By Melody Hanatani
Daily Press Staff Writer

SUNSET PARK — The ongoing controversy over plans to build a mental health facility on Pearl Street has reminded residents — primarily those in the southern and western parts of the city — of the high concentration of social service providers in their areas.

Step Up on Second is the target of recent neighborhood upheaval over its plans to develop housing for men with mental disorders at a triplex at 1826 Pearl St.

Currently, more than 70 social service agencies call Santa Monica home; a city well known as a safe haven for the homeless, drug addicted and mentally unstable to get back on their feet. Downtown, Pico neighborhood, Sunset Park and Mid-City host the highest concentration of the city’s social service providers.

“The issue has come up when new projects or expansions have been brought before neighborhood associations,” said City of Santa Monica Human Services Manager Julie Rusk. “From time to time, there are concerns about congregations of people that may or may not be affiliated with social services. There have been concerns, particularly in areas that are somewhat dense or where residential and commercial areas abut each other.”

The Pico Neighborhood Association protested against a proposal to open a homeless services center on Cloverfield Boulevard a few years ago.

Residents at the time were upset that the city had neglected to inform neighbors that Ocean Park Community Center was planning to open the shelter on Cloverfield, said PNA Board member Irma Carranza.

“The way we found out about the shelter coming into the community was by word of mouth that the city had already put a deposit on the property,” Carranza said on Wednesday. “One of the city staff told me that their job was to inform, not to convince us or engage us in the process.”

The Pico neighborhood has taken in a number of social service providers, including the CLARE Foundation, a drug and alcohol treatment center, and Chrysalis, a homeless services center.

“It’s great there are these services, but we have to make sure it is [evenly] dispersed,” Carranza said.

The Ocean Park Community Center has yet to open, but Carranza wants a tour when it opens its doors.

Jeff Bender has lived in southern Santa Monica, near Santa Monica College, for six years and said he has seen an increase in social service providers since he moved to the area.

“This part of town has more of these social service providers than any other part of town,” Bender said. “If you want these programs to flourish and spread out across the community, why are you all putting them in one spot? It’s not making much sense.”

The social service providers in Santa Monica have experienced varying responses from their neighbors when they first announced plans to move in. Nicholas Vrataric, executive director of the CLARE Foundation, which provides treatment for alcoholism and substance abuse, said they never faced any neighborhood opposition when it opened in the 1980s.

To maintain goodwill among neighbors, the foundation sends out workers to clean the neighborhood each day.

“It’s what we think a good neighbor should do,” Vrataric said.

It’s a different experience from what Upward Bound House faced when it announced plans to open family housing on 12th Street in 1997 and senior housing on 11th Street in 2000. Both facilities are located in the Wilshire/Montana region — one of the less densely populated areas of social service providers.

“Of course they thought the world was going to fall in and property values would plummet and there would be drunk people lying on the street,” said Andrew Duff Parker, executive director of Upward Bound House, which provides homeless transitional family housing on land donated by the First United Methodist Church of Santa Monica.

Upward Bound House has removed approximately 295 families, including 479 adults and 772 children, from the streets and placed them in permanent housing where they stay to this day, Parker said.

Some of the neighbors who opposed Upward Bound House have changed their minds since the two housing developments opened.

“I’ve had numerous neighbors come up to me and apologize,” Parker said. “They said the facilities are so clean and well operated and that they are very pleased.”

TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING

The Pico Neighborhood Association is also concerned with the high number of affordable housing developments popping up in its area.

“No one else would tolerate having buildings up where there used to be single family homes,” Carranza said. “Unfortunately, we’re the only community that doesn’t have representation at the council level.”

Bob Moncrief, manager for the City of Santa Monica’s Housing and Redevelopment, said there is a city policy to try and redistribute affordable housing citywide. But city zoning regulations do not allow multi-family housing to be built in the R1 zone, which is north of Montana. As of 2003, there is at least one affordable housing unit located north of Montana.

Approximately 25 percent of the city’s affordable housing stock is in the Wilshire/Montana area. That number is followed by 21 percent in Pico, 20 percent in downtown, 14 percent in Ocean Park, 10 percent in Mid-City, 9 percent in Sunset Park and 1 percent north of Montana. The numbers include senior housing projects.

Moncrief said it is up to developers to determine where their affordable housing projects are placed, not the city.

“Developers are the ones who select the sites,” Moncrief said on Tuesday. “They look through the real estate listings and look for the best value they can find.”