HomeMy WebLinkAbout08 - NB-3 - Creation of a Task Force to Study Homele - 1/18/2011MEETING DATE: JANUARY 18, 2011
SUBJECT: CREATION OF A TASK FORCE TO STUDY HOMELESSNESS
DATE: JANUARY 6, 2011
FROM: CITY MANAGER'S DEPARTMENT
PRESENTATION BY: THOMAS R. HATCH, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER
ITEM NUMBER:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: MURIEL ULLMAN, NEIGHBORHOOD
IMPROVEMENT MANAGER - 714-754-5167
RECOMMENDATION
That the City Council:
1. Create a Homeless Task Force made up of community stakeholders to study the impact
of homelessness on the City of Costa Mesa based on the recommended composition:
• 2 members of the Planning Commission (appointed by the Chair)
• 2 members of the Parks and Recreation Commission (appointed by the
Chair)
• 2 members of the Redevelopment and Residential Rehabilitation (3R)
Committee (appointed by the Chair)
• 1 representative each from both Saddleback and the Light House Churches
• 1 representative of Share Our Selves (SOS)
• 3 representatives from local service providers (appointed by City Staff)
• Up to 5 community representatives -one selected by each City Council Member
• 1 or 2 City Council liaison (s)
2. Authorize City Staff to solicit applications for 5 City Council appointed representatives to the
Homeless Task Force based on the attached Committee Task Force Application.
3. Encourage members of the public to attend and participate in Task Force meetings.
Subject matter experts will be invited to participate in support of the work of the Task Force
as needed.
BACKGROUND
Over the years, the numbers of chronic homeless and the number of complaints has fluctuated;
however, as of late, there have been an increased number of complaints and concerns which
are in need of immediate solutions.
Based on these concerns, the Planning Commission held a Joint Study Session with the Parks
and Recreation Commission on November 8, 2010 to discuss this issue. Representatives from
the City Manager's office updated the Commissions on the impacts and homeless issues within
Lions Park as well as some suggestions for future action. The report documented the problems
encountered within the park itself including consumption of alcohol and drugs, oral and physical
altercations and the intimidating presence of some intoxicated homeless individuals. It also
included data obtained through interviews with the Costa Mesa Historical Society, County
Library staff working at the Donald Duggan Library, residents, City staff working in Lions Park
facilities such as the Downtown Community Center and impacts communicated by all
departments in the City. All parties expressed a high level of frustration both for themselves and
on behalf of their customers due to the significant impacts from the escalation in the number of
homeless individuals congregating in the park.
Based on the above, on November 17, 2010, the Parks and Recreation Commission
recommended that City Council create a task force made up of community stakeholders to
study the impact of homelessness on the City of Costa Mesa and authorize the Chair of the
Commission to appoint two Commissioners to serve on this task force. On December 13th, the
Planning Commission also recommended the same and requested that the City Council
authorize the Chair of the Planning Commission to appoint two Commissioners to serve on the
task force. Additionally, the Planning Commission asked the City Council for immediate action
on the following:
Issue a moratorium on the picnic shelter reservations in Lions Park until such time as a
safe solution is determined;
Recognition that current conditions in Lions Park are unsafe which require both long-
term and immediate actions;
Notify residents that unsafe conditions exist in Lions Park, Downtown Pool and library.
Administrative Services staff has referred these three items to the City Attorney's Office for
further review. However, they are continuing to issue picnic shelter reservations only on a month
to month basis until such time as the City Council and City Attorney issue further direction. The
City Council could direct the City Attorney's Office to further review these three
recommendations and develop legal opinions for formal consideration.
As a first step, staff will make Lions Park a top priority and schedule weekly meetings to take
action on issues at the park. Staff is also reviewing other legal options associated with park
usage such as investigation of civil injunctions against chronic violators. A confidential legal
memo will be forwarded to the City Council under separate cover.
ANALYSIS
Progress to Date:
Since the attached staff report was prepared, City staff has been moving forward to address the
impact of homelessness in Costa Mesa. Current actions include:
• Meeting with local churches and social service providers serving the homeless and enlisting
their volunteers to help move homeless out of the park and into housing
• Conducting an assessment to evaluate the number of Costa Mesa residents who are
homeless
• Meeting with Police and Fire Department personnel to improve coordination with District
Attorney's office in prosecution of consistent park violators
• Working with the City Attorney's Office to examine other possible laws and/or regulations to
address the secondary effects of homelessness on neighborhoods and surrounding
communities
• Re-evaluation of our park permit/picnic shelter reservation regulations
• Calculating the budgetary impact of continued police and fire enforcement actions related to
homelessness in Area 1 (Lions Park Vicinity)
• Meeting with law enforcement personnel in other cities to assess best practices and first
responder responsibilities
• Meeting with County of Orange to discuss regional alternatives which the City of Costa
Mesa could be a party to with respect to impact of homelessness in the City
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Long Term Actions:
While law enforcement continually addresses criminal behavior in the community and City staff
continue to work with both churches and social service providers on an ongoing basis, the
effectiveness of their actions are diminished without long term remedies. Based on the research
staff has gathered, as well as interviews with many of those impacted by homelessness in the
community, solutions to homelessness are as varied as the individual. The final
recommendation in the attached staff report is the development of a data -driven, collaborative
strategy to achieve solutions for Costa Mesa that appropriately limit our scope of the larger
responsibility of chronic homelessness, yet focus on Costa Mesa's own homeless population.
The proposed Task Force scope of work is as follows:
• Evaluation of current actions
• Legal review of park policies, procedures and ordinances as well as the identification
and review of new ordinances designed to address long term municipal code offenders
in the park, as well as enforcement of current state and local laws to deal with problem
individuals
• Review best practices of other cities with the goal of developing data driven solutions
• Examine the characteristics of the homeless population to develop appropriate short
term and long strategies to deal with homeless Costa Mesa residents
The Task Force would be estimated to complete its work and make recommendations to the
City Council in 6 to 9 months.
Selection of Task Force Members:
The recommended composition of the Task Force is based on staff's ongoing experience with
community stakeholders who are involved with the homeless population on an ongoing basis in
Costa Mesa. This involves not only political officials but also residents, businesses, churches, and
social service providers. Larry Haynes, Executive Director of Mercy House, has agreed to act as a
Task Force Facilitator on a voluntary basis. He too has guided staff in task force composition. Both
staff and Mr. Haynes recommend that the size of the Task Force be limited in order to provide
efficient recommendations and solutions.
Based on the above, the recommended Task Force composition is as follows:
• 2 members of the Planning Commission (appointed by the Chair)
• 2 members of the Parks and Recreation Commission (appointed by the
Chair)
• 2 members of the Redevelopment and Residential Rehabilitation (3R)
Committee (appointed by the Chair)
• 1 representative each from both Saddleback and the Light House Churches
• 1 representative of Share Our Selves (SOS)
• 3 representatives from local service providers (appointed by City Staff)
• Up to 5 community representatives -one selected by each City Council Member
• 1 or 2 City Council liaison (s)
Staff from various Departments will assist the proposed Task Force in conducting research, data
gathering and other tasks requested by the group.
Should City Council agree to the formation of a Homeless Task Force, it is recommended that staff
solicit applications for the Task Force from the general public for the City Council appointed
positions.
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
The City Council can choose not to create a Homeless Task Force and continue to address
impacts of homelessness on a case by case basis.
FISCAL IMPACT
There should be no fiscal impact to the general fund other than the Staff and City Attorney's
Office time associated with research, analysis and coordination.
LEGALIMPACT
Staff will be working closely with the City Attorney's Office to examine the legal aspects of any
prospective homeless solutions.
CONCLUSIONS
Based on the ongoing as well as recent impacts of homelessness in Costa Mesa, it is clear that
more collaboration, communication and specific solutions are needed. Therefore staff is
recommending that the City Council create a Homeless Task Force to study the impact of
homelessness on the community and development implementable solutions.
Thomas R. Hatch
Assistant City Manager
Muriel Ullman
Neighborhood Improvement Manager
Attachment A — Agenda -Related Written Communication presented at the 11/8/10 Joint Parks
and Recreation and Planning Commission meeting regarding Downtown Community Facilities:
Current Issues
Attachment B — Committee Formation Application
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Attachment A
Interoffice Memorandum
City of Costa Mesa
Date: November 1, 2010
To: Members of the Parks & Recreation Commission and Planning Commission
From: Tom Hatch, Assistant City Manager
Muriel Ullman, Neighborhood Improvement Manager
Subject: Update on Impacts from Homeless Issues within Lions Park
Introduction:
Complaints and concerns have escalated to a higher level recently related to impacts from larger
numbers of chronic homeless congregating within Lions Park. Over the years the number of
homeless along with the number of complaints has fluctuated. The increased number of
complaints and concerns are in need of immediate review and attention. This memorandum is
provided to the joint meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission and Planning
Commission as background material for your discussion on this issue.
Background:
Over the years, research has been conducted and various discussions have occurred to develop
solutions and approaches that would help the community manage the impacts from the
significant homeless population in and around Lions Park. These efforts have been moderately
successful in the short term but unsuccessful in the long term. The historical impacts include the
following and they continue today:
• Intoxicated and/or mentally unstable - Individuals creating an intimidating presence and
harassing members of the Public, City Recreation and County Library staff and generally
interfering with classes and functions taking place at adjacent public facilities;
• Consumption of alcohol and drugs within the park;
• Unsanitary conditions due to urination and defecation within the park;
• Oral and physical altercations between intoxicated homeless individuals;
• Medical aid calls due to alcohol and drug consumption or mental health issues;
• Use of loud, inappropriate language;
• Numerous municipal and State code violations like bathing in fountain or restrooms, dogs
off leash, littering, presence in park after dark, possession of open container, disorderly
conduct, drinking in public, assault, vandalism, indecent exposure, warrant arrest,
property crimes, etc.
Recent efforts to learn more about the problem and enhance communication has improved
general inter -departmental cooperation in an effort to more effectively troubleshoot and work
together to reduce homelessness and its impact on the community. The research included
reviewing the approaches taken by neighboring jurisdictions to combat the problem, as well as
reviewing the efforts of larger cities in Los Angeles and Riverside Counties, which have
implemented extensive homeless coordination programs to varying levels of success.
Additionally, staff has worked with the Orange County Homeless Coordinator at times to seek
assistance with specific issues.
Neighborhood Improvement Manager Muriel Ullman will now coordinate homeless issues for
the City and has begun reviewing the recent homeless impacts at Lions Park with City staff.
This review was prompted by a series of both in-house staff and citizen complaints from
numerous sources including County Library personnel, Recreation and Aquatic staff, contract
class instructors and participants at the Downtown Recreation Center (DRC) and Neighborhood
Community Center (NCC), the Costa Mesa Historic Society and residents regarding the impacts
from homeless in Lions Park. According to those interviewed, one of the newer factors is the
homeless feeding programs conducted by Orange County Churches every Wednesday and
Sunday and once a month on Saturday.
Several meetings have occurred recently with staff and various service providers to examine the
extent of the problems, size of the homeless population in the park, the characteristics of the
homeless clientele, and types of violations. Additionally, City Manager's staff has been
monitoring the homeless situation on a daily basis with an emphasis on the Wednesday and
Sunday feeding programs. Staff has also met with personnel from the cities of Laguna Beach
and Anaheim, homeless service providers, Mercy House, Vanguard University and churches.
Findings, actions to date, and future options are listed below.
Issues and Impacts:
1. Impacts communicated by County staff working at Donald Duggan Library:
• More homeless individuals using restrooms because restrooms in the DRC and NCC are
only available for guests of those facilities and/or because park restrooms have been
closing earlier;
• Librarian forced to hire security guard for 25 hours per week which reduces the available
resources for basic library services to the public. This cost of approximately $16,000 per
year is paid 1/2 each by the County and the Friends of the Library;
• Librarian orders homeless to leave when they are unwashed and unsanitary and/or
intoxicated and gives them flyer telling where they can get food and showers;
• Restrooms left messy due to bathing activities that create general unsanitary conditions.
Due to on-going problems with the bathrooms, they are now locked;
• Pads on chairs ruined and need to be regularly replaced due to unsanitary conditions;
• Chronic alcoholics and mentally ill homeless gravitate to the library since it is warm and
safe, which deters both volunteers and Costa Mesa residents from frequenting the
downtown branch; and
• Heavy smoking is connected to alcohol and drug use and is regularly occurring right
outside of the entrance to the library.
2. Impacts communicated by Costa Mesa Historical Society:
• The Costa Mesa Historical Society has provided the Commissions with a written report
of the impacts they are experiencing.
3. Impacts communicated by Staff, contract instructors and guests of the NCC, DRC and Park:
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• Contractors working at the NCC (i.e. gymnastics) complain that intoxicated homeless
individuals create an atmosphere of intimidation that negatively impacts parents and kids
going to and leaving classes;
• Aquatics, NCC and DTCC staff constantly harassed as they go and come from work;
• Concerns expressed about unattended luggage, bags or other personal items; and
• Parents complain that the atmosphere is scary and not appropriate for kids.
4. Impacts communicated by residents, staff and observed by staff at the Park Picnic Shelter:
• Several groups have instituted regular feeding programs at the Lions Park Picnic Shelter
over the last few months. Staff has noticed several violations of the standard conditions
for the reserved use of the shelter. The following are issues related to this use:
o Recently staff had to require insurance related to safety concerns with the
Wednesday reserved shelter use;
o Based on recent staff observations, the following conditions have been noted,
including individuals engaging in belligerent and/or aggressive behavior (fights,
arguments, yelling); individuals engaging in intimidation including glaring at
park visitors, yelling at them and approaching them to ask what they are doing at
this public place; hanging wet sleeping bags over City monument signs;
consumption of alcohol and the presence of intoxicated individuals in the
immediate area; drug use; and
o It is unclear if the intent behind the development of the Picnic Shelter
Reservation System is for the occasional rental to allow individuals to host
gatherings or if the community is comfortable with ongoing rental by the same
group or individual week after week. The Commissions may want to explore a
policy of instituting a cap on the number of Picnic Shelter rentals one individual
or group could have each year?
5. Impacts communicated by the Police and Fire Departments:
• Incidents tracked by the Police Department in Lions Park for calendar year 2009 were
129 and for calendar year 2010 through only September the number of incidents is 634;
• Many of these incidents involve the repeat offenders that are part of the chronic homeless
population at the Park;
• Enforcement is conducted and citations are issued (arrests if necessary), only to have
little impact to discourage Park rule and/or law breaking. PD reports that several chronic
homeless have been issued numerous citations that are ignored. These homeless
understand that officers in the field know that if they arrest a chronic homeless individual
that they need to get them medically cleared at a hospital and then get them checked into
county jail all of which can take a minimum of two hours and sometime six hours or
more. This time away from other patrol duties is hard to justify when faced with higher
priority issues in the community. Lt. Rob Sharpnack will be in attendance at the meeting
if more information in needed about the challenges faced with enforcement of the code
on chronic homeless;
• Significant time and effort is spent trying to assist individual chronic homeless. Without
a coordinated effort and continuous daily effort, successfully helping members of this
population is unlikely to occur and this causes frustration among officers and firefighters;
and
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• There is a feeling that new or different enforcement tools are needed — possibly changes
to the municipal code, "stay away" orders from the Park for the continuously intoxicated
and most flagrant rule breakers and where a public nuisance has been established. Other
cities have tools/codes that should be further reviewed and that may be of benefit to our
Police Department.
Current Actions:
Several recent action steps have been taken or are being taken to further understand the impacts
and to create solutions. These include:
• Staff has held meetings with numerous stakeholders including those mentioned above as
well as staff from other cities, other local homeless service providers, local churches,
veterans organizations, Interfaith Council of Orange County, etc.
• Staff met with the City Attorney's Office on a variety of issues including development of
a "stay away" ordinances for serious repeat offenders as well as other appropriate code
provisions;.
• Staff is currently researching uniform insurance requirements for any group programs
where over 50 individuals are anticipated as well as reviewing the park permit process as
a whole;
• A no smoking ordinance is being evaluated as well as other ordinance provisions;
• Meet with the Santa Ana Police Officer that coordinates these issues for that community
to understand the pros and cons of designating an officer to assist with enforcement
approaches;
• Continue to research how other cities manage the legal and environmental impacts from
homelessness;
• Participate in and support the Mercy House/Vanguard University homeless survey to
determine how many individuals are actually homeless in Costa Mesa;
• Begin conducting a study to determine the monetary impact of homeless enforcement on
general fund (police and fire in particular);
• Contact Department of Veterans Services in Long Beach for assistance with homeless
veterans and to receive information about the Shelter -Plus program for Veterans;
• Meet with local pastors to discuss assisting Costa Mesa homeless residents;
• Continue to meet with local social service providers and churches regarding different
approaches to end homelessness in Costa Mesa with the assistance of Mercy House; and
• Continue enforcement actions as appropriate and as resources are available.
Future Options:
One option is to develop a long term strategy that will define Costa Mesa's chronic homeless
population from the general County homeless population (limit our scope) with the goal to
develop solutions without in any way enlarging the problem or the scope of our responsibility. A
meaningful strategy will involve a multitude of steps including:
• Develop and present a concept to the Commissions and City Council, discussing options
and seek direction;
• Determine the extent of the chronic homeless population in Costa Mesa with the
assistance of Mercy House and Vanguard University;
• Create a definition of how a chronic homeless individual is a Costa Mesa resident;
El
• Examining the cost impacts on homeless enforcement/coordination actions to the City
organization and community in general; and
• Develop a data -driven, collaborative strategy to achieve solutions for Costa Mesa that
appropriately limits our scope of the larger responsibility of chronic homelessness.
In summary, the key to our success would be to put appropriate limits on our scope of
responsibility, collaborate with stakeholders and develop solutions that focus on Costa Mesa's
own homeless population.
F:Muriel/Homeless Report/ Memo for 11.8.10 R Comm Mtg
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ATTACHMENT B
COMMITTEE FORMATION APPLICATION
Proposed Name: Costa Mesa Homeless Task Force
Task/Objective(s):
1. Evaluation of current short term and long term actions with regards to the impact of
homelessness in Costa Mesa.
2. Legal review of park policies, procedures and ordinances as well as creation of new
ordinances designed to address long term municipal code offenders in the park
3. Review best practices of other cities with the goal of developing data driven solutions
4. Examine the characteristics of the homeless population to develop appropriate short
term and long strategies to deal with homeless Costa Mesa residents
Type: � Ad Hoc
Proposed Membership: Up to 17, plus 2 City staff and 1 City Council Liaison. The
Committee would include the followina rearesentatives:
2 members of the Planning Commission (appointed by the Chair )
2 members of the Parks and Recreation Commission (appointed by the
Chair)
• 2 members of the Redevelopment and Residential Rehabilitation (3R)
Committee (appointed by the Chair)
1 representative each from both Saddleback and the Light House Churches
1 representative of Share Our Selves (SOS)
• 3 representatives from local service providers (appointed by City Staff)
• Up to 5 community representatives -one selected by each City Council member
1 or 2 City Council liaison (s)
Proposed Term of Office: This is an ad hoc committee whose term is based upon the
duration of the Homeless Task Force
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