LANCASTER — After the successful conversion of the former Tropic and Sands motels on Sierra Highway into a 38-unit Project Homekey interim housing facility through a collaboration between the city, nonprofit Hope the Mission and Los Angeles County, the city of Lancaster hopes to build on that success.
Project Homekey is a state-run program to provide grant funds to convert hotel and motel rooms and other existing buildings into permanent supportive housing for unhoused persons.
The City Council on March 26 unanimously introduced an ordinance to reduce the minimum floor area of an efficiency unit to allow for more motel conversions into supportive housing. The ordinance was developed with the intent to continue to support the conversion of motels on Sierra Highway into housing for the unhoused through Project Homekey.
Hope the Mission’s next project is to convert the Bon Aire, T-Bird and Sahara motels into Project Homekey sites to provide an additional 60 efficiency units once completed.
“These conversions will remove blight along Sierra Highway by re-purposing these motels to meet a much-needed use in the community,” Patti Garibay, assistant director for Community Development Planning and Permitting, said during a presentation at the meeting.
Under state law, the city can reduce the minimum floor area of an efficiency unit to as low as 150 square feet, inclusive of any partial kitchen, closet or bathroom facilities. The Bon Aire, T-Bird and Sahara motels have a main living area of 124 square feet. In order to comply with state building code, the city is required to approve by ordinance a reduction in the minimum floor area from 190 square feet for the main living area only to 150 square feet for the total unit.
“Each facility will provide residents with on-site open space, communal gathering areas, as well as other amenities,” Garibay said.
The reduced minimum floor area applies only to an efficiency unit that was created by converting an existing guest room that was legally established as part of a hotel or motel commercial use before Jan. 1, 1960. The efficiency units will be used only for permanent supportive housing, as acknowledged by a recorded restrictive covenant, she added.
Hope the Mission Area Director Billy Nettles thanked the city for its partnership.
“I think it’s a testament to the fact that if you just keep putting one foot in front of the other you’ll get the journey going,” he said.
He added The Sierras interim housing project was difficult but they learned a lot from it.
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