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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-22 2000-22 RESOLUTION NO. RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF UKIAH DECLARING A SHELTER CRISIS PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 8698.2 AND DETERMINATION OF EXEMPTION FROM THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT. WHEREAS, 1. Government Code Section 8698.2 authorizes the City Council to declare a "shelter crisis" upon a finding that a significant number of persons within the jurisdiction of the governing body are without the ability to obtain shelter, and that the situation has resulted in a threat to the health and safety of those persons; and 2. Upon making such a finding: a. the provisions of any state or local regulatory statute, regulation, or ordinance prescribing standards of housing, health, or safety shall be suspended to the extent that strict compliance would in any way prevent, hinder, or delay the mitigation of the effects of the shelter crisis; b. the City may allow persons unable to obtain housing to occupy designated public facilities during the duration of the state of emergency; and c. the City is immune from liability for ordinary negligence in the provision of emergency housing; and 3. At its meeting of November 17, ! 999, the City Council received public testimony which provided substantial evidence that a significant number of persons within the jurisdiction of the City Council are without the ability to obtain shelter. That evidence included: a. Testimony by Mark Rohloff, Director of the Ford Street Project that: (1) a 1993 study of housing in the greater Ukiah area, including the City of Ukiah, determined that an average of 93 households lacked shelter; (2) the condition of homelessness has gotten worse since 1993 and the number of families with children who are homeless has increased substantially; and (3) the Ford Street Project's current facilities and funding meets only a small fraction of the current unmet need to shelter persons otherwise unable to obtain housing, particularly during the winter months; b. Testimony by one witness, who is himself homeless, that he has seen as many as twenty people camping along the Russian River below the Perkins StreeffVichy bridge within S:\U\Resos99\shelterCRISIS.wpd November 18, 1999 1 the last three weeks; c. Testimony by three witnesses who are currently without housing and are unable to obtain housing; d. Testimony by Paul Taylor, Community Services Director of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, that he gets frequent calls at home from people looking for a place to live and the frequency of those calls has increased in the last two weeks. Within the last two months he has put up five single men at his home, because they could not find anywhere else to live, even temporarily; and e. Testimony by Warren Conlan, who is homeless, that he has been in the area for four months and was surprise by the number of families he has seen who lack shelter. 4. Substantial evidence supports the finding that the inability of a substantial number of persons within the City of Ukiah and the greater Ukiah area to obtain shelter has resulted in a threat to the health and safety of those persons. That evidence includes: a. the Legislative finding in Section 1 of Chapter 1116 of the Statutes of 1987(c) that "[h]omelessness is a state which results in a direct threat to the health and safety of its victims, many of whom have died, particularly during severe weather conditions..."; b. predictions by the Mendocino County Department of Emergency Services that the "Lal Nina" condition should result in greater than normal rainfall this winter and lower than normal temperatures; and c. reported overnight low temperatures for the Ukiah Valley have already dropped to the low 40 degrees Fahrenheit; 5. The County of Mendocino has appropriated funds and has agreed to work cooperatively with the City of Ukiah to find a public facility suitable to provide a temporary homeless shelter; and 6. The shelter crisis facing a substantial number of persons in the City of Ukiah, including families with small children, is a sudden, unexpected occurrence, involving a clear and imminent danger, demanding immediate action to prevent or mitigate loss of, or damage to, life, health or property and the declaration of a shelter crisis is essential to mitigate the conditions creating this threat; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED as follows: 1. The City Council finds that: a. The declaration of a shelter crisis does not constitute a project within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA"), suspends the application of S:\U\Resos99\shelterCRISIS.wpd November 18, 1999 2 CEQA, or constitutes an emergency which statutorily exempts the declaration from the provisions of CEQA pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21087 and 14 California Code of Regulations ("CCR") Section 15269. b. A significant number of persons within the jurisdiction of the City Council are without the ability to obtain shelter, and that the situation has resulted in a threat to the health and safety of those persons. 2. Based upon the findings in paragraph 1, the City Council hereby declares a shelter crisis to exist within the City of Ukiah during the winter months of 1999-2000, commencing on November 18, 1999 and continuing until April 1, 2000. 3. For the duration of the crisis: a. The provisions of any state or local regulatory statute, regulation, or ordinance prescribing standards of housing, health, or safety, including, but not limited to, the provisions of Ukiah City Code Sections 9171 and 9172, shall be suspended to the extent that strict compliance would in any way hinder, delay or prevent the location and immediate use of public facilities within the City of Ukiah to provide temporary housing for persons without the ability to obtain shelter; and Manager b. The City~ is directed and authorized to work cooperatively with the County of Mendocino, and any public or private person or entity to locate and support the use as a temporary homeless shelter of any facility of the state, any city, county, special district, school district or other public agency ("local agency"), including parks, schools, and vacant or underutilized facilities, which are owned, operated, leased or maintained, or any combination thereof, by a public agency through money derived by taxation or assessment. 4. The Director of Planning or his designee is directed to prepare a notice of exemption and file said notice with the County Recorder in compliance with CEQA. PASSED AND ADOPTED on Nov. 18 ., 1999, by the following roll call vote: AYES: Councilmembers Smith, Ashiku, and Mayor Mastin NOES: None. None. ABSTAIN: ABSENT: Councilmembers Libby and Ba]~,2 C~i~ Mastin, Mayor ATTEST: Marie Ulvila, City Clerk S:\U~Resos99\shelterCRISIS.wpd November 18, 1999 3