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Home My WebLink About08/02/2016 09 Relocation of Current Homeless Camp Update Distributed the Meeting f'4 J p MEMORANDUM TO Honorable Mayor Gutierrez and Members of the City Council FROM Cliff Moore, City Manager Sara Watkins, Senior Assistant City Attorney Dominic Rizzi, Police Chief Joan Davenport, Director of Community Development DATE August 2, 2016 SUBJECT Requested Information Regarding Relocation of Current Homeless Camp Backqround for this report At the July 28, 2016 Yakima City Council Public Safety Committee meeting, staff was directed to bring information to the full City Council on August 2, 2016 responsive to potential relocation of the current homeless camp 1 Current Camp at South 3rd Street & East Chestnut St: The current camp location was selected by City Council on July 5, 2016 Most of the camp was moved from the street right of way along East Chestnut Street and South 6th Street on Monday, July 11, 2016 Site accommodations for the current camp at South 3rd Street and East Walnut include fencing, awnings, portable toilets, a hand washing station, site security, sharps containers and drinking water To date, the cost of the camp has been $6,700, which was funded from the $20,000 loan from Yakima Health District and reimbursed by the Homeless program at Yakima Valley Conference of Governments a Consideration of continuing this camp location is constrained because it has created operational challenges to the police department for services delivered in the adjoining structure If the city Council chooses to maintain the temporary encampment at this location until the Cold Weather Shelters open (on or about November 15th), the Yakima Police Department will need to temporarily relocate some of the sensitive services provided at the building directly south of the camp b The City Council authorized the temporary use of this parking lot for a homeless camp "until Neighborhood Health provides transitional housing ", or about August 15th, 2016 c There was a clean -up required related to the East Chestnut camp site The City Street Division removed approximately 6 inches of dirt and graded gravel on the site The adjoining property owner, Neighborhood Health, had 3 trees that were damaged and dying removed 2 Master Lease Program. Neighborhood Health will be providing housing for approximately 35 to 44 people in 30 housing units The housing is planned for a 12 -month period Additionally, Neighborhood Health will provide case management and supportive services for the individuals participating in the master lease program Placement of individuals into the program is now on -going and is expected to be complete by mid - Page 1 of 5 August All of the people camping at the homeless camp may not qualify for housing As a result, there may be people that do not get housed with this program and may desire to continue camping in the city Neighborhood Health has provided services to the existing camp, including on -site delivery of water (provided by the City), service in -take and some limited case management. Their staff have interviewed each resident of the camp, assigned them spaces for camping and kept day -time order at the site At night, the City has contracted security services with a private firm Although it is not known what the future two months will bring, it is anticipated that Neighborhood Health will continue to provide basic services to any future camp 3 Lease a Building to Accommodate the Camp. The Public Safety Committee asked staff to investigate the potential of leasing a building that could accommodate the homeless camp Specifically, the building known as "Super Bingo" (South 3rd Avenue and Mead Avenue) was suggested A commercial realtor was contacted to determine the feasibility of this solution We were informed that a commitment on the "Super Bingo" building was already in development. In addition, the cost to lease the building was approximately $8 to $10 per leasable square foot. No source of funding is currently budgeted or available to the City of Yakima for this purpose at this time Most large commercial structures are leased at about the same rate Industrial property is considerably less expensive to lease, but often lack air conditioning and may not have fire suppression sprinkler systems A structure instead of an outdoor camp does offer some advantages such as the ability to control access, climate and comfort. Should an indoor facility be secured, the City would need to contract supervision services with one of the homeless providers or faith based organizations 4 Alternate locations. Two City -owned alternate locations were suggested to accommodate a relocation of the existing homeless camp, both of which were previously identified Each site has some positive aspects along with other attributes that make it less desirable In both of these cases, the concept is a temporary homeless camp that is authorized for camping until the time the winter warming shelters are open A relocation of the camp would require moving the equipment that has been installed at the current site, including temporary fencing, shade structures, portable restrooms, hand - washing stations, trash and related improvements a Fair Avenue & 1 -82 This site is about one acre in size and consists of 5 tax parcels The site is adjacent to modest single family homes and the 1 -82 on -ramp The site is zoned General Commercial In order to make the site safe for campers, it would require fencing around the perimeter to discourage pedestrian traffic on 1 -82 and the ramps, as well as control where pedestrians may cross Fair Avenue There is no adjacent sidewalk Traffic moves fast along the Fair Avenue corridor and to the freeway ramps The site is on a transit line and has a few trees to offer some shade The site can be accessed from East Chestnut Avenue Page 2 of 5 7 ' r { 0 Tr r _ M` y T ' a W ,-.4,-.,qt.- .xe '" `.`:•z t • :. . � ..,, -Z.-1,44-4,-,...L., EC« � ,rx ^ t � fi . i ` :*F,: : t + } y am s = 4u l d „; 4Q 4 j .v 'sh 1 sC ' !i`4 '...'!,'s t' �x{jt 'Fd3 ' 4 e 'S 1 ,t, i " r 5:'�.1, �,,.,x " r t , C x�. , t to } x � r I W � ,� ] # • � �p t j , °'� , ``+ -,. +. e k e ,' ?� V I �i JJ 'k';'!... d .� `3t, � , i � t n �" ' —gyp i 4i l l ii• ' I. : +.r o l i + x t: /I ns r,,,14 ` r �N - i, F nrI f o + � : 1 I „ ` . , ' , ileV { 1.x441.:_ 1. 4 !+ " JU 5 MU , F t. 1;t,% $ ._. ... ,. .i. 2:4k, iiiik Pros 6 Some shade trees O Access to transit o Site is accessible to individuals and services Cons o Close proximity to 1 -82 and Fair Avenue ® Fast moving vehicles with no sidewalk along frontage o No crosswalk on Fair Avenue o Adjacent to neighborhood b Wastewater Plant field. The City owns multiple parcels near the Wastewater plant that are idle Very few services exist in the vicinity and the site is remote from hospitality industry Yakima Transit does not provide services to the site There is no electricity or street lighting available at the site The site would need to be mowed to remove the large weeds growing on the property There are trees near the Yakima River and the site adjoins the Yakima Greenway east of the property Page 3 of 5 - l x,.,?oil,:ivii,Iii , "v\livep‘.%.. :c,' -7'404;',..,:.::. , N , 9 ual T ' = ''., ,'P'' ' F11,47%"' ' 1•:.^ " .,,,,, : ° ` -„ ' 11 ' )1 c!ii . '4 4' ' '' 1 ' 71 : : 7- ., / Tr ° OrrTh,',;3P' . t ',.,, ' . - : ''' r r :tiL ) 1 y} ' ' i$ &. n,'' , { " c a t , u y .. [. '1 �I �. 1 1 t . � � � S 't � 1 " .fa .q �, . j� _ kk �I Ai { a,lazt A. L^�,a �pl , � r "�'�' x X � � �� r y , � �� s � � ,. :v � ., 3 ';, V , �P 'q k r i : t 0 -- fg' e r 1 ' �, * f � " ' ‘V‘;‘, 4", r - Y�, s —�. ..fix`; { , T .,4 --, ,+'�,'. ti"- `. '' F X �, , 4 i 4 s• t ,!} r' ht. . -.1 i FL. n' )'u k. , ®fie „r --, ”` , ' , tesrig9 Pros o Remote area, that does not interfere with existing commercial or hospitality industry o Not near a neighborhood o Shade trees within walking distance o Site accessible by public streets Cons o Proximity to Greenway Trail o No Transit service o Not near support services In both scenarios, the City would need to continue providing portable toilets, a hand washing station, sharps container, garbage collection service, an awning for shade, security patrols and drinking water City staff estimates that the costs will not exceed the $20,000 loan from the Yakima Health District to operate the temporary encampment through November 15th 5 Coordination with Yakima Valley Conference of Governments Homeless Programs During the Public Safety Committee, staff was urged to coordinate the homeless camp with the ongoing programs at the YVCOG As explained at that meeting, the Master Lease Program through Neighborhood Health is a direct result of coordination between the needs of the homeless population in Yakima and the YVCOG Homeless programs The City has participated in all aspects of recent projects to serve and coordinate the needs of individuals in Yakima with YVCOG At the current time, the YVCOG program is in the process of drafting the 5 -year project and funding plan for Homeless issues in the Yakima Valley Until this Plan is complete, access to any funds to address programs and needs of the homeless is restricted The Plan is targeted to be complete in the next 60 days YVCOG has, however, already agreed to provide reimbursement for the $20,000 00 loan from the Yakima Health District to the City 6 Actions needed by Yakima City Council. a Provide direction regarding the preferred location to accommodate the homeless camp after the "Master Lease" program is in effect. Without a sanctioned place for homeless persons to sleep, the City will have difficulty enforcing the newly adopted Page 4of5 camping ordinance and other related matters The potential temporary camp locations include i retain existing camp location ii Fair Ave & 1 -82 iii Wastewater Plant site b Begin immediately to work with YVCOG, Neighborhood Health and the local faith - based community on the Cold Weather Shelters so they will be operational by mid - November This planning and coordination is needed soon In addition, there is no official daytime warming shelter during this program, which may be explored if there is interest from a location to host such a shelter A daytime warming shelter would help to address complaints of loitering and nuisances related to homeless issues in the downtown and adjacent neighborhoods previously received by the City c Continue to support and collaborate with the YVCOG Homeless programs which focus on a "Housing First Approach" as well as the private non - profit "Justice Housing Project" Page 5of5