SR-908-000 (4)
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fP;1-tJoo JAN 2 6 1988
.. CM:JNG Santa Monica, California
council Meeting 1-26-88
TO:
Mayor and city council
FROM:
City staff
SUBJECT:
Recommendation to Approve the Short-Term Use of City
Property at 602-620 Colorado Avenue by Non-Profit
Human Services Agencies, Including Homeless Services,
and to Authorize the city Manager to Negotiate and
Execute Necessary Documents.
INTRODUCTION
In July of 1987, the Federal stewart B. McKinney Homeless
Assistance Act was signed into law, which makes additional
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funding available for rehabilitation of facilities and operation
of community-based services to the homeless,
covering a wide
range of services and utilizing existing funding mechanisms
through several Federal Departments and state and County
government, the McKinney Act is intended to channel funds into
communities within
an extremely
short per iod
of
time,
Consequently,
grant
application
submittal
and
funding
notification deadlines have been very short.
city staff has
worked intensively over the last three months with various
service providers in the community, to develop funding proposals
in response to this opportunity for substantial funding of
critically needed homeless services.
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On November 24, 1987, the City council authorized city staff to
submit funding applications for homeless services to the state
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JAN 2 61988
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Department of Housing and Community Development's program for
supplemental Assistance for Facilities to Assist the Homeless
(SAFAH) and the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development's Federal Emergency Shel ter Grants Program (FESGP).
Applications were submitted in early December and the City was
recently notified that the SAFAH funding application in the
amount of $179,437 has been approved by HUD. FESGP funding
awards will be announced on February 3, 1988.
As such, the following outlines next steps the City council must
take to enable staff to move forward to develop various homeless
services with this funding award and the pending FESGP proposal.
In particular, this report recommends that the City Council: 1)
approve the short-term use of City property at 602-620 Colorado
Avenue for operating agreements with non-profit human services
agencies, including homeless services; 2) authorize the City
Manager to negotiate and execute the release of Richards Surgical
from their current lease with the City; 3) approve city matching
funds for both the SAFAH funds already received and the FESGP
funds, in the event they are a\\I'arded to the city~ 4) authorize
the City Manager to negotiate and execute any documents necessary
to implement SAFAH and FESGP-funded programs and operating
agreements with non-profit agencies; and 5) approve
appropriation authority in the amount of $179,437 so that the
City may participate in the SAFAH program.
BACKGROUND
social services Facilities Needs
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During FY 1986-87, the city council directed city staff to
initiate efforts to find additional facilities for human service
programs in the community. Specifically, as a part of the
1987-88 Community Development Plan which was approved by the
Council in June of 1987, the City council approved a planning
effort to continue to assist non-profit human service providers
in locating stable, affordable facilities to avoid the loss of
important agencies and services in Santa Monica. Al though the
new Ken Edwards Center for community services will meet the space
needs of a few agencies, many more agencies require additional
square footage.
In addition, upon approving the 1986-87 Cold Weather Homeless
Voucher Program, the Council asked staff to begin efforts to
locate additional shelter facilities for the homeless. Staff has
explored several options without success due to their high cost
or inappropriate location.
602-620 Colorado Avenue
In October of 1984, the City purchased the property at 602-620
Colorado Avenue to provide for future expansion of the Cityts bus
yards. Because the property was not immediately needed for this
expansion, the existing lessee at the time of the city's
purchase, Richards Surgical, was allowed to continue in a
long-term lease of the property through July 31, 1992. Recently,
however, the lessee has asked for permission to vacate the
property and sublease it, pursuant to provisions in its agreement
with the city.
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In reviewing this request, the city considers release of Richards
surgical from their lease rather than sublease of the facility to
be the more prudent action because it allows the City to have
closer control of the property as it moves toward planning for
future expansion of the bus yards. In the interim, while
expansion planning is completed and in light of the critical
space needs of many non-profit agencies in the community, city
staff began considering the property as a potential short-term
site for both human service programs and specific homeless
services.
DISCUSSION
Conceptual Plan for Homeless services
Currently, there is as, 400 square foot production area at the
proposed site with existing restroom and locker room facilities.
The area faces onto the interior parking area of the property and
could be entered from 7th street. The separate interior entry
would provide a relatively private outdoor space for homeless
services entry, thus avoiding problems with clients congregating
for services in more publicly visible areas.
After careful assessment of the current needs of homeless
services and the funding available for rehabilitation, it was
concluded that grant applications submitted to BUD and HCD for
funding of additional homeless services in Santa Monica under the
SAFAH and FESGP programs should propose the establishment of
services at the 602-620 Colorado Avenue site as outlined below.
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addition, PORTALS has been canvassing the neighbors of the prop-
erty, and an information sheet on the proposed development has
been distributed. A copy of this information sheet is attached
as Exhibit 3. Upon receipt of a commitment of funds from the
state Special User Housing Rehabilitation Program, -and ~the
Federal Permanent Housing program PORTALS will be required to
comply with all planning requirements regarding noticing, includ-
ing notification of the Architectural Review Board Hearing, and
Planning commission review. At that time a notice regarding the
development would be mailed to all residents within a 300 foot
radius of the property. FinallY, included for your information
as Exhibit 4, is a packet of materials on the PORTALS
organization.
councilmember Reed also requested information on why social ser-
vices uses were not considered prior to the reconunendation to
utilize the property for permanent housing for the handicapped
homeless. In compliance with the California Government Code
staff first analyzed the feasibility and desirability of utiliz-
ing the property for permanent rental housing for low and moder-
ate income housing. Section 54222(a) of the California Govern-
ment Code requires a locality when disposing of property to first
offer to sell or lease the property "... for the purpose of
developing low and moderate income housing."
In examining the feasibility of a child-care center staff would
look at the economic feasibility, and the suitability of the
site. Also given that the property was acquired with community
Development Block Grant funds the child-care facility would have
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Homeless Day Services - Currently Ocean Park Community Center
(OPCC) provides emergency services, case management and
counseling/advocacy out of its facility at 245 Hill in Ocean
Park. While extensive work has been done with the
surrounding neighborhood to mitigate the effects of serving
so many people each year on an emergency basis, the facility
is clearly inadequate to meet the client demands for service
in a residential area. Therefore, it is proposed that
approximately 3,000 square feet of the proposed site be
devoted to transferring some of the OPCC day service
functions to this locations. Functions remaining at the Hill
street site would include counseling and scheduled services.
Emergency services, initial intake and case management would
occur at the new site.
The City applied for and was recently awarded $179,437 in
funds through the special SAFAH Program. The funds are to be
used for the rehabilitation of the space and to partially
offset the operating costs of the opec program outlined
above. In turnr the city would be responsible for the costs
of architectural design and project management for the
rehabilitation work, estimated to cost approximately $9,139,
and to contribute rent in-kind 1 which would be approximately
$30,600 per year plus an annual CPI inflator.
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Day Break Shelter for Women - One goal of Santa Monica's
efforts to provide effective and comprehensive homeless
services is to develop a continuum of services for specific
target groups. One target group is homeless women who tend
to shy away from traditional services and fear congregating
in larger facilities. The first steps taken to address the
needs of this group were the provision of outreach services
through the Parks Outreach Team, and the Day Break Day Center
where approximately 15 women are provided with a place to
rest during the day, wash clothes 1 eat and receive
counseling.
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The next step is to provide a night shelter facility that is
non-threatening and will provide them with the next stage of
housing to allow them to continue working toward stability
and self-sufficiency. It is proposed that a 15-bed shelter
be located in approximately 2,400 square feet at the new site
to serve this group.
The city, in conjunction with OPCC, has applied to the FESPG
Program administered by HCD for funds in the amount of
$115,941 for renovation and operating expenses of the
proposed shelter site. Funding notification is due from HCD
on February 3, 1988. In turn, the city would be responsible
for the costs of architectural design and project management
estimated to be approximately $14/6781 and to contribute rent
in-kind which would cost approximately $24,480 per year plus
an annual CPI inflator.
In addition, opec has applied to the state Emergency Shelter
Program (ESP) for funds to purchase furnishings and for
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staffing costs. opec has been notified that they are fourth
on the list of nominees by the local FEMA Board for such
funding. The application must now be reviewed by State HCD,
but with local FEMA support, state funding is assured. The
OPCC application requested $27,000 for the purchase of
furnishings and partial staffing of the Daybreak nighttime
shelter.
At the request of the city, the County has also agreed to
tentatively include $30,000 of operating funds for the
Daybreak shelter in its special McKinney Act Mental Health
Demonstration Grant proposal, to be awarded if the shelter
does become operational. city staff and opec are also
developing a plan for obtaining additional operating funds
through State and private sources. As an example, the Los
Angeles Partnership for the Homeless has indicated an
interest in funding the operating costs of the proposed
shelter and has urged Opcc staff to submit an application
for the Partnership's spring funding cycle.
Plan for Use of city-Owned Property for Short-Term Leases to
Human service Programs
Given the location of the site in a non-residential, primarily
commercial/light industrial area (with only light retail uses)
and its physical layout which allows for separation of various
services along the Colorado Avenue frontage as well as from the
interior parking area, this facility is ideally suited for a
range of programs with a number of different entries. In
particular, the City would encourage use of the space by homeless
serving agencies to further complement the advocacy and shelter
services currently being proposed for the site.
A feasibility study of utilizing the site for this purpose was
recently conducted by city staff, resulting in the following
information:
Space Availability - Aside from the 5,400 square feet of
space which has been allocated for the proposed OPCC Advocacy
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Center and the Day Break Shelter, approximately 28,300 square
feet of office, production area and warehouse space would be
available for use by non-profit agencies in the main
building. Approximately 12,000 square feet represents
improved office space which requires only minor clean-up,
while 6,000 square feet of space would require minor
renovation and 10,300 square feet of production and warehouse
space would require rehabilitation were the space to be
utilized for offices. In addition, an 1,800 square foot
warehouse is available as a separate building on the
southeast corner of the property. The building was brought
up to building and fire code standards when the city
purchased the property in 1984.
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SAFAH and FESGP grant funds will be utilized for renovation
of square footage to be devoted to the proposed homeless
services and the Rand corporation, which has indicated an
interest in utilizing 10,000 square feet, will pay for their
own renovation costs. City staff will develop a renovation
plan for the remaining square footage once tenant occupancy
requirements are known.
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Demand for space by Human service Agencies - surveying only
city-funded grantees, eight agencies indicated interest in
the facility within the first four to six months, utilizing
approximately 18,300 square feet. In addition, as noted
above, the Rand corporation has indicated an interest in
10,000 square feet of the facility on the west end of the
building. Based on staff's experience with non-profit
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organizations in Santa Monica, it is further projected that
additional tenants not surveyed would be interested in
obtaining space.
If approved in concept by the City Council, the following steps
will be taken by staff: 1) development of tenant selection
criteria and tenant selection timeline; 2) development of a
phased plan for tenant occupancy and proj ected rental income
schedule; 3) development of a plan for renovation of
warehouse/production space, identifying sources of funding and a
timeline; 4) negotiation and execution of short-term operating
agreements with selected non-profit agencies.
Public Notice
In preparation for city Council discussion of the proposed use of
the 602-620 Colorado Avenue site as outlined above, City staff
hand delivered notices regarding Council discussion of the issue
to neighboring property owners and tenants within a 300 foot
radius of the Colorado Avenue site on January 15th. A copy of
the pUblic notice is attached (Attachment I) In addition, staff
of OPCC have canvassed the surrounding neighborhood in the past
ten days to attempt to answer questions and concerns expressed by
surrounding property owners and businesses.
FISCAL/BUDGETARY IMPACT
Proposed City Contribution to Homeless Services:
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The SAFAH grant award of $179,437 requires the following city
contribution to the Advocacy Center program proposed for the
site:
Architectural Design Services
Project Management Services
In-Kind Rent Contribution
$6,158
$2,981
3 yrs for 3,000 sq. ft.
The FESGP grant, if awarded, will require the following city
contribution to the Day Break Shelter program:
Architectural Design/Project Mgmt.
In-Kind Rent contribution
$14,678
3 yrs for 2,400 sq. ft.
Ei ther CDBG funds or homeless program funds resulting from the
Development Agreement with J. H. snyder will be utilized to pay
for the City's contribution required for the Advocacy Center and
Shelter programs.
Rental Income Potential from Non-Profit Agencies:
It is City staff I s intention to negotiate both the release of
Richards Surgical from their long-term lease of the site and the
short-term operating agreements with non-profit agencies so as to
maintain the same level of rental income for the Transportation
Fund as was projected through 1992 from the original lease
agreement with Richards Surgical.
Additional appropriation authority is requested in the General
Fund, Account #01-200-262-729-506 in the amount of $179 J 437 so
that the city may utilize the SAFAH Program funds. The
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appropriation will be financed by $179,437 in revenue from SAFAH,
Account #20-932-356-000-000, designated for the Advocacy Center
program. In addition, the following technical appropriations are
necessary to transfer these funds from the Miscellaneous Grants
Fund to the General Fund: ($179,437) at #01-700-695-000-744 and
$179,437 at #20-700-695-000-744.
RECOMMENDATION
City staff recommends that the city Council (1) approve, in
concept, the use of City property at 602-620 Colorado for
short-term operating agreements for human service programs ; (2)
authorize the city Manager to negotiate and execute the release
of Richards Surgical from their current lease with the city: (3)
approve City matching funds for both the SAFAH funds already
received and the FESGP funds, in the event they are awarded to
the city; (4) authorize the City Manager to negotiate and
execute any documents necessary to implement SAFAH and
FESGP-funded programs and operating agreements with non-profit
agencies; and (5) approve appropriation authority in the amount
of $179,437 at account #01-200-262-729-506, establish revenue
account #20-932-356-000-000 in the amount of $179,437, and
approve technical appropriation changes of ($179,437) at
#01-700-695-000-744 and $179,437 at #20-700-695-000-744.
prepared by: Lynne C. Barrette, Assistant City Manager
Barbara Stinchfield, community Development Manager
Julia N. Griffin, Senior Management Analyst
Attachment: Public Notice
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