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18-cv-001.55-DOC-JDE Document 158 Filed 04/26/18 Page 11 of 27 Page ID <br />#:2489 <br />1 <br />2 <br />M <br />4 <br />5 <br />6 <br />7 <br />8 <br />9 <br />10 <br />11 <br />12 <br />13 <br />14 <br />15 <br />16 <br />17 <br />18 <br />19 <br />20 <br />21 <br />22 <br />23 <br />24 <br />25 <br />26 <br />27 <br />28 <br />long sought by Santa Ana. However, those hopes were dealt a fatal blow once the <br />County, backed away from a plan to establish low barrier homeless shelters in three <br />I cities. <br />THE COUNTY'S ABORTED PLAN <br />61. On March 17, 2018, federal district court Judge David O. Carter held a <br />status conference in the Santa Ana City Council Chambers. He invited the mayors <br />and city managers for all 34 cities in Orange County to attend. Judge Carter <br />specifically stated that homeless issues should be addressed by Orange County, a <br />place that was home to five of the twenty wealthiest cities in the entire nation. He <br />noted that Santa Ana was overburdened compared to other cities in the County with <br />not only the sheer number of homeless individuals, but also with the number of <br />services located in Santa Ana. By the end of the Status Conference, Supervisor Do <br />announced his laudable commitment to addressing homeless issues within the <br />County. <br />62. To this end, on March 19, 2018, the Orange County Board of <br />Supervisors voted to add up to 400 new emergency shelter beds on county -owned <br />properties in the cities of Irvine, Huntington Beach, and Laguna Niguel. This plan <br />would have located 200 homeless people in Irvine, then 100 in Huntington Beach <br />and 100 in Laguna Niguel, if needed. The County also voted to spend about $70.5 <br />million in unspent Mental Health Services Act funds for housing and services for <br />homeless people with mental illnesses. <br />63. Within one day of the County's approval, all three cities vigorously <br />opposed this plan and threatened to sue the County, The Huntington Beach and <br />Laguna Niguel city councils voted to sue the County. Irvine filed a lawsuit on March <br />26, 2018 against the County. These actions were taken despite the fact that <br />California law requires each city to zone for homeless shelters. <br />64. By March 27, 2018, the Board of Supervisors formally rescinded its <br />approval of the three -shelter plan. <br />