After three hours of public commentary, much of it scathing, Huntington Beach City Council approved the location for a homeless shelter during a special meeting held Thursday, April 18.
Mayor Erik Peterson cast the lone dissenting vote, saying that staff had not provided enough information for him to feel confident about the costs and outcome.
“I don’t like going forward with this without having all the answers,” he said.
Council members authorized the purchase of an 11,200-square-foot warehouse in north Huntington Beach for a Navigation Center that will offer up to 90 beds.
The council also approved earmarking $2.8 million for the shelter, and declared an “emergency shelter bed crisis” to pave the way for state funds.
As the council moved to vote, members in the audience shouted, “Why the rush?”
Rather than hold off on the vote until the next regular city council meeting, May 6, the city announced the special meeting Monday – three days prior.
Several speakers chided the city for the meeting’s inconvenient time.
Dave Peters, who works a block from the shelter site at SCATS Gymnastics, pointedly thanked those in attendance for showing up: “On a Thursday. At 4 p.m. During spring break.”
In late March, the city announced that council members would consider a site adjacent Marina High. But that proposal died at the April 1 meeting before it even went up for a vote after residents and school district officials expressed concern.
A week later, the city floated its current choice – 15311 Pipeline Lane, near Springdale Street between Bolsa and McFadden avenues. Almost a mile from Marina, that spot assuaged the school district – but some nearby business owners and employees complained.
In a presentation Thursday afternoon, city officials said they were out of options. Assistant City Manager Lori Ann Farrell displayed a map showing that the industrial area was the only place in Huntington Beach where a shelter could be placed at least 1,000 feet away from homes.
Meanwhile, officials said, the city needs to move quickly due to a court ruling, a judge’s order and the risk of expensive litigation. So far, eight Orange County cities as well as the county itself have been sued over failure to provide shelters.
“We know on good authority that Huntington Beach is on the list for the next wave of lawsuits,” said City Attorney Michael Gates.
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, who is overseeing the litigation, determined last summer that cities and the county must provide housing for 60 percent of their total homeless counts in 2017. That number for Huntington Beach was 119 people – meaning it needs to produce at least 72 beds.
Then in September, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decided that a city cannot “criminalize indigent, homeless people for sleeping outdoors” if nothing else is available to them.
“We have not been able to enforce our anti-camping ordinance since the ruling,” Police Chief Robert Handy said, describing homelessness as “the number one challenge” facing his department.
Several Orange County cities recently have opened shelters, allowing them to enforce their own local laws. That could result in more homeless people making their way to Huntington Beach to avoid arrest, officials said.
But many of the 40-plus speakers were not swayed by the city’s arguments.
“This has been pushed on us in under two weeks,” said Mitch McNally, who owns a business near the site. “There has been zero communication with those surrounding properties.”
Katrina Tengan said her child’s preschool is within a mile of the selected location. “Look at this little girl,” Tengan said, lifting her daughter for council members to see. “It’s not what my children deserve.”
And marketing executive Michael Guilfoyle, who works “literally next-door” to the location, elicited laughter when he confessed to discomfort about criticizing a homeless shelter. “I’m a libtard,” he explained.
However, Councilwoman Kim Carr said of the shelter, “There is no unicorn spot we can put it where everyone is going to be happy.”
Bearing no signage, the Navigation Center will not accept walk-ins, officials said. Nor will it accept registered sex offenders or people with open felony warrants.
Despite its necessity, the shelter will not be a cure-all, Handy warned: “I don’t want to create unrealistic expectations. This isn’t going to allow us to remove all homeless people from Huntington Beach.”
Not every homeless person will even agree to go to the shelter, conceded Councilman Patrick Brenden. “But if some people will benefit from this,” he added, “that’s good for them and good for our city.”
