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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-41 - Setting Forth the City Council’s Approach to People Experiencing HomelessnessRESOLUTION NO. 2023-41 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA, SETTING FORTH THE CITY COUNCIL'S APPROACH TO PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS WHEREAS, on March 26, 2019, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2019- 25 establishing a City Council/Citizens' Committee known as the Newport Beach Homeless Task Force ("Task Force") to study the impacts of homelessness on the City of Newport Beach ("City") and develop solutions to end homelessness; WHEREAS, on May 14, 2019, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2019-42, increasing the membership of the Committee to three (3) councilmembers and seven (7) residents; WHEREAS, on September 14, 2019, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2019-85 declaring a shelter crisis pursuant to Senate Bill 850 as codified in California Government Code Section 8698.2; WHEREAS, on November 12, 2019, the Task Force recommended that the City Council reconstitute the character, membership, and purpose to form a City Council Ad Hoc Committee ("Committee"); WHEREAS, on November 19, 2019, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2019-100 reconstituting the character, membership, and purpose of the Committee; WHEREAS, pursuant to Resolution 2019-100, the Committee expired on December 31, 2020; WHEREAS, at the January 29, 2022, City Council Planning Special Meeting, the City Council expressed interest in evaluating whether the City's existing programs adequately serve individuals experiencing homeless within Newport Beach, particularly in the wake of COVID-191 WHEREAS, on March 8, 2022, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2022- 18, reestablishing the Committee, comprised of three (3) members of the City Council, to evaluate whether the City's established contract services adequately serve individuals experiencing homelessness within the City; WHEREAS, pursuant to Resolution 2022-18, the Committee expired on December 31, 2022, without making a recommendation to the City Council; Resolution No. 2023-41 Page 2 of 4 WHEREAS, at the February 28, 2023, City Council meeting, the City Council expressed interest in reestablishing the City Council Homeless Ad Hoc Committee to evaluate the services currently being provided by the City's contractors and to consider whether additional contract services should be provided as part of the City's homeless outreach program; WHEREAS, on March 14, 2023, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2023- 15, reestablishing the Committee, comprised of three (3) members of the City Council to evaluate whether the City's established contract services adequately serve individuals experiencing homelessness within the City; and WHEREAS, on June 13, 2023, the City Council considered recommendations made by the Committee and directed City staff to return with a resolution setting forth the City Council's approach to people experiencing homelessness. NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Newport Beach resolves as follows: Section 1: The City engages in significant outreach work to build relationships with people experiencing homelessness, using a person -centered, compassionate approach to provide services tailored to each person's specific needs. To ensure that scarce City resources are being spent appropriately and that the City is doing everything it can to assist people experiencing homelessness in Newport Beach exit the street, the City Council is adopting this resolution to inform the public of its approach to the unhoused and provide guidance related thereto: 1. The City has been successful in obtaining and providing shelter beds, which has resulted in people experiencing homelessness exiting the street. The City should continue to prioritize acquiring and/or accessing additional shelter beds. 2. The City needs to focus on street exits. All efforts and funding should be concentrated on getting the unhoused in Newport Beach off the streets. To help this effort, going forward, funds previously considered for grants for homeless -related services should be used toward City directed initiatives. 3. Because the number one goal is to get people off the street, the City's first step in interacting with a person experiencing homelessness needs to be to offer services directed at moving the person towards exiting the street. 4. Violations of the law can lead to serious health, safety, and accessibility concerns and an overall deterioration in the physical condition of the community. While the City Council acknowledges that the laws must be regularly enforced to ensure the Resolution No. 2023-41 Page 3 of 4 City does not deteriorate, it is important that all laws in Newport Beach be enforced in a fair and equitable manner without regard to whether a person is housed. 5. The only way that the City can measure success is to have an accurate baseline count. The City should establish and publish a baseline count in 2023 and then conduct a new count annually thereafter. Also, to ensure success, interactions with people experiencing homelessness need to be tracked and data collected so that the effectiveness of each approach can be quantified. 6. All future contracts with partners and providers who are providing homeless -related services need to be consistent with this resolution and the contracts should include provisions to ensure that City partners and providers are accountable for following the guidance set forth in this resolution. All contract renewals with partners and providers providing homeless related services shall be reviewed and approved by the City Council. 7. City staff shall report back to the City Council every six (6) months, for the next two years, regarding the implementation of the City's guidance set forth in this resolution including, but not limited to, the number of shelter beds acquired/accessed during the reporting period as well as any opportunities to acquire/access new shelter beds; the funds expended related to homeless related services; the status of all City directed initiatives; and what actions were taken by the City's partners, providers and staff to achieve the City Council's goal of getting people off the street. Section 2: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this resolution is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of the remaining portions of this resolution. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this resolution and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase hereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, or phrases be declared invalid or unconstitutional. Section 3: The recitals provided in this resolution are true and correct and are incorporated into the substantive portion of this resolution. Section 4: The City Council finds the adoption of this resolution is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly. Resolution No. 2023-41 Page 4 of 4 Section 5: This resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption by the City Council, and the City Clerk shall certify the vote adopting this resolution. ADOPTED this 27th day of June, 2023. ATTEST: A&2 Leilani I. Brown City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE C Aaron C. Harp City Attorney r-k 01 / mayor STATE OF CALIFORNIA } COUNTY OF ORANGE } ss. CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH } I, Leilani I. Brown, City Clerk of the City of Newport Beach, California, do hereby certify that the whole number of members of the City Council is seven; the foregoing resolution, being Resolution No. 2023-41 was duly introduced before and adopted by the City Council of said City at a regular meeting of said Council held on the 27th day of June, 2023; and the same was so passed and adopted by the following vote, to wit: AYES: Mayor Noah Blom, Mayor Pro Tern Will O'Neill, Council Member Brad Avery, Council Member Robyn Grant, Council Member Lauren Kleiman, Council Member Joe Stapleton, Council Member Erik Weigand NAYS: None IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto subscribed my name and affixed the official seal of said City this 28th day of June, 2023. 46k- Leilani I. Brown City Clerk Newport Beach, California