2020-005 - Opposition to the County of Orange's Construction and Operation

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WHEREAS, certain elected representatives and residents in the Central and South Service Planning Areas protested the construction and operation of homeless shelters in their communities, and as a result, the County of Orange staff and Board of Supervisors have made no further efforts to invest resources in locating shelters or services in those areas; and WHEREAS, City of Santa Ana officials, Santa Ana Unified School District Governing Board members, and residents have all expressed opposition to the Yale Transitional Shelter, also known as the Yale Street Shelter, and have not received the same response as representatives from the cities of Huntington Beach, Irvine and Laguna Niguel expressing opposition, leaving Santa Ana and its residents to believe that the County of Orange Board of Supervisors is more responsive to affluent cities such as Huntington Beach, Irvine and Laguna Niguel, at the expense of socioeconomically disadvantaged cities such as Santa Ana; and WHEREAS, the City of Santa Ana has for too long suffered the negative impacts of the County of Orange disproportionately locating homeless support services in Santa Ana, thereby creating nuisance and adverse health and safety impacts, as well as causing the City of Santa Ana to suffer social and financial impacts in disproportion to other cities in Orange County; and WHEREAS, it is time for the Orange County Board of Supervisors to recognize that the City of Santa Ana has gone above and beyond to do its part in addressing the homeless crisis in the County of Orange by hosting nearly 1,000 shelter beds, contributing funding for supportive and affordable housing programs and spending millions of dollars a year to provide services and combat the impacts of homelessness; and WHEREAS, the City of Santa Ana deserves to be treated fairly and equitably by the County of Orange, whereby the County of Orange proportionately locates homeless support services in all three Service Planning Areas, including the South Service Planning Area. NOW, THEREFORE, the Santa Ana City Council does hereby resolve as follows: Section 1. The challenge of confronting homelessness requires the active engagement and leadership of all levels of government, including all 34 Orange County Cities, and especially the County of Orange. Section 2. The City Council hereby opposes the County of Orange's construction and operation of the Yale Street Shelter and any homeless shelter in Santa Ana, and demands that the County of Orange proportionately locate homeless support services in all three Service Planning Areas, including the South Service Planning Area. Section 3. The City Council requests that the County of Orange take immediate action to not proceed with construction of the proposed Yale Street Shelter. Resolution No. 2020-002 Page 2 of 3