Arcata Metropolis Council to Think about Changing Two Valley West Inns into Homeless Housing; Planning Fee Hesitant Concerning the Undertaking | Misplaced Coast Outpost

The Red Roof Inn and Days Inn in Valley West | Photos: Jacquelyn Opalach

BEFORE: Arcata House Partnership and Danco plan to convert two hotels in Valley West into housing developments for the homeless

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As part of its ongoing efforts to tackle the intricate problem of homelessness, the city of Arcata is working with a local development company To dance and Arcata House Partnership (AHP) convert two Valley West Hotels – the Red Rood Inn and the Days Inn – into permanent housing developments for the homeless. During today’s session, the City Council of Arcata Look at the proposed projects and can take steps to make the zoning changes necessary for the project to proceed.

The changes would add hotel properties to the city’s homeless combination district – a zone decided by the City of Arcata in 2009 to facilitate the development of emergency shelters for the homeless, transitional housing and supportive housing. The zoning language would also be changed to allow and set standards for permanent supportive housing developments. How it sounds Long-term supportive living provides permanent housing to residents, as well as support services and rental assistance.

On Tuesday night, Arcata’s Planning Commission examined the zone changes and effectively decided that it could not recommend the zone changes.

Judith Mayer, the commission’s vice-chair, described the zoning change as “deceptively easy” and said she was concerned that no representatives from Danco or Arcata House were present at the meeting. Mayer and several other commissioners also cited concerns about the placement of these housing developments in Valley West – a neighborhood many consider to be underserved – and the potential crime and security issues that could be associated with it.

David Loya, Director of Community Development at Arcata, addressed many of the Commission’s concerns, stating that developments would both have a 24-hour on-site management. Loya added that unlike a homeless shelter, the people living in these facilities wouldn’t just be passing through and that these shelters would potentially attract people who want to change their lives.

“That doesn’t mean they won’t have behavioral problems that will affect the community,” Loya told the commission on Tuesday evening. “That doesn’t mean they won’t have drug and alcohol problems to deal with. But it can be said that they have at least made the first choice to move in a positive direction. ”

The project, Loya explained, includes plans to convert the hotel rooms into small apartments that would include kitchenettes. In addition to on-site administration, accommodation would include other services such as meals, laundry and access to advice.

Depending on their income, many tenants would pay rent and have the same rights as tenants in other types of housing. The project would create approximately 138 units – 78 units at the Red Roof Inn for anyone affected by homelessness and 60 units at the Days Inn reserved for the chronically homeless (people who have been homeless for at least a year and some Type of disability.)

The project would be funded primarily through grants from the California Department of Housing and Community Development Homekey program – a nationwide effort that builds on it Project room keyto quickly expand housing for homeless people. The Council will also vote on the approval of the grant applications. If approved, the city, Danco and AHP will attempt to submit proposals by January 31, 2022.

Ultimately, the Planning Commission voted to continue the point at its next meeting on January 11th, asking for more information about what the projects are and how they will work, and asking the police for input.

The city, Danco and AHP also held two public meetings on the projects on December 1st and received a lot of positive feedback from the community, according to the personnel report. However, many community members expressed concern about the potential safety and crime and whether the projects would attract more homeless people from other parts of the region to the Valley West region.

If you have strong feelings for these proposed projects, tonight you can join the Arcata City Council meeting held through Zoom at 6pm Update on the regional climate protection plan and receive public input on the Arcata Gateway area mapwhich the city released for public comment on December 1st.

You can view the full agenda and instructions on how to attend today’s city council meeting here.