65A - JAIL REUSE STUDY - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

- The Jail's sallyport will need to be modified to better handle personal property and pets. - As a result of the homeless shelter, the building's entire area will likely be noisy when busy. The addition of sound dampening materials will need to be placed throughout the space to help alleviate some of the reverberations. The materials used must be bacteria and pet resistant and able to withstand rigorous sanitation. Hygiene, sanitation, and pest control must be paramount throughout the shelter and be addressed multiple times per day. The City Jail facility is in excellent condition but is not, in total, ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) compliance. Because the homeless center option with support services space is a change from the custody model, building codes of the day pertaining to the new use would be enforced. Opportunities - The general bed space contained in the detention facility could be remodeled and converted to a homeless shelter that potentially serves up to half of the City of Santa Ana's growing homeless population based on recent census data. The City's entire homeless problem still will not be solved. Development of a homeless shelter with a day center emphasis would help reduce loitering, panhandling, and public nuisance issues that many citizens consider a great concern with the community's large number of homeless individuals. The proposed homeless shelter concept plan for the reuse of the Jail mirrors the community's new Courtyard project in its capacity, operations, and services being made available to local homeless populations. The Courtyard is a joint venture between the Midnight Mission in Orange County sleeping up to 400 people on a first-come, first -serve basis. During the day, it is used as a drop-in center serving 250-400 guests looking for service connections, hygiene services, showers I restrooms, a meal, and a place to rest. Storage is provided for guests and security is provided around the clock. Several other counties across the country have converted detention facilities into homeless shelters to serve their surrounding communities. The Bent County, Colorado Department of Local Affairs, for example, estimates that housing homeless in their vacated jail essentially saved them half the expenditures than if they lived on the street. Negative Impacts (Threats) The shelter would be located adjacent to a 1,900 stall public parking garage which homeless individuals may take shelter in during inclimate weather if the temporary shelter is full. - The shelter would have a large daily concentrated movement of homeless individuals in and out of the facility. The shelter would likely not be conducive for families that want to stay together or individuals with infant children. 24 65A-31