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HomeMy WebLinkAbout9/6/2023 Item 4a, Hamilton (2) From:McClish, Teresa Sent:Friday, August 11, 2023 11:05 AM To:Lynn L. Hamilton Cc:Tway, Timothea (Timmi); Purrington, Teresa; Bell, Kyle; Wiberg, Daisy; Hermann, Greg Subject:RE: "Safe Parking" on Palm Street - No Public Comment or Hearing Hello Lynn, Please see responses to your additional questions and concerns below in red and feel free to reach out to me for any additional questions. Thank you, Teresa BCC: City Council Teresa McClish pronouns she/her/hers Housing Policy and Programs Manager Community Development E tmcclish@slocity.org T 805.783.7840 slocity.org Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications From: Hermann, Greg <GHermann@slocity.org> Sent: Friday, August 11, 2023 10:13 AM To: Lynn L. Hamilton < Cc: Tway, Timothea (Timmi) <TTway@slocity.org>; Purrington, Teresa <TPurring@slocity.org>; Bell, Kyle <KBell@slocity.org>; Stewart, Erica A <estewart@slocity.org>; Marx, Jan <jmarx@slocity.org>; Francis, Emily <EFrancis@slocity.org>; Shoresman, Michelle <mshoresm@slocity.org>; McClish, Teresa <tmcclish@slocity.org>; Wiberg, Daisy <dwiberg@slocity.org> Subject: Re: "Safe Parking" on Palm Street - No Public Comment or Hearing Hi Lynn, Thank you for your email. I appreciate your questions and concerns. I’m including in this email staff from the Community Development Department for response. 1 We will keep you informed through the process. Thank you, Greg BCC: City Council From: Lynn L. Hamilton < Sent: Friday, August 11, 2023 7:53 AM To: Hermann, Greg Cc: Tway, Timothea (Timmi); Purrington, Teresa; Bell, Kyle; Stewart, Erica A; Marx, Jan; Francis, Emily; Shoresman, Michelle Subject: Re: "Safe Parking" on Palm Street - No Public Comment or Hearing This message is from an External Source. Use caution when deciding to open attachments, click links, or respond. Hello, Greg, Thank you for your response. Forgive me if I find some of the information and reasoning provided insufficient. I live at Palm Street, far less than the 300 feet you note below as the area required for notification. I did not receive a postcard, and neither did some of my direct neighbors. While I normally pick up a New Times when I teach at the Y, I was out of town last week and did not get a copy. For the City to assume that affected residents will pick up a New Times (when the closest distribution of the publication is many blocks away from the affected area) and that should suffice as notification is very far-fetched. I spent 2 hours yesterday writing, copying and distributing fliers around my neighborhood, which far more effort than it appears the city expended in notifying the affected residents. The timing of notification is also problematic. The few residents who did receive a postcard received it on Aug. 7, which is exactly one week prior to the decision date. There is currently a public notification for a tree removal at the Monday Club - the sign went up Aug. 7, and the public has 3 weeks to see the notice, and the public hearing will be Aug. 28. It’s ludicrous that a tree removal on private property gets more public notification and opportunity for comment than blocking off at least 1/2 of a through street in a residential area and allowing up to 20 overnight vehicles to come and go daily on a quiet street. Just because your process is “consistent with adopted notification procedures for the City of SLO and State Law” does not make it right. We have had (and still have) many laws that give the powers that be legal cover, but it does not make those procedures good public policy. The City can do better. I doubt that you would be a satisfied public citizen if the city was conducting this type of activity on your street. Thank you for your comments on the noticing time period, this is valuable feedback that we will consider as we move forward. I have two more questions that seem obvious, but have not been addressed in any information provided. 1) Why did the City end Railroad Square before having the rotational program hosts established? Had prior planning taken place, the City wouldn’t need to have an interim site. The Overnight Safe Parking Program must end August 27th at the Railroad location per the timeline provided for in the City’s emergency resolution for the Covid-19 Pandemic as well as conflicting hours of operation for the parking area with Amtrak and adjacent businesses. The Railroad location was implemented under the Statewide 2 Emergency Declaration and when the emergency order was lifted on February 28, 2023 the City had 180 days to continue operating the program at that location. City staff have been working diligently for the past 8 months to develop a rotating safe parking model with several faith leaders and congregations. We have been meeting monthly since January to identify and secure host site locations, and we brought that model to the Planning Commission on July 12th for approval. While we were hopeful that we would have rotating host sites secured by the end of August, the planning process has been very involved and more time is required to confirm commitments from interested congregations. As the Rotating Overnight Safe Parking Program continues to be developed, the Palm Street site is being proposed as an interim location only, understanding that it is not ideal but it would provide continuance of a safe place for 15-20 current Safe Parking participants to sleep overnight temporarily. 2) Why is the City not using either a City-owned parking lot for the interim program or an area with zero residential impact? There is large lot at Sinsheimer Park that has little use after 7 p.m. since the Blues season is over, and by all appearances, the City already uses it to stash buses and the trolley, so there is room for large vehicles. There are also many business and industrial areas where no one lives on the south and west sides of town that have ample parking - and are also closer to services at Prado. I cannot believe that the best idea the City can come up is to turn a residential through street into a parking lot for up to 4 months. The City continues to comprehensively review City-owned lots for suitable locations for inclusion into the Rotating Overnight Safe Parking Program and will include such sites where conflicting hours of operations may be resolved and consistency with Safe Parking regulations per municipal code may be established. I appreciate the fact that you will notify me of the decision when it is made. I really hope the City will re- evaluate its process for dealing with neighborhood issues. Sincerely, Lynn Hamilton Professor, Agribusiness ABM/NAMA Club Advisor Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 93407 On Aug 10, 2023, at 9:38 AM, Hermann, Greg <GHermann@slocity.org> wrote: 3 Hello Ms. Hamilton, Thank you for your email and for providing your comments on the proposed Director’s Action related to the safe parking on Palm Street. Please see responses to the concerns and questions that you raised below. I have also attached a contact reference sheet for the safe parking program to this email, which you may find helpful if you have additional questions, or you can provide additional questions and comments to Teresa McClish tmcclish@slocity.org, the City’s Housing Policy and Programs Manager. The process: I appreciate your comments about the public noticing process for this issue. Public notice of the safe parking program has been published in the New Times, and postcards have been sent to all residents and property owners within 300 feet of the proposed safe parking location on Palm Street, consistent with adopted notification procedures for the City of SLO and State Law. The notice that you referenced in your email is the public notice for the proposed safe parking location on Palm Street, and is meant to both inform the neighborhood of the pending location and also solicit feedback and comments. The comments that the City receives from community members in response to these notices are valuable feedback and will be considered when a decision is rendered. A decision on the item will be made no sooner than August 14, and I will make sure you are informed of the decision when it is made. If there is a decision to approve safe parking at this location, then there will be additional outreach to the neighborhood in the form of the Neighborhood Relations Plan (see below), that will include contact information and resources. The program: Recognizing your concerns, I wanted to provide you with some additional context for the operation of the safe parking program at the subject location. This is an existing safe parking program in the City of SLO that is currently operating at the Railroad parking area that we are converting to a rotating model, meaning that the safe parking location will rotate between multiple locations throughout the City. The program is proposed to operate during the hours of 7:00 pm to 7:00 am (overnight), and the site will be restored to normal each morning after the operation of the program. The program at this site is intended as an interim location while the rotating model is developed and will have a limit of operation of no more than 120 days within a single calendar year. The program will continue to be operated and managed by the Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County (CAPSLO), which is a non-profit agency. In accordance with the Conditional Use Permit that was approved by the Planning Commission on July 12, 2023, this site is intended to serve as part of a rotating model for various sites throughout the community. The rotating program will ensure that CAPSLO can continue to connect people with housing while also minimizing disruptions at any one location. All participants of the program are required to be enrolled in case management to work towards permanent or supportive housing. Each participant will require a background check to verify there is no active criminal history. The City’s Safe Parking Regulations that you referenced in your email require a 50-foot buffer from any existing residential property. The proposed project is located on a public street in the Tourism Commercial (C-T) zone (which allows residential use) and provides at least a 100-foot buffer from the closest residence along Palm Street (see image below for approximate location). The project also includes a Neighborhood Relations Plan, and if approved at this location, 4 CAPSLO will be required to mail relevant contact information and resources associated with the program to all residents within a 300-foot radius of the site in accordance with the City’s Good Neighbor Policy. The reason: Starting in October 2018, the County of San Luis Obispo has declared a Shelter Crisis within the County pursuant to Government Code Section 8698, as established and renewed by the County Board of Supervises Ordinance No. 3479. The proposed program to temporarily close a portion of Palm Street for the safe parking program is being conducted in partnership with the County of San Luis Obispo as an important tool to provide a safe place to park a vehicle overnight for individuals experiencing homeless as they work to transition to permanent housing. Additionally, the City of San Luis Obispo’s safe parking program is identified as a key task under the City’s first-ever Homelessness Response Strategic Plan with the intent of working with the County and community groups to develop successful safe parking options for unhoused community members. This rotating site model has worked well in other communities across California. The program has been modeled after the City of Fremont’s Safe Parking Host Site Program, which operates 5 rotating faith-based locations, as well as the Safe Parking Shelter and Rapid Rehousing Program in Santa Barbara and Goleta that is managed by New Beginnings and operates 26 safe parking locations. Since the implementation of the pilot safe parking program located in the Railroad parking lot, managed by CAPSLO, 36 individuals or households have been connected with permanent housing, nine individuals reunified with families, and five individuals find jobs. Please see our responses below to the specific questions from your email; 5 1. Temporary means that the closure will only occur between the hours of 7pm to 7am, and will be limited to no more than 4 months per year. Approximately 200 feet of Palm Street will be utilized for safe parking participants. As noted above, the Palm Street location is specifically being planned as an interim solution while the rotating program is established. 2. The program will operate between 7pm and 7am, however, participants will be able to begin check in for the program starting at 6pm. Participants, including participants with RVs associated with the program, are prohibited from parking within 1-mile of the site outside of the program hours. Participants who are found parked in vicinity of the site outside of the program hours will risk being prohibited from future participation of the program. 3. The program will accommodate no more than 20 vehicles, or 10 vehicles and no more than 5 RVs. The site plan identifies the locations of parking spaces for the program. 4. The City’s Police Department will routinely check in the site to ensure there are no disturbances during program hours. 5. The program will include portable restroom facilities, a hand washing station and a dumpster, which will all be locked and secured from any public use outside of the hours of operation of the program. 6. The City has been working closely with the Veteran’s Hall staff and the County of SLO to ensure minimal disturbances from the program during any events. Again, thank you for contacting the City with your comments. I will ensure these comments and any other comments received are considered for this proposed safe parking location. Greg BCC: City Council Greg Hermann pronouns he/him/his Deputy City Manager City Administration 919 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401-3218 E ghermann@slocity.org T 805.781.7194 C 805.440.1330 slocity.org Stay connected with the City by signing up for e-notifications 6 From: Lynn L. Hamilton < Subject: "Safe Parking" on Palm Street - No Public Comment or Hearing Date: August 8, 2023 at 11:57:59 AM PDT To: kbell@slocity.org, djohnson@slocity.org, estewart@slocity.org, jmarx@slocit y.org,efrancis@slocity.org, nrubinoff@capslo.org Cc: news@newtimesslo.com, news@ksby.com, newsroom@thetribunenews.co m, tips@calcoastnews.com Dear Kyle, Derek, Nathan and City Council Members, I am writing with deep concern about the insensitive, inept and insufficient means of informing residents of the Palm Street neighborhood of the City’s plans to move its safe parking program to “1700 Palm Street”. I have owned and lived at Palm Street for 25 years, and I did not know there was a 1700 block of Palm Street. I am very much opposed not only to the plan to move the safe parking program to my street, but also to object to the lack of transparency, lack of opportunity for public comment and the VERY short time period for notification. We had only a week to respond. I also did not receive a postcard at my address; I heard about the issue from my neighbor, who took a picture and sent it to me (attached). The news coverage in the TRIBUNE on July 29 indicated that the rotational program would involve faith and community groups volunteering their sites for new, rotational safe parking program. The coverage said nothing about closing off a city street to create an interim safe parking lot. There is nothing noted in the City Code about turning a residential through street into a closed parking lot, which the “temporary closure of a portion of Palm Street” seems to indicate. Should this application be approved, I plan to appeal, and may also consider a lawsuit. My house and my neighbor’s houses on Palm Street are in an R-2 Zone. The City Code. https://sanluisobispo.municipal.codes/Code/17.86.230 notes: C. Accessory Use in Residential Zones. If located in the R-1, R-2, R-3, and R-4 zones, safe parking is only allowed when accessory to a public assembly or religious assembly facility. Safe parking is prohibited as a primary use in the R-1, R-2, R-3, and R-4 zones and in all applicable zones on properties that contain residential uses as the primary use. City Code also notes the following: 7 4. Neighborhood Relations Plan. A neighborhood relations plan shall be provided for each safe parking facility location to address any complaints in a timely manner, including consistency with any adopted good neighbor policy. If sending out a post card to a few people constitutes your Neighborhood Relations plan, I have zero confidence that any of the other aspects of the City Code with respect to the Safe Parking plan will be handled in a competent manner. As much as I object to Palm Street being used for a Safe Parking area, I even more strongly object to the manner in which this policy is being handled. If a homeowner wants to cut down a tree, run a business out of their home, rent their home as an short- term rental, or add a second story to their property, there is a notice posted on the property with a comment period and a date for a public hearing. This change of use of Palm Street is MUCH more significant than any of the minor change examples noted here, yet there is no opportunity for public comment or environmental review. There are nearly 15 houses on Palm Street between California and Grand Avenue, and many of them are owner-occupied. I’m sure that all homeowners and residents in the area would appreciate an opportunity for public comment. Since the postcard noted that Kyle is the contact for this issue, I have the following concerns and questions: 1) What does “temporary” mean? How long and how much of Palm Street will be closed? 2) What are the times for the Safe Parking program? How will you ensure that vehicles are only there in the allowed times? 3) How many vehicles will be allowed? There is no way that 20 vehicles, the number in the Railroad District, will fit on the boundary of the Vets Hall portion of the street 4) What kind of security and oversight will be provided? 5) Is there a plan for trash/water/toilet provision? 6) Many events occur at the Vets Hall in the evenings, and Vets Hall patrons park adjacent to their building - how have you addressed this with the Vets Hall as you eliminate their overflow parking? 7) Has the City considered that these RVs will be very visible from Monterey Street as you approach downtown from the north? There are hundreds of hotel rooms along Monterey Street and many tourists walk down Monterey to downtown. Palm Street and the Vets Hall are not hidden from view. 8 Press from the New Times regarding the Railroad Parking program indicates that the City and CAPSLO have not done a sufficient job in managing trash, noise and other disruptions in their Safe Parking program. Even more disturbing is the continued band- aid approach to housing unsheltered community members. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent in removing encampments on city and state property, creating barely suitable alternatives for RV parking (e.g. the Oklahoma site where several people have died). Transitioning our unsheltered neighbors to permanent housing has had very limited success. SLO City needs to do better. But closing off a city street is and parking RVS on a residential street is not an example of doing better. Trying to slide this temporary safe parking program in via covert administrative fiat is even worse. I am very discouraged by the city’s handling of this matter, and hope that you seek more input from residents when such issues arise in the future. I will appeal this program should it be approved, and encourage my neighbors to do the same. Disappointedly, Lynn Hamilton Palm Street owner and resident 9 Lynn Hamilton Owner and resident for 25 years 1650 Palm St 10