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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09 RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUSTIN DECLARING A SHELTER CRISISAgenda Item 9 AGENDA REPORT CityMan g Cit Manager Finance DirectorP/A MEETING DATE: OCTOBER 16, 2018 TO: JEFFREY C. PARKER, CITY MANAGER FROM: TUSTIN HOUSING AUTHORITY SUBJECT: RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TUSTIN DECLARING A SHELTER CRISIS SUMMARY: Adoption of a resolution declaring a shelter crisis will ensure eligibility for related state funding and will allow the City to address homelessness in a manner that is protective of the City's homeless and the City's residents and businesses. RECOMMENDATION: Adopt Resolution 18-75 (Attachment A) declaring a shelter crisis in the City of Tustin and authorizing the City's participation in the Homeless Emergency Aid Program in accordance with Government Code Sections 8698 et seq. FISCAL IMPACT: Adoption of the attached Resolution will qualify the City to apply for related state funding. CORRELATION TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN: Strategic Plan Goal B is to ensure Tustin is an attractive, safe and well maintained community in which people feel pride. Adoption of a shelter crisis enables the City to apply for state funding to provide shelter for unsheltered individuals, provides the City greater planning flexibility for such facilities, which in turn will help enable the City to enforce its camping and other ordinances to ensure the City remains attractive, safe and well maintained. BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION: In the last Point in Time Count and Survey in January, 2017, 69 persons were identified as unsheltered in the City of Tustin. (See Attachment B.) Of those, 57 were male and 12 were female. Since the time of the last Point in Time Count, the number of unsheltered individuals in the County and in the City of Tustin has increased for a variety of reasons. The next Point in Time Count is scheduled to occur in January 2019. Agenda Report — Resolution to Declare Shelter Crisis October 16, 2018 Page 2 Limits on the City's Authority to Enforce Ordinances. At the same time, public agencies have seen their authority to enforce ordinances prohibiting sleeping in outdoor areas like parks and public plazas reduced by court decisions. Most recently, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Martin et al v City of Boise (9th Cir. 9/4/2018) _ FAth _, Case No. 15-35845, attached as Attachment C) held that enforcing a city ordinance that prohibits sleeping in public places violates the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment if there are no available alternatives available to the individual in the city. The City of Tustin is home to exemplary facilities for individuals who find themselves homeless, including the Village of Hope and the Veteran's Outpost, but each of those is currently run with religious practices attached. As a result, the City of Tustin may find it difficult to enforce its ordinances that preclude sleeping in public places unless secular sleeping facilities are available at the time of enforcement. Meanwhile, the cities of Santa Ana and Anaheim are creating new and expanded shelters for homeless individuals that, when implemented, could enable those cities to enforce their prohibitions on camping in public areas. Enforcement in those cities is expected to cause individuals who are unwilling to sleep in the city facilities to relocate to other areas that cannot enforce their camping ordinances. Taking action to ensure that there are adequate secular sleeping alternatives available to those who are willing to accept them will help the City of Tustin ensure that public areas like the civic center and library plaza, parks, and city streets will remain safe, attractive and well-maintained. State Funding and Shelter Flexibility Orange County is not the only county in the state experiencing a shelter crisis and the state has acknowledged homelessness as a statewide crisis. As such, the state has taken steps to provide for potential funding to address. The Governor's FY 2018-19 budget includes State General Fund monies for emergency homeless aid one-time block grants to cities and counties via the Continuum of Care (CoC).to address homelessness through construction or operation of emergency shelters, rapid rehousing, housing vouchers, and other activities. To be eligible for funding, cities participating in the CoC must declare a shelter crisis pursuant to Government Code Section 8698. In addition to the emergency homeless aid block grant funding, State funding may also be available in the future as a result of the No Place Like Home Initiative, SB2 Building Homes and Jobs Act, and S133 Veterans and Affordable Housing Bond Act of 2018. These potential funding sources are pending additional State action through the budget adoption process and/or voter approval in November. Agenda Report — Resolution to Declare Shelter Crisis October 16, 2018 Page 3 In addition to gaining access to potential State funding, declaring a shelter crisis enables the City more flexibility under State law in housing those who are unsheltered, such as utilizing vacant or underutilized facilities which are owned, operated, leased, or maintained by the City. L^ <J—ohfn Buchanan Q.irctor of Economic Development Tustin Housing Authority Attachments: A. Resolution 18-75 Jerry Crai Deputy Dir cto of omic Develop ..e Tu Housing Authority B. 2017 Point In Time Count Report — City of Tustin C. Martin v. Boise (Ninth Circuit court decision)