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Home My WebLink About01-12-2013 pc dummitCOUNCIL MEETI NITEM GS ®Glary ITEMNO .: /i2-/.a JIM DUMMIT ENTERPRISES 3100 Johnson Avenue • San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 •805/541-3226 jdentl@charter .ne t City Counci l City of Ssan Luis Obispo, Ca . Re : Homelessness Workshop Jan . 12, 201 3 Issues and impacts associated with Homelesness in the City of San Luis Obisp o I own an 18,000 SF Mixed Use commercial property at 2074 Parker Street (across th e street from Smart & Final). I have owned and developed this property for the past 3 0 years, into a property that exemplifies the type of Mixed Use development desired in th e Mid-Higuera Enhancement Plan . For the past year, I have been loosing tenants, and unable to atrract any new tenants t o replace them . The quality of life in the neighborhood had deteriorated to such a degre e that no one wanted to rent, live or work there . I realized I needed to become "active", instead of "reactive", if I wanted to keep fro m loosing my property . I called the Police, Planning Dept ., and Code-enforcement t o address the cumlative problems of Homelesness and the neighborhood blight I was tryin g to deal with . The usual "delayed" response I received was : " it was my Landlord Responsibility to clean things up". The Police were precluded from enforcing certai n ordinances and laws in place to deal with exactly these issues, and the City Dept .s were doing all that they could . There was no immediate response from any of the regulator y agencies in place to adress these problems on a community wide basis . I decided then to get envolved . Trash was everywhere, people living in vehicles, i n bushes, breaking into my building and terrifying the tenants, drunk and drugged , indifferent to the affects their illegal behavior had on the community . I began cleaning my property and the surrounding property as well, on a daily basis .I still do – daily . I asked my neighbors to help, and received none . The general attitude i n the neighborhood was "there was no use to do anything", as the police and the city couldn't-or-wouldn't do anything about the problems we were all dealing with - th e deteriorating quality of life in our neighborhood . After many discussions with the police, Planning dept ., and Building-Cod e enforcement, I learned something very useful . An immediate response for help from th e regulatory agencies was the most effective way to change things . The most effectiv e means of obtaining an immediate response, was to report a specific law or code VIOLATION IN PROGRESS,not after the violation had occurred . The combination of immediate police response, daily cleaning of the surrounding area , and increased monitoring of the area has "so-far"provide the results I was after . Enforcement of the existing laws and ordinances are esssential . Landlords and tenant s have a direct responsibility to become envolved active participants . Jan . 12, 2013 1 The following is a brief summary of issues and solutions : I.Re-establish the neiborhood QUALITY OF LIFE , by controlling the problems affecting the neighborhood such as : Homelessness - Illegal living in vehicles, vagrancy, tresspassing, littering, theft , drunkenness, etc . Property Maintenance: neglected, deteriorating properties, unscreened trash, etc . II . Find a long term way to comapssionatly and effectively deal with Homlessness i n our Communitie s I . Re-establish the neiborhood quality of lif e There are numerous laws and ordinances contained within the State Penal Code, an d the local Municipal Code - (if enforced), to mitigate the negative affects associated wit h Homelessness and damaged or neglected properties The following are common violation s with code reference when reporting a violation in progress : Penal Code Section 484-502 .9 : Theft (Dumpster diving is a theft of utilities ) Section 594 — 625c : Graffiti, damages, tresspassin g Section 374 .4 : litterin g Municipal Code Chapter 10 .34 (Overnight camping prohibited on city steets and cit y owned parking, effective Jan 1, 2013). Municipal Code Chapter 17 .17 — Property Maintenance Standards, Use permit - enforcement of Conditions for us e City SLO Standard Form 602(o)pc : Authorization for representatives of the City of SL O (including the police) to act as your agent to enforce existing laws and ordinance s (including the Penal code), on your behalf, on your property . As an example, this allow s the police to remove tresspassors from your property, at your request, where they ma y otherwise be precluded from doing so . I believe the effective enforcement of the existing laws and ordinances, combined wit h an immediate response from regulatory agencies, has resulted in a transition back to a neighborhood that no longer appears blighted, neglected, or dangerous . II .Long Term Solution s As a community, we have an obligation to offer help to those in need. For those tha t accept our offer of help, they also have an obgligation to give back to the community . The most effective way of reaching a solution to Homelesness is a plan that is mutuall y benificial to all envolved - those in need, those in the neighborhoods and communities , and those in government . That is the plan that will work . Concept Plan : As a community, we offer a plan of help to the Homeless that woul d provide shelter, food, other services, for a period of 6 — 9 month s In exchange, they agree to the following conditions : 1-Drug/alcohol Free ; no violations of laws or ordinances while in progra m 2-Participation in Community Service (similar to Conservation Core), for benefit o f the community . 2 3- Additional incentive : minimun wage earned for community service, paid at time o f departure (funded thru Grant, General Fund, donations, etc .). The Goal being to offer incentives and a way to get Homeless people in need off the street, a way for them to give back to the community for the help they have received, an d maybe earn money to move on with . The former Homeless individual is treate d compassionately and with respect and becomes a contributing member of the community . For those Homeless that choose to decline the offer of help, and choose to remai n Homeless in the community, they are subject to the enforcement of the same laws a s everyone else . Violations of the laws and ordinances would result in a sentence of Rehabilitation , rather than incarceration, much like New Jersey implelented . Alternative Funding Possibility :Lease – Lease Back . I believe This funding concept was written into Law during the redevelopment of th e Inland Empire (East Los Angeles) as houses were being built faster than schools . The law was created for school districts to build more schools (K -12'grade) through another entity, by building schools and leasing back same to the distructs . The City of Clovis used this process to build a Pet Hospital, and to my knowledge, the law has no t been challenged . My thought was to work with developers/builders in the community, to respond to a Request for Proposal (RFP) to either build and lease back on existing government owne d parcels, or newly aquired private parcels, a project that met the specific needs of th e Homeless and the community, located on a parcel of sufficient size and locatio n agreeable to all (Homeless representatives, community, and government). Th e availability of laocal talent, combined with the knowledge of market values and possibl e parcels, would produce the most cost effective results, as opposed to government bein g the developer . A phased project would probably have the most success for obtainin g funding . 3