Shelter would house 55, service 250 transients
The City Council on Tuesday is scheduled to decide the fate of a proposed $10.4 million homeless shelter at Cloverfield Boulevard and Michigan Avenue.
Ocean Park Community Center, a private, non-profit social service agency, is depending on a $7.4 million loan from City Hall to buy the 33,700-square-foot property.
Hundreds of residents and a handful of community groups have come out against the proposed shelter, saying it will leave more than 200 transients per day wandering area neighborhoods, loitering and panhandling.
The city’s Social Services Commission, which oversees homeless issues, the Chamber of Commerce’s governmental affairs committee, which examines government issues, and the city’s Disabilities Commission, which oversees issues relating to people with disabilities, have all expressed support for OPCC, but do not endorse the $7.4 million loan.
In their respective votes, the groups echoed the concerns of nearby businesses, schools and residents. They said more research needs to be done.
OPCC already has received $400,000 from City Hall to put toward the purchase. A $200,000 down payment has been made and OPCC has entered into escrow on the property, which would house 55 transients and provide daytime services for as many as 250 people.
If OPCC doesn’t acquire financing by Aug. 20, the $200,000 down payment could be forfeited. However, OPCC will still have until escrow closes on Oct. 3 to secure funding, in case the City Council waits to make a decision.
John Maceri, OPCC executive director, said the shelter has to move from its current location at 612 Colorado Ave., because the Big Blue Bus, which is housed in the same building, is expanding.
Currently, OPCC pays $4,100 monthly to lease 8,500 square feet. The Big Blue Bus, which is obligated to assist displaced tenants, is asking City Hall for an additional $1.8 million to give to the agency based on its lease agreement with OPCC.
OPCC also has obtained $400,000 from LA County mental health and housing funds to help pay for the property. OPCC also has applied for an additional $900,000 in state and federal housing funds. Whatever portion of the $900,000 it receives will reduce the loan from City Hall, Maceri said.
Finally, OPCC will have to raise $799,038 on its own, according to city documents.
Maceri said there has been a lot of misinformation publicized in the campaign against the proposed shelter. Some have said that hundreds of transients will be discharged at the end of the day which will lead to them loitering in nearby neighborhoods — a claim Maceri denies.
“It’s been our goal from the beginning to make sure people have information and hopefully accurate information,” Maceri said.
At its current facility on Sixth Street and Colorado Avenue, several transients can be seen loitering around the area when the drop-in shelter is closed.
Maceri said he is disappointed with the Social Service Commission vote but has focused his efforts on the City Council’s decision. He said he’s encouraged that city staff has endorsed the $7,397,112 loan.
Santa Monica City Councilman Herb Katz, a resident of Sunset Park who lives near the proposed site, said he plans to fight the project.
“When Social Services votes against something that is a social service, there’s something wrong with it,” he said. “Anyone who is voting for this, as opposed to against it, is turning their back on a message the residents are sending.”
Katz said OPCC should be lauded for the service it provides to the community. But he said the proposed location isn’t suited for a homeless shelter because it’s near two residential neighborhoods — Sunset Park and the Pico neighborhood, as well as Bergamot Station, an arts facility, and Crossroads School.
He said the project’s supporters did a poor job reaching out to nearby residents to inform them of the plans. And lastly, Katz said the $7.4 million loan, which would come out of City Hall’s housing funds, should be spent on permanent housing.
“It’s a real rush to judgment and I don’t like it,” said Katz, who originally asked that the matter be postponed because he will not be at Tuesday’s meeting.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 11, 2003. Read the original PDF.