Projects

Letter to Council member Steve Hansen on Proposed X Street Homeless Shelter

April 4, 2019

VIA U.S. MAIL AND EMAIL

Honorable Steve Hansen

Councilmember, District 4

City of Sacramento

915 I Street, 5th Floor

Sacramento, CA 95814

SHansen@cityofsacramento.org

Re: Proposed X Street Homeless Shelter

Dear Councilmember Hansen:

I am writing on behalf of the Land Park Community Association (LPCA) in regards to Councilmember Jay Schenirer’s proposal for a 100-bed homeless shelter on a state-owned lot near where X Street runs into Alhambra Boulevard. We understand that a City Council vote on this shelter may be held as early as this month.

Although this proposed shelter is not within Land Park, the LPCA is concerned that it will adversely impact the residents and businesses in nearby Land Park. Most of the LPCA board attended the community meeting that you and Councilmember Schenirer held at the Sierra 2 Center. While some of our concerns were addressed, many others remain. I am writing to seek assurances from the City Council that it will only approve this proposed shelter with the conditions outlined below, which are designed to minimize the negative impacts on Land Park.

First, the LPCA is seeking a commitment that the proposed shelter will only serve the local homeless population. The stated goal of this shelter is to find a place for the multitudes of homeless living along Broadway and massing underneath the nearby freeways. To that end, entrance into the shelter should be limited to those from the immediate areas. The LPCA is concerned about the proposed shelter attracting homeless from outside of the area, or even from outside Sacramento. We understand that this shelter will be “referral-only,” however, the criteria for referral needs to be clearly articulated to include only those from the immediate area.

Second, the LPCA is seeking the establishment of a fund, utilizing Measure U moneys, to compensate any nearby residents and businesses that are adversely affected by the proposed shelter, including from crime, a decrease in property value, and lost economic activity, among other things. A trustee can be appointed to adjudicate claims and administer the fund. Several business owners who border the shelter site, have been quite vocal in expressing concerns about the viability of their business. The LPCA believes that those affected by property damage or loss of business should have a place to turn if the proposed shelter negatively impacts their livelihoods.

Third, the LPCA is seeking a commitment from the City Council that it will increase the number of police units patrolling the Broadway corridor and the areas surrounding the proposed shelter site and strictly enforce city code and enhanced drug enforcement. We believe this is necessary to address the homeless people that will be traversing the Broadway corridor to come and go from the proposed shelter. Although we understand that the shelter will be “closed” at night, we also realize that, legally, the shelter cannot prevent someone from leaving. As a result, the LPCA is concerned that shelter clients will be coming and going at all hours, including clients with untreated substance abuse problems, uncontrolled mental health issues and violent criminal histories.

Fourth, the LPCA is seeking a commitment that this proposed shelter will someday close. The intractable problem of homelessness has plagued cities across the nation for decades. Despite the City’s best efforts, we may still be dealing with a homeless crisis in two years and beyond. The LPCA is concerned that once the shelter is up and running, with plumbing and permanent facilities that it will remain indefinitely. Accordingly, the LPCA requests that the City Council only approve this shelter with a firm sunset clause providing an end date, after which the site will be returned to the state.

Finally, the LPCA is seeking a commitment that the proposed shelter will only be allowed to continue to operate if it is meeting or exceeding quantifiable goals, including those for placing formerly homeless individuals in permanent housing. We propose that the City Council set a rate for placement in permanent housing – for example, 60% of clients – and include in the authorization for the shelter a provision requiring that it meet or exceed that number in order to stay open. Other goals should be identified upfront, closely monitored, and enforced.

The LPCA acknowledges that the City of Sacramento faces a number of challenges in addressing the homelessness crisis, including the recent Ninth Circuit decision in Martin v. City of Boise, and legislation like Proposition 47 and we recognize that this and other shelter proposals are aimed at ameliorating the negative impacts of homelessness on the communities in which they live. The LPCA endeavors to be a part of the solution and it can support this proposal with these assurances.

While we would prefer for these shelters to be located in a centralized location for better efficiency away from residential neighborhoods, in one large facility in sparsely populated industrial areas, we recognize that accommodations must be made; we only request that they are not done so at the expense of local residents, businesses, and public safety.

Please feel free to contact me at (916) 806-3667 or mitchell.rohrer1@gmail.com, if you have any questions. I appreciate your time and attention to this urgent matter and I look forward to your response.

Very truly yours,

Mitch Rohrer

President LPCA.