Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout86-102 - General Plan Amendment 86-1HRESOLUTION NO. 86 -102 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH APPROVING GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT 86 -1(H) IN CONCEPT AND DIRECTING STAFF TO FORWARD A COPY OF THE DRAFT AMENDMENT TO THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FOR THEIR REVIEW AND COMMENT. • WHEREAS, as part of the development and implementation of the City of Newport Beach's General Plan, a Housing Element was adopted on February 11, 19741 and WHEREAS, the City of Newport Beach revised its Housing Element to bring it into conformance with the provisions of Government Code Section 65580 et seq, on September 28, 1981 (Resolution No. 11051) ; and WHEREAS, Section 65583(a) (6) of the Government Code was expanded by the State of California to include "persons and families in need of emergency Shelter;" and WHEREAS, the City of Newport Beach has prepared an amendment to its Housing Element to include an analysis of persons and families in need of emergency shelter; and WHEREAS, the City of Newport Beach has prepared a Housing Element program the objective of which is to assist the homeless; and WHEREAS, the Planning Commission of Newport Beach has held a duly noticed public hearing to consider the amendment to the Housing Element of the Newport Beach General Plan; and WHEREAS, the Planning Commission has recommended adoption of the amendment to the Newport Beach Housing Element as set forth in Exhibit "A" and acceptance of the Negative Declaration to the City Council of Newport Beach; and WHEREAS, the City Council of Newport Beach has held a duly noticed public hearing to consider the amendment to the Housing Element of the Newport Beach General Plan; and • WHEREAS, the proposed Housing Element amendment is in conformance with the requirements of Government Code Section 65580 et seq; and WHEREAS, it is required that amendments to Housing Elements be submitted to the Department of Housing and Community Development for a 45 -day review and comment period. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City • of Newport Beach that the proposed amendment to the Housing Element of the General Plan of the City of Newport Beach, GPA 86 -1(H), is hereby approved in concept as set forth in Exhibit "A ", and that staff is directed to forward a copy of the draft amendment to the State Depart- ment of Housing and Community Development for their review and com- ment. ADOPTED this 8th day of December , 1986, by the following vote, to wit: AYES Cox, Hart, Maurer, Plummer Sansone, Strauss, Turner NOES RES02 /jm • - 2 - EXHIBIT "A" Homeless For purposes of this analysis, the City has examined available data sources and contacted governmental agencies, quasi - public organiza- tions, social service agencies, religious organizations, private firms and persons involved in the providing of emergency shelter. Research- ing these sources has revealed that there is no data available on the total number of persons and families in need of emergency shelter in Newport Beach. There are neither counts nor statistics describing the characteristics of these people. By the very nature of people in need •. of shelter, their mobility and lack of an identifiable residence, they are difficult if not impossible to count. Mobility and identification problems of the homeless, combined with a lack of information sharing on who is being assisted by which agency, may be resulting in some double counting of the homeless by the agencies providing them assistance. The enumeration difficulties were confirmed by all the agencies and persons contacted. Researching governmental sources such as the 1980 Federal Census, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) , the State Department of Housing and Community Development, the Southern California Association of Governments, Orange County Housing Authori- ty, the Orange County Offices of Environmental Management, Human Resource and Social Services revealed that neither a formal data system to enumerate the homeless nor counts of homeless persons in a particular city and the needs of those specific homeless persons exists. It was learned that a national estimate was performed by H.U.D. and that the Technical Appendices to the 1985 Orange County Housing Element contains an estimate of 6- 10,000 persons in Orange County needing emergency shelter at any given time. Researching local agencies consisted of contacting those groups that actually provided assistance to persons in need of emergency shelter. None of these groups maintained data that enumerated or described the total persons or families in need of emergency shelter in Newport Beach. These organizations do, however, keep service records showing the number of persons assisted. These service records are the only actual counts of homeless persons. In many cases this data is not kept so as to identify a person's most recent place of residence nor does it clearly distinguish between ;specific individuals assisted versus the number of occasions that service was provided during a given period. The Orange County Coalition for the Homeless prepared a report on a survey they conducted in 1985. That report states that the survey was conducted for one month at agencies providing homeless services and counted 3,169 homeless persons in Orange County. The following information was collected from the local agencies providing assistance to the homeless. The Red Cross assists persons temporarily displaced from their residence due to disasters such as fire, flood or other such occurrences. Red Cross records indicated that they had assisted 4 families, totaling 6 persons, with Newport Beach addresses over a time period of nearly one year. The Orange Coast Interfaith Shelter (OCIS) provides records of service to the City as part of the reporting requirements of the community Development Block Grant Program. These records show that 1,800 to 32.1 • 2,000 different persons are assisted on an annual basis. The Shelter accommodates about 70 individuals for varying periods of time. OCIS records do not indicate the most recent previous residence of indi- viduals staying in the shelter. This shelter is located in Costa Mesa, and provides emergency shelter for several communities. Local Organizations such as the Orange Coast YMCA located in Newport Beach, FISH- Harbor Area, local religious; organizations, and Share Our • Selves (S.O.S.) located in Costa Mesa assist homeless persons in a variety of ways. Assistance from these organizations is provided in the form of payment in full or in part: for gasoline or bus fare to reach a pre - planned destination where there is housing, temporary motel costs, referral to a local shelter, cash, food, clothes, medical services, limited rent payments, the location of work and counseling. Some of these organizations also assist the needy who have a residence. Records show that the YMCA assisted 178 homeless people in the past 5 years, 31 of them in 1985. These people were either permanent resi- dents who lost their housing or were temporary residents residing in motels, trailer parks or automobiles. Information from FISH shows that FISH assisted 45 persons over an 1.8 month period. These people were described as being "transient or homeless families being evicted from motels or trailer parks in Newport Beach." Information from S.O.S. shows that 20,138 homeless persons from all of Orange County were assisted during 1985. The information does not identify the most recent residence of the persons assisted. Several motels in the Newport Beach - Costa Mesa area are utilized by various agencies to accommodate homeless; persons. These agencies pay all or a portion of the costs. One Newport Beach motel operator reports offering reduced rates to homeless persons when vacant units exist. Among the homeless population there is a variety of reasons for homelessness. The following situations describe several of the most common reasons for homelessness but is not by any means intended to be all inclusive. a. Single adult (mostly male) transients who pass through a community on the way to some other destination, but who do not stay. b. Seasonal or migrant homeless individuals, mainly farm workers and fishermen. C. Chronically homeless, single adults, including non - institutionalized, mentally disturbed individuals, alcohol and drug abusers, elderly individuals with insuffi- cient incomes, and others who 'voluntarily or are forced, due to financial circumstances, to "live on the streets ". d. Minors who have run away from :home or who have been expelled from their homes. 32.2 • e. Low - income families who are temporarily homeless due to financial circumstances or who are in the process of search- ing for a home. Single - parent families, mostly fe- male- headed, are especially prevalent in this group. f. Women (and their children) who are escaping domestic vio- lence. • g. Persons displaced as a result of disaster and no short term means of providing shelter. Based on available data, it is estimated that no more than 40 people who were permanent residents of Newport Beach will become homeless for varied periods of time during a one year period. It is further estimated that an additional 50 temporary residents of Newport Beach might become homeless for varied periods of time on an annual basis. An undetermined number of transients or chronically homeless individuals "living on the streets" pass through Newport Beach. These individuals are a portion of the regional homeless population that is only now beginning to be counted. SR17 • 32.3 • O. Objective 15: To provide for the needs of persons and families in need of emergency shelter. 1. Finding: Local efforts to provide assistance to homeless persons and families that were permanent or temporary residents of Newport Beach are sufficient to meet the estimated need. However, data from service records and statements of social workers show that individuals are turned away from the agencies providing services to the homeless because of insufficient capacity. This indicates that there is a larger unmet need that is not attributable to the City of Newport Beach or any other community. This particular need is best characterized as a regional need. It is a need that comes about as a result of a wide variety of environmental characteristics. Included in these characteristics are such things as the presence of social services for the homeless, climate, the abundance of low skill level jobs, a communities tolerance of the presence of homeless persons, the existence of an established "street life" culture, the availability of places to sleep other than shelters and a community's location along convenient routes of travel. For several years the City of Newport Beach has financially assisted agencies that provide=_ for the homeless. Initially this money was taken from the City's General Fund and was then followed by grants of funds from the Community Develop- ment Block Grant (CDBG) Program. The CDBG program limits the annual grants for social services to 158 of the City's annual entitlement. Currently the City is funding social service programs to the maximum limit. The majority of these social service funds are granted to programs that serve the needs of the homeless. 2. Implementation Plan: The following activities shall be undertaken in support of this objective. a. The City shall continue to inquire into the extent of homelessness in Newport Beach and promote the col- lection of data on homeless persons. b. The City shall allocate a portion of it's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Funds to social service agencies that provide services to the homeless. These funds shall be allocated in conformance with the procedures prescribed by the CDBG program. 3. Time Frame: a. Program 15a. on going b. Program 15b. on going 4. Responsible Official /Agency: HOUSE2 a. Program 15a. Planning Department b. Program 15b. City Council, Planning Commission, Planning Department. 174.1