Council approves city subsidy for motel conversion to permanent supportive housing; developer to seek Homekey Plus funding

The Fairfield City Council on Jan. 21 approved a city subsidy to help Danco Homes LLC acquire and convert a motel at 3331 North Texas Street into permanent supportive housing, and separately authorized CDBG funds for an exterior-repair project at Orchard Crossing.

City housing staff said the Danco project would convert the motel into up to about 93 permanent supportive housing units and that the developer intends to apply to the state Homekey Plus program to fund rehabilitation. Latanya Toronis, senior project manager in the housing services department, described the NOFA review process and the panel rankings that placed Orchard Crossing and Danco among the top proposals.

The initiative drew questions from council members about location, property management, and services. Ramon Amaral, field representative for NorCal Carpenters Union Local 180, urged the council to require prevailing wages and participation in apprenticeship programs, saying, “Requiring labor standards like prevailing wage will ensure fair livable wages with health benefits for the worker and their family.”

Chris Stark, president of Danco Communities, introduced his company’s experience converting motels under Homekey and said, “Our commitment is to provide high quality, affordable housing, well run properties, well staffed, and we stay involved in them.” Council members repeatedly pressed staff and the applicant on oversight and on ensuring service providers and property management are in place before residents move in.

Lieutenant Jones, director of housing services, said the city will use regulatory agreements and contract conditions to enforce standards and to require services on site. “We will have a regulatory agreement on that particular property, and the state will also have a regulatory agreement as a funder on that property,” Jones said. He and others told the council the Homekey process requires robust behavioral-health services and ongoing coordination with county partners.

Council members also discussed residency preference, parking and site security, and whether the project should prioritize Fairfield residents. Jones said projects commonly offer preference points for local residents but cautioned that state funding and fair-housing rules prohibit categorical exclusion: local preference can be prioritized but not used to bar eligibility.

The council voted 6–1 to approve Resolution 2025-14, authorizing the allocation of local housing trust funds to Danco Homes LLC and enabling the city to participate in the Homekey application process. The council then voted unanimously to approve Resolution 2025-15, which amends the city’s annual action plan to allocate CDBG funding to Orchard Crossing for exterior safety repairs.

Council members said they will require contractual guardrails: property management performance standards, timelines tying disbursement to completed service agreements, and the ability to remove a management company for nonperformance. Staff said the city’s funding approval at this stage is not irrevocable—the project will still need Homekey award and subsequent land‑use approvals with public review.

The council discussion included concerns about concentrating supportive housing in certain corridors and about learning from earlier projects where service providers were not in place at lease-up. Supporters said converting motels under Homekey has been used statewide to expand permanent supportive housing rapidly when paired with strong on-site services.

The council’s approval covers the resolutions as presented; staff will return with Homekey application materials and the project-specific regulatory agreements and conditions for council review and later land-use approvals.