City of Redwood City Spring Newsletter

Redwood City CALIFORNIA SPRING 2022

HOUSING AND HOMELESSNESS SPECIAL EDITION

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Over $4.8 Million of City Funding Invested to Support Redwood City Residents Experiencing Homelessness Housing and homelessness have been the #1 priority of the City Council since 2019.

Homelessness is a complex issue with a variety of contributing factors including insufficient mental health resources and the high cost of housing.

The City works in close partnership with the County of San Mateo to address homelessness and though we have undertaken a number of initiatives to provide additional services and support basic needs, including safe spaces and emergency housing, we realize progress is not nearly as fast as any of us would like. But, we are striving to implement effective local solutions to support our community.

The City’s inter-departmental Housing and Homeless Innovation Team works to find proactive ways to enable homeless individuals to

find housing and to address community concerns about public health, environmental impacts, and public safety.

In 2019, the City began to explore innovative ways to strengthen our efforts towards addressing and ending homelessness beyond the programs and services available in our County system. Over the last three years, the City has committed an exceptional $4.8 million in City funding to support members of our community experiencing homelessness. This includes funding for mitigation efforts, the Downtown Streets Team, the Temporary RV Safe Parking Program, and the expansion of homeless outreach services by local non-profit partners.

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MESSAGE FROM CITY MANAGER MELISSA STEVENSON DIAZ Affordable housing and homelessness are topof-mind for our City Council and our residents.

While housing insecurity has been a concern for several years, community need has exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic with many jobs evaporating at the same time that housing prices shot higher. As we consider City services and policies from the perspective of equity, we know that residents who are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color are especially hard-hit. Citysupported rent and utilities assistance has been crucial for many families and property owners in Redwood City and North Fair Oaks during the pandemic. With the current economic conditions, more people are at risk of homelessness than ever.

Beyond enabling immediate economic stability, the City is focused on long term housing solutions. This includes supporting affordable housing production through the use of City property, implementation of the Affordable Housing Ordinance and allocation of City housing funds. We are diligently working to increase the production of affordable housing units; there are 1,200 affordable units across 22 projects that are either under construction, approved or proposed.

We need to plan for homes for all in our community.

A state-required process to adopt a Housing Element means we must identify where housing can be built between 2023 and 2031. To create the Housing Element, we will project housing needs for all income levels, build strategies for preserving and improving existing housing, and update City regulations, policies or standards that might limit the improvement and development of housing.

In addition, we know that current economic pressures could easily lead to displacement of residents. In the last two years we have worked with a diverse group of stakeholders to create an Anti-Displacement Strategy to prevent displacement, preserve affordable housing and protect housing options for low- and moderateincome residents.

Homelessness is the most challenging issue of my 30-year career. The City Council and staff share community concerns about the health and safety of homeless encampments in Redwood City and have been working to address them for some time. Many encampments in Redwood City are located on property owned or controlled by the

State Department of Transportation (Caltrans), such as property adjacent to Highway 101, along El Camino Real, and Woodside Road. When our individual advocacy to Caltrans last year had limited impact, we coordinated with other cities and the County of San Mateo to present a united front to Caltrans and seek their immediate help.

While Redwood City cannot solve homelessness alone, we are investing heavily to implement strategies in partnership with property owners and service providers. Progress is not nearly as fast as any of us would like, but we are striving to implement effective local solutions to support our community.

In this special edition newsletter, we will focus on the City’s substantial efforts to eliminate homelessness and ensure homes for all. We encourage you to be involved in several upcoming discussions to help us become a community where every person can thrive.

Melissa Stevenson Diaz, City Manager

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SPRING 2022

Rent Relief Support Continues: $8.4M Distributed to 701 Redwood City Households The Fair Oaks Community Center continues to support local tenants and landlords with COVID-19 Rent Relief. California is currently #1 nationwide in disbursing the Federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) dollars and is well positioned to continue to provide rent and utility assistance relief to our community members in need. Once State ERAP funds are exhausted, we will resume using City funds later this spring so that those that need financial assistance to pay for rent and utilities, have access to it.

As of March 1, 2022: • 701 Redwood City households have been assisted with $8.4 million from State ERAP; average of $12,000/household.

• 1,434 Redwood City Households have applied for State Rent Relief requesting a total of $18 million.

• About 52% of all applicants from Redwood City and San Mateo County are still waiting for requests to be processed and approved.

Current State eviction protections due to the economic impact of COVID-19 are slated to end March 31, 2022. In order to invoke those protections, tenants must have submitted an application to Housing Is Key no later than March 31, 2022. To check eligibility requirements and apply, please visit www.HousingIsKey.com or call (833) 430-2122, toll free.

Tenants needing assistance submitting their application can call us at (650) 7807440. Tenants unable to pay their April rent are encouraged to contact the Fair Oaks Community Center at (650) 780-7500 for an assessment.

Pathway for Homeless Individuals to Gain Employment While Keeping the City Clean Redwood City has a very successful partnership with the non-profit organization, Downtown Streets Team (DST). Their mission: build teams that restore dignity, inspire hope, and provide a pathway to recover from homelessness. DST provides opportunities to develop job skills through volunteering on teams working to clean-up and beautify the city. Redwood City then helps those same individuals transition into long-term employment and housing. DST has space for 25 team members at any given time.

Team members who remain consistent with the program are the ones most likely to transition into employment and housing.

One of the greatest strengths of the DST program is the peer support and growth opportunity as team members are able to graduate to a higher level of responsibility with the team over time and support one another in that process.

As of December 2021, 15 team members have been placed in jobs and 10 team members have been housed. The DST teams have volunteered 31,268 hours and have collected 323,868 gallons of trash/recycling. They have also conducted 24 major multi-day encampment clean-ups and continue to provide weekly encampment waste services.

Visit www.SteetsTeams.org to learn more about the program, ways that you can get involved and positively change lives, and help team members out of homelessness.

Richard, who recently rejoined our team after being released from jail, has come out of the gate running, hoping to regain self-sufficiency. Almost immediately, we were able to help get him placed into a local shelter, while he volunteered with DST to work toward employment. Although there have been many setbacks, Richard has taken every step with a smile. He was recently promoted to a Green Shirt (Team Lead) and has taken ownership and responsibility of his crew. While things seemed negative, Richard never stopped working to keep moving forward. He has been set up with a cell phone, had his ID replaced, recently got his SNAP food benefits activated, and is thriving in our program. We are so proud of Richard and cannot wait to see where he goes next!

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Celebrating the Successful Implementation of the City’s Temporary RV Safe Parking Program In October 2020, we created the largest Temporary RV Safe Parking program in the County, aimed to minimize public health concerns while helping unsheltered RV residents transition to alternative permanent housing. The purpose of the program is to transition a majority of RVs off of City streets and into a parking lot where those residents could safely park and work on a path to permanent housing. At the same time, continue to allow RV residents to park on the street using a permit so long as they enrolled in the City’s safe parking program. The program launched in tandem with the City’s prohibition of overnight parking of RVs on the street.

In addition to providing ongoing case management services aimed at helping families transition to permanent housing, LifeMoves provides a variety of services and referrals for program participants including COVID-19 vaccines and testing, food, tutoring services, mental health and therapy, medical support, employment services, and more.

been matched to some form of housing subsidy and are on the path towards transitioning to permanent housing.

Of the households continuing to participate in the program, over 50% of the households have

As of February 2022, we have successfully shifted the presence of unsheltered households living in RVs on the street from a high of 140 RVs per night to an average of 12–15 per night, and most have permits for the City’s Safe Parking Program.

The program, operated by the City’s nonprofit partner, LifeMoves, includes both the City’s Safe Parking Site at 1402 Maple Street for 40 RV households and additional on-street permitted parking for approved participants.

Providing an Affordable Housing Preference for Redwood City Residents and Workers Did you know that households that live, formerly lived, work or have been offered work in Redwood City may receive a preference when affordable housing becomes available depending on their income level?

Last September, the City adopted a Local Live/ Work Preference policy as part of an amendment to our Affordable Housing Ordinance, which requires all new developments to build affordable units or pay an affordable housing impact fee.

The intent of the preference policy is to provide more affordable housing options for Redwood City residents and employees, as well as provide opportunities for displaced residents to return to Redwood City.

Research shows that the adoption of the preference helps mitigate displacement pressures to lower income households by granting greater access to housing, especially in a supply constrained market – like we are currently in.

It also shows that the policy could potentially provide longer-term environmental benefits by making affordable housing available to people who work in the City and ultimately, reduce vehicle miles traveled. That means, this policy not only helps address the jobs/housing imbalance in Redwood City and reduce the displacement of lower income households, but also helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by providing affordable housing that is located near where the City’s lower wage employees work.

Learn more by visiting www.RedwoodCity.org/ AffordableHousing

Christine and Thomas

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SPRING 2022

Outreach to Encampment Residents and Clean-up Efforts We hear from many residents that are concerned with environmental, health and safety issues related to homeless encampments in Redwood City. The City shares that concern and we have been working to address them for some time.

We have shared our plans with local Caltrans superintendents who support our proposed efforts. We appreciate the State’s support and will continue to collaborate with all levels of government in urgently providing services and finding long-term solutions.

Many encampments in Redwood City are located on property owned or controlled by Caltrans, such as property adjacent to Highway 101, along El Camino Real, and Woodside Road. Addressing these encampments requires coordination with Caltrans and working with their policies, timelines and resources. This makes it difficult to be as responsive as residents would like the City to be.

Caltrans recently cleared several encampments at the Woodside Road/El Camino Real cloverleaf. Their work includes coordinating in offering shelter and services, clearing the site, hillside repair, and installation of rocks to discourage future encampments. We’ll continue to seek Caltrans’ help at other Caltrans sites in Redwood City, both on a short-term basis and to create conditions that avoid reencampment.

We have multiple levels of engagement with Caltrans to support their efforts to provide resources to individuals living on their property so that encampments can be removed. This includes coordinating with San Mateo County and other cities as other communities are experiencing the same challenges we face in Redwood City. In addition to regular communication with local Caltrans operators and management, City Manager Melissa Stevenson Diaz has spear-headed a multiagency coordination to further Caltrans’ response to encampments in our community.

We are excited to share that we recently received a $1.8 million State grant to support our efforts to offer services and limit community impacts by encampments.

Most of the grant will be used to support coordinated and expanded homeless outreach, increase encampment waste services, and fund restoration of selected encampment locations.

As noted, most of the encampments along these corridors are on Caltrans property.

The City’s local non-profit partners (LifeMoves, Project WeHope, Street Life Ministries, Downtown Streets Team (DST), Healthcare for the Homeless/Street Medicine) conduct regular outreach to individuals in each of the encampments, offering both basic services as well as options for emergency housing through the County of San Mateo’s Coordinated Entry System (CES). Once an individual accesses the Coordinated Entry System, they can receive services and get on a path for long-term housing. Immediately prior to any clean-up, homeless outreach workers visit the site again to offer resources in hope of providing shelter services, and provide information about how to retrieve any personal property that is removed from the encampment. We cannot force people to accept services, and we know that sometimes people need to be offered services many times before they choose to accept them. Additionally, the City has arranged for civilian homeless outreach workers and the City’s mental health clinician, Patricia Baker,

Veterans/Woodside –Before

Veterans/Woodside – After to regularly visit encampments and provide resources to homeless individuals. All of these efforts strive to ensure that individuals have the opportunity to move into housing, and to support community health and safety.

We recognize that cleanups alone are insufficient. Additional strategies we are pursuing include: • Supporting permanent affordable housing; • Working with the County to create a homeless navigation center with wraparound services on land the City previously owned; and • Supporting the County’s efforts to convert hotels to individual housing for those at risk of homelessness, with a priority given to Redwood City residents These are some of the leading strategies statewide to provide the housing and services needed to end homelessness. The question of what happens when people refuse services is an important one, not yet resolved. The City understands there may be countywide discussions on this topic later this spring.

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Gaining Cooperation of Encampment Residents Without Need for Arrest The City takes a very proactive and methodical approach to periodic encampment clean-ups. All of our clean-up processes are based on public safety, public health and/or environmental concerns. Once we have identified a location for clean-up and set a date, the Police Department then begins a focused effort to individually contact all encampment occupants and offer services, assistance and access to supportive programing in an effort to provide alternative living options.

Clinician, and our social service partners such as LifeMoves and Street Life Ministries.

This includes coordinated contact from our patrol homeless liaison officers, the Community Coordinating Activities Team (CCAT) officer, Fair Oaks Community Center personnel, our Community Wellness and Crisis Response Team

The notices include information about how to retrieve any personal property that is removed from the encampment. During the seven-day notice period, the City continues focused outreach offering services and assistance to

Over $4.8 Million of City Funding Invested to Support Redwood City Residents Experiencing Homelessness CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

This is above and beyond annual funding of approximately $750,000 per year in General Fund and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to support homeless services in Redwood City. It is also in addition to the $1.8 million in funding for COVID-19 Rent Relief to prevent homelessness in our community due to the economic impact of COVID-19.

While Redwood City cannot solve homelessness alone, we are investing heavily to implement strategies in partnership with property owners, including the State, and service providers, including the County and a host of non-profit agencies.

After several weeks of this coordinated outreach (it can vary depending on timelines, but is always at least two weeks), the Department posts written “seven-day notices to vacate” throughout encampment locations advising of the cleanup date, the consequences of failure to vacate (including potential citation or arrest), and again offering access to services.

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the encampment residents. On the day of the clean-up, any remaining residents are given a final opportunity to vacate before the clean-up begins and any enforcement action is taken.

Personal property is stored for 90 days and the City allows owners to retrieve property during that time period.

Using this process, we have been successful in gaining the cooperation of encampment occupants to move from the sites without the need for arrest. No arrests for illegal encampment occupancy have been made since 2018.

How Can You Help?

We want to let you know that the City’s Fair Oaks Community Center is the entry point for our countywide homeless system of service and our City’s primary resource related to homeless service options. You can reach us at (650) 780-7500 or visit us at 2600 Middlefield Road.

If you see a homeless individual who might need services, you can tell them to call us or go to the Fair Oaks Community Center for services. Or, you can call and provide the location of the individual so that a homeless outreach worker can try to reach out to that individual to offer services.

If you see homeless encampments or other areas needing cleanup, notify the Police Department by contacting (650) 780–7118. Let the dispatcher know where the encampment is located, with as much detail as possible. If there is a medical, fire, or other emergency, dial 9–1–1.

Keep in mind, non-emergency encampment clean-up requests will take time to address, as department personnel may need to post eviction notices around the area, and then need to coordinate with Public Works Services to schedule clean-up.

Care needs to be given to the people living in the encampments. As indicated previously, many encampment locations in Redwood City are on Caltrans Right of Way and are subject to Caltrans policies, timelines, and resources.

You can also use the myRWC app where you can submit information about homeless encampments or other areas needing cleanups, including using a pinpoint to identify the exact area that needs to be addressed.

If you are able, you can also donate your time to local nonprofits, such as LiveMoves, Street Life Ministries, Samaritan House, or the Downtown Streets Team to help support our homeless residents.

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SPRING 2022

Redwood City Takes Action to House Vulnerable Residents and Enhance Waterfront Access On September 27, 2021, the City Council took action to advance multiple City priorities, including housing homeless residents, improving circulation and public safety, and preserving approximately 10 acres of City waterfront property for future community uses. The City Council approved a property exchange of Cityowned property located at 1469 Maple Street with the County of San Mateo for Countyowned property located at 1580 Maple Street.

This property exchange advances City Council priorities going back more than a decade, including housing, transportation, recreation and economic vitality.

HOUSING VULNERABLE RESIDENTS This exchange enables the County to relocate an aging and outdated homeless shelter and build the County’s first Homeless Navigation Center with 240 individual sleeping units, providing temporary living facilities and services to help people move into permanent housing.

Providing individual units, rather than shared shelter space, is an important new strategy in helping unhoused individuals obtain housing and vital services. The County will also have units for services, along with a commercial kitchen, dining hall, community building, training center, outdoor respite and recreation space, storage, and parking area.

With the development of a new Navigation Center and transitional housing, it will bring the County very close to its goal of Functional Zero for homelessness in San Mateo County, and Redwood City is proud to be a part of the solution. Working together, we are helping meet urgent housing needs in Redwood City.

EXCHANGE ADVANCES CONSTRUCTION OF THE BLOMQUIST STREET EXTENSION For Redwood City, this exchange advances construction of the Blomquist Street Extension — extending Blomquist Street from Maple Street to Bair Island Road — in the Inner Harbor area of the City.

The Blomquist Extension will provide multiple benefits for residents, visitors, and employees, including: • Improved access for emergency responders by providing a second point of entry and exit to the neighborhood

• Faster public safety response times to the northern portion of the City limits • Improved community access to and from the Inner Harbor area and Pacific Shores (for the Bay Trail, jobs at Pacific Shores, visits to a future Bayfront park, and access to recreational waterfront activities such as rowing at the Bair Island Aquatic Center) • Improved non-vehicular access along the Bay Trail (Funding for Phase 2 of the Blomquist Extension (bridge over Redwood Creek) has yet to be secured). It is anticipated that construction of the vehicular bridge will be funded by fair share payments from future developments on Bair Island and the Inner Harbor area and other federal, state, and local funding.

10 ACRES OF CITY WATERFRONT PROPERTY FOR FUTURE COMMUNITY USES Many in our community are interested in increased access to the City’s waterfront. This came up regularly during the drafting of the 2015 Inner Harbor Specific Plan.

With over 10 acres of City property available even after the land exchange, there are many options for supporting future community uses.

We will be launching a robust community engagement initiative beginning this spring to hear from residents as we explore recreation, open space, water access and trail access in the area.

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Keeping Redwood City Residents in Redwood City Based on a December 2021 Community Satisfaction Survey, most Redwood City residents have a positive view about the quality of life in Redwood City and City services, and view Redwood City as a place that is welcoming to all people. At the same time, residents continue to express dissatisfaction about the availability of affordable housing and homelessness.

effort to meet our unique community housing needs for people at all income levels, the City has prioritized the following four housing goals, known as “The Four P’s”:

Redwood City is a community that values safe, affordable housing for people at all income levels; however, for many Redwood City families, affordable housing is not accessible.

Housing affordability is a major issue in the Bay Area, in California and the nation. In a citywide

• Produce housing to meet Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) goals for moderate, low and very-low income residents; and

The “Four P’s” framework creates a foundation upon which the City works to be a place where people of all income levels can thrive. Learn more by visiting www.RedwoodCity.org/Housing.

• Preserve existing affordable housing • Protect housing options for low and middle income residents

• Partner on housing opportunities for unique populations

Anti-Displacement Strategy Serves as Roadmap for Preserving and Protecting Residents To address the City’s first two housing goals – Preserve and Protect – the City has developed a proposed Anti-Displacement Strategy to serve as a policy roadmap for how the City can achieve these goals. While displacement is a complex issue, the City has taken a leadership role in being thoughtful about how its policies and funding priorities can help reduce displacement of Redwood City residents in both the short- and long-term.

After two years of listening to residents, property owners, local and regional housing experts, and conducting extensive research, policy recommendations in the proposed Anti-Displacement Strategy were developed with the goal to preserve affordable housing and protect housing options for our low- and moderate-income residents.

The Anti-Displacement Strategy includes specific recommendations for preserving existing, unsubsidized affordable housing and mobile home parks in our community, as well as improving the City’s existing tenant protection policies that require landlords to provide relocation assistance in certain situations and minimum lease terms.

The City Council held a Study Session on the proposed Anti-Displacement Strategy on January 10, 2022. The City Council gave feedback on the proposed recommendations (eight in total). Staff also shared additional ideas that were raised during our community engagement process, which require additional research and community input. The City Council supported further researching the ideas of creating an anti-harassment policy and adding a limit on renovation related evictions and a “right to return” provision to the City’s Relocation Assistance Ordinance.

Staff is currently reviewing the feedback provided and making updates to the Anti-Displacement Strategy.

The revised Anti-Displacement Strategy is expected to be brought back to the City Council for consideration later this Summer. Read the proposed Anti-Displacement Strategy and learn more by visiting www.RedwoodCity.org/ADS.

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SPRING 2022

Planning for Redwood City’s Immediate and Long-term Housing Needs Through the 2023-2031 Housing Element Last year, the City began an update to its General Plan – a policy document that serves as the City’s “blueprint” for how the City will grow and develop with equity and inclusion as the keystones. The General Plan includes seven “elements” or components, one of which is the Housing Element. The Housing Element plans for the construction of new housing for all income levels. It identifies areas in Redwood City where new housing may be built and estimates how much housing could be built in each area. The Housing Element also provides goals, policies, and programs that help the City plan for future housing needs.

With robust community engagement, City staff is in the process of updating the Housing Element for the period of 2023 to 2031. This is an opportunity for our community to address Redwood City’s immediate and long-term housing needs. This is extremely important because the Bay Area does not have enough housing. The

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lack of housing drives up home prices and rents beyond the reach of many households, and ultimately, decreases our quality of life. We have the opportunity to evaluate our housing policies through the Housing Element update to ensure that enough housing and different types of housing can be built at an affordable price for all.

Get involved and learn more by visiting www.WelcomeHomeRWC.org.

The City is also updating several other elements at the same time as the Housing Element. The Safety Element, which addresses natural and manmade hazards, is being revised to address risks associated with climate change, including wildfire, flooding and sea level rise. In addition, goals, policies and programs associated with environmental justice will be added, which addresses inequities in socioeconomic issues, health and wellness, pollution, and community participation for different neighborhoods throughout the City. These policies and programs will ensure that we can all thrive.

Converting Hotels Into Supportive Housing Through Project Homekey

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California Founded 1867

Redwood City California Founded 1867

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@RedwoodCity

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@CityofRedwoodCity @RedwoodCityGov www.redwoodcity.org/myrwc

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San Mateo County has recently purchased three hotels in Redwood City to convert them into permanent affordable senior housing, emergency shelter and permanent extremely low- income affordable housing. Recently, the County was awarded a fifth State Homekey grant, amounting to $16 million, to aid our collective effort to provide shelter and housing to those experiencing homelessness. In total, over $100 million has come to projects in Redwood City from Homekey funds. In addition, the City Council recently approved an additional $1.34 million towards rehabilitation costs, such as adding kitchenettes, ADA upgrades, etc. to convert one of the hotels into permanent affordable housing. The City is also working with the County on establishing a Redwood City resident preference.

and emergency shelter, and is a key step toward addressing the top two priorities we heard from residents through our recent Community Satisfaction Survey – housing and homelessness.

Visit www.homekey.hcd.ca.gov for more information.

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Overall, the direct annual costs to the City for addressing issues related to homelessness and housing instability are more than double the loss to the City of the annual revenue associated with the three hotel purchases.

The purchase and conversion of hotels benefits the City by providing needed permanent housing

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