County of Riverside Housing. Homelessness Prevention and Workforce Solutions Monday, August 31, 2020 Dear Community Member, We understand there have been some questions regarding the proposed housing project at the Ivy Palm hotel. Most of them have been around the timing, purpose and operations. Governor Newsom and the State of California have presented an opportunity for signi?cant funding to counties and cities for permanent housing units for our formerly homeless residents. If you ask anyone in the ?eld of homelessness and housing services, the number one request is the dire need for permanent housing options. In fact, in Barbara Poppe?s January 2020 report to the City of Palm Springs, the number one recommendation was the establishment ofmore permanent units including hotel/motel renovations. We currently have 8,530 voucher holders Countywide, 1,889 are in the Coachella Valley, and 315 are located in the City of Palm Springs. These are individuals, families and many seniors who have the ability to pay for a unit, but we don?t have the units available. There are 107,049 on the Section 8 waiting list, and 1,283 are currently registered with a Palm Springs address. The City of Palm Springs has made it quite clear they want the County to do more for their City?s homeless residents, and Project Home Key will address that issue providing the desperately needed permanent housing unlts. Unfortunately, some misinformation has been dispersed about what this project actually will be. It is not a homeless shelter, nor a drop-in facility, and it is not a drug treatment facility. This is a housing project to provide permanent homes to formerly homeless individuals and families. The property will have an onsite manger and will be managed and run like our other housing developments. The County of Riverside owns and/or manages 691 units throughout the County. In the Coachella Valley that number is 234, 27 of those in Palm Springs. In regard to scale and density of the proposed project, the Ivy Palm Hotel currently operates 100 hotel rooms. The County?s plan is to reduce the number of rooms to 60 85 residential units. With respect to the timeline of this proposal and community input, Project Home Key was announced by the Governor on July 16, 2020 with the first tier of applications due by August 13, 2020, and all acquisition or rehabilitation funds needing to be spent by December 30, 2020. To further support speedy implementation of Home Key, Governor Newsom recently signed new legislation providing a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) exemption and automatic zoning compliance for converted hotels, motels, and other housing types that utilize Home Key funding. Technically, counties are not required to receive approval from local jurisdictions. Additionally, Project Home Key is not like a traditional housing project that goes before planning committees, community forums or city councils. It should also be noted that the State made project Home Key funding available on very short notice and did not provide much time for community outreach other than the Special City Council meeting held on August 6. However, as the County had been 3403 Tenth Street, Suite 300 Riverside, CA 92501 Phone: (951) 955-1161 searching for hotels to convert into residences well before the Home Key funding was announced, we were able to quickly identify potential hotels for consideration. Of the three properties identi?ed that were on the market, Ivy Palm was the best choice for cost of renovations, access to transportation, and available Space for wrap around services. The County made sure that the proposal sent to the State also included funding streams for sustainability of the housing project for years to come. The City provided the County with a funding commitment to improve the County?s chances of success to secure Home Key funding. If the County is awarded EMS for project Home Key, the City Council will still have opportunities to address concerns about this project at a future meeting. The public will also have an opportunity to provide additional input at future City Council meetings. We want to ensure all residents of Palm Springs, that the County takes the operation of their housing projects very seriously and we work daily to be a good neighbor in all the communities we operate in. As we move forward with this project, we assure you we will keep the City updated on the timeline, deveIOpment and full scope of this housing complex. Additionally, we are planning a Zoom conference in September to answer any additional questions the community may have. Until then, should you have any questions, please feel free to share them directly with me via hmarshallfc?rivcocrg. Respectfully, ()de Heidi Marshall Director Department of Housing, Homelessness Prevention Workforce Solutions