Huntington Beach City Council tables Gothard Street emergency homeless shelter proposal
The Huntington Beach City Council voted 5-2 Monday night to table a proposal for a 40-plus bed temporary homeless shelter at the Public Works Yard on Gothard Street, following a sometimes heated discussion.
Councilman Mike Posey made a motion to table Councilman Erik Peterson’s proposal for two weeks, pending continuing development of the temporary homeless shelter at 17631 Cameron Lane.
Council members Barbara Delgleize, Kim Carr, Patrick Brenden and Mayor Pro Tem Jill Hardy supported Posey’s motion, while Peterson and Mayor Lyn Semeta were the dissenting votes.
“In two weeks, we’ll see what the update is from Cameron Lane,” Posey said. “If there’s a reason to talk about a backup site, then we talk about a backup site. Right now, there’s no reason, but there might be.”
About 50 residents showed up in favor of Peterson’s proposal, many expressing frustration about the Cameron Lane site, which City Manager Oliver Chi said is slated to open in late October or early November. They wore black and white shirts that read “Take Back HB.”
Many of the supporters were members of the Facebook group Huntington Beach Homeless Awareness, which has more than 2,000 members. Resident Jerry McKinish is a leader of the group.
“Huntington Beach has been trying to get a homeless shelter facility for at least five years,” McKinish said prior to the City Council meeting. “They’ve been talking about it, doing their presentations. Right now, it’s just a big real estate fiasco. It’s big money making bad decisions ... We came together and wanted to find out what we could do about all of the crime and drugs and homeless population in our parks.”
Huntington Beach resident Nancy Buchoz said the emergency shelter was imperative so that the Huntington Beach Police Department could start enforcing anti-camping laws.
Buchoz lives adjacent to Edison Community Center, which she said has a sizable homeless encampment.
“It’s like a toilet out in the park, and we have to change that,” she said. “We wanted a place that was safer and could be controlled, and the City Yard kept coming up.”
However, several speakers during public comment expressed concern at the site of the proposed emergency shelter on Gothard Street, which would be close to Ocean View High School and Central Park. Ocean View School District Supt. Carol Hansen sent a letter to the City Council opposing the item.
“Although shelters of this type usually do not allow walk-ins, the shelters do allow residents to leave to go to work and shop,” Hansen wrote. “That will put shelter residents on the street to access transit and stores in the area of the shelter that may conflict with children accessing parks.”
Huntington Beach will close its City Hall to the public for the second time since mid-March in response to a recent spike in Orange County COVID-19 cases, though county officials reported a slight dip Monday.
The city voted to purchase the Cameron Lane site in February and authorized it for use as a temporary homeless shelter in April. It is paid for and operated by the county, though it would be transferred to the city in the future.
In discussing the item on the Gothard Street proposal, Posey and Delgleize offered rebukes of Peterson. Posey noted that Peterson was the lone dissenting vote when the city declared a homelessness emergency on April 18, 2019, and approved purchasing a structure at 15311 Pipeline Lane. That location eventually was not approved as a shelter site.
At one point, Semeta asked her colleagues to stop tearing each other down. Delgleize was emotional when addressing Peterson, calling his proposal and its supporters “deceptive.”
“They lashed out at council members on social media, after they’ve been told and they’ve been explained to what we’re doing and why it’s taking longer,” Delgleize said. “I felt you were being a little disingenuous coming out and saying, ‘We could have an emergency shelter up in two weeks, we could have 20 beds.’ No way. You can’t do it that quickly ... I think we should put all our focus on Cameron and get it stood up.”
Peterson said he had no issues with the Cameron Lane site.
“We’re always looking for the big shelter, and we have it,” he said. “I think Cameron is a great thing, that we’re going forward, but every time I hear about it, it’s ‘next week.’ It’s just crazy, and that’s why I brought this [item forward].”
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