtain County Measure H funds, and 2) conduct community outreach/education on homelessness;
• Increased the number of mental health clinicians provided by the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health available to the Manhattan Beach Police Department to address mentally ill homeless individuals;
• Created and distributed a Homeless Resource Guide and card that summarizes a variety of resources and phone numbers to refer to for residents and those experiencing homelessness;
• Received a $330,666 grant from the County of Los Angeles to offer case management and coordination services to homeless individuals in the cities of Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Manhattan Beach.
• Executed a City Homelessness Plan Implementation Grant contract with the County of Los Angeles that provides homeless coordination, case management and trainings in the beach cities of Manhattan, Hermosa and Redondo.
• Developed specifications in order to obtain proposals from qualified service providers to assist in moving people off the streets into interim and permanent housing.
• Awarded a subcontract to a qualified homeless services firm, Harbor Interfaith Services (HIS), to provide:
o A full-time Homeless Coordinator/City Liaison to leverage the cities’ fiscal and administrative resources to systematize, coordinate and help oversee multi-sectoral homeless efforts to enhance and expand regional access to services.
o Development of internal city-level homelessness response protocols and beach city regional response;
o Tailored training material and lead training sessions with staff;
o An annual homelessness stakeholder roundtable/community meeting;
o Two full-time Homeless Case Managers to assist homeless individuals and families by getting individual “document ready;” and make successful referrals to interim housing, treatment centers, and permanent housing.
• Adopted Resolution No. 20-0031 approving a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the City of Manhattan Beach, the City of Redondo Beach and the City of Hermosa Beach regarding the implementation of the South Bay Beach Cities Homelessness Project for homeless coordination, housing navigation and training services.
• Promoted the Los Angeles Homeless Outreach Portal (LA-HOP) web-based portal to make it easier to request coordinated county services for homeless individuals and ensure constituents can easily submit requests for homeless outreach;
• Joined a coalition of California local public agencies in support of the City of Boise’s Petition for a Writ of Certiorari with the United States Supreme Court to clarify homeless enforcement mechanisms for our Police Department (the Supreme Court rejected the petition);
• Explored contracting with a regional homeless shelter to assist homeless with immediate shelter options; and
• Increased the presence of outreach workers in the City by conducting “ride-alongs” with the City’s Police Department.
DISCUSSION:
On a quarterly basis, the City provides an update to the City Council and community on homelessness initiatives staff has undertaken and regional developments. Below is a list of those updates.
South Bay Beach Cities Homelessness Project
As indicated in the background section of the report, the beach cities of Manhattan, Hermosa and Redondo Beach have regionally partnered to provide outreach resources to assist the regional homeless population utilizing County grant funds. This partnership is referred to as the “South Bay Beach Cities Homelessness Project.”
Consistent with the project, the City has contracted with Harbor Interfaith Services (HIS) and tasked HIS with a variety of metrics. Some metrics include street outreach conducted, Coordinated Entry System (CES) assessments made, interim housing placements and stable housing placements. Goals are associated with each metric over the contract period (November 2019 - December 2021) and staff across all cities meet with HIS monthly to ensure adequate service delivery for our respective homeless populations. The most recent South Bay Beach Cities Homelessness Project report (Attachment #1) summarizes progress made from November 2019 - May 2021 with data metrics specified.
Grant Funding Status and Future Developments
In October 2019, the South Bay Beach Cities were awarded $330,665 in grant funds for homeless services until March 2021. However, in recognition of homeless service impacts throughout the coronavirus pandemic, the County of Los Angeles extended the duration of grant funding to last until December 2021. Additionally, the City submitted a request for additional “bridge funding” to ensure homeless services are not impacted by a lack of funding. The South Bay Beach Cities were selected to receive the requested bridge funding and expects to receive an additional $14,518 in grant funding.
As of June 2021, the City has utilized $230,328 of the total grant funding. The City expects the remaining amount of funds to last until December 2021.
In the coming months, staff will apply for grant funding to ensure funding for homeless services beyond December 2021. By way of process, the County will be distributing funding to the South Bay Cities Council of Government (SBCCOG) in the amount of $1,905,000. The term of the new funding will be for 18-months: January 2022 through June 2023. The SBCCOG will soon release a draft call for projects for the latest grant funding cycle and cities will have an opportunity to apply for grant funding.
Homeless Coordination
A central goal of the South Bay Beach Cities partnership was to streamline each City’s outreach response and ensure proper training of key staff interacting with homeless individuals.
As required by the subcontract, HIS has developed the training materials and has begun training staff across all beach cities to educate key staff members. Thus far, about 20 staff members have been trained and additional trainings have been scheduled. Additionally, HIS has developed a regional response document (Attachment #2) that focuses on each city’s outreach response by creating a singular outreach process, identifyingthe role of key city departments/leads, establishing outreach protocol for persons experiencing homelessness, and providing a contact list of homeless services providers.
Homeless Court and Prosecution Update
At the June 1, 2021, meeting, City Council directed staff to continue exploring homeless court, identify necessary funding and perform a cost-benefit analysis of undertaking the effort. Additionally, Council directed staff provide information on the process to request the authority from the LA County District Attorney to prosecute state law misdemeanors through the City of Redondo Beach. If authority is granted, the City can consider a contract with the City of Redondo Beach for prosecution services. These efforts are being taken symmetrically, as homeless court services can only be accomplished with authority to prosecute state law misdemeanors.
Staff continues to conduct the analysis requested by City Council and has met with officials from the City of Redondo Beach. Staff has tentatively agendized the July 20, 2021, City Council meeting to discuss the topic.
Regional Updates
Redondo Beach Pallet Shelter
In December 2020, the City of Redondo Beach constructed a temporary pallet shelter to house 15 homeless individuals for at least six months, at 1521 Kingsdale Avenue in Redondo Beach. This measure was taken by the City of Redondo Beach as an emergency measure to address concerns related to the ending of the State’s Project Room Key program. The City of Redondo Beach has utilized a combination of County grant funds, CARES Act funding and Community Development Block Grant funding to provide the pallet shelters.
At their April 13, 2021, meeting, the Redondo Beach City Council directed staff to extend the Pallet Shelter program beyond the June 2021 expiration date and explore the possibility of moving the pallet shelters to a different location, including the Beach Cities Health District. As of June 30, 2021, the City of Redondo Beach City Council has not discussed the topic as it awaits staff’s analysis.
Torrance Pallet Shelter
At the June 22, 2021, meeting, the City of Torrance City Council approved the Torrance Civic Center grounds to be a site for temporary housing for people experiencing homelessness and authorized staff to continue discussion with the County of Los Angeles in developing the program and securing funding sources for capital and operating expenses. Similar to the City of Redondo Beach, the City of Torrance will initiate this as a pallet shelter program and provide 40 units over a one year evaluation period. In addition to this action, the City of Torrance adopted an Ordinance amending, repealing and adding sections to their Municipal Code to prohibit camping in public areas.
City of Los Angeles Feasibility Study
In an effort to abide by a federal order by Judge David Carter, the City of Los Angeles has been tasked to develop a plan to address homelessness. Most notably, the plan requires funding sources, the number of individuals housed, and completion dates for affordable housing projects.
Therefore, in June 2021, the City of Los Angeles City Council agreed to move forward with a feasibility study (sponsored by Councilmember Mike Bonin) on the possibility of housing homeless people in temporary cabins or camping sites in certain westside parks and beach parking lots. These areas include:
• Temporary single-occupancy tiny homes or a safe camping site at Will Rogers State Beach county-owned parking lot at 17000 CA-1 in Pacific Palisades;
• Temporary single-occupancy tiny homes, a safe camping or safe parking site at Dockweiler Beach county-owned parking lot number three, at 11999 Vista Del Mar in Playa Del Rey;
• Temporary RV safe parking site in the county-owned RV park at Dockweiler Beach, at 12001 Vista Del Mary in Playa Del Rey; and
• Temporary single-occupancy tiny homes or a safe camping site at Fisherman's Village county-owned parking lot, at 13755 Fiji Way in Marina del Rey.
Councilmember Mike Bonin's motion instructed the City Administrative Officer to evaluate the feasibility and identify funding. The motion passed on a 13-1 vote, with Councilman Joe Buscaino dissenting. While this action only asked for a feasibility study, the City has received concerns from the community regarding the proposal.
Staff has held meetings with Supervisor Janice Hahn’s Office and has asked to be apprised of developments.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends that the City Council receive and file the quarterly update on the City’s homelessness initiatives.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. South Bay Beach Cities Project Report (November 2019 - May 2021)
2. Outreach Regional Response Report