Camarillo council sends draft homelessness strategic plan back to committee after fiscal and land‑use questions

The Camarillo City Council voted unanimously on Nov. 12 to send the city’s draft Homelessness Strategic Plan back to its Public Safety Committee for additional work after weeks of public outreach and a two‑hour council discussion.

Consultant Colleen Murphy of Lazar Development Consultants presented the draft plan, describing a two‑phase approach in which Phase 1 builds local capacity and alignment and Phase 2 scales housing and services. Murphy told the council the plan is “a road map to reduce homelessness” that combines prevention, interim housing options and steps to expand permanent and supportive housing.

Chief Tennyson and Project Hope staff described local conditions. The council was told Camarillo’s point‑in‑time count identified about 90 people experiencing homelessness and that roughly 70% of that population are living in vehicles. Tennyson noted the value of the Project Hope by‑name list as an active, daily tracking tool used to measure inflows and outflows.

Council members pressed the consultant and staff on several themes: how the plan would integrate with the city’s ongoing General Plan update and housing element work; whether the plan’s recommendations implicitly commit the council to local revenue measures such as property transfer taxes, sales taxes, or bond measures; the fiscal cost and feasibility of establishing a new housing division; and the financial and administrative risks tied to strategies like master leasing.

“These fundamentals are all here, but the fine print needs to be reshaped to reflect our local land‑use and fiscal realities,” Council member Tony Hambley said during a lengthy series of questions and comments. Hambley asked the consultant to clarify whether the draft preordains policy decisions that should instead be coordinated with the General Plan process.

Murphy said the plan is intended as a flexible roadmap and that the city would “drive the car” — choosing priorities and timing. But she acknowledged the plan recommends beginning feasibility studies in year one for some revenue and program options so the city can be prepared if state or federal funding streams change.

Several members also urged caution about local revenue ideas. “Those measures may be okay for San Francisco or Berkeley, but I question whether they are appropriate for Camarillo,” Hambley said, referencing the draft’s menu of potential local funding sources.

Public commenters included disability and advocacy groups that urged attention to people with disabilities and residents who said the city should move faster; other speakers raised concerns about ICE activity, Flock automated license‑plate readers and access to services. Brian Schumacher of the Autism Society of Ventura County urged the council to gather better data on disabilities among unhoused residents.

After deliberation, the council voted 5‑0 to take no action to adopt the draft at the meeting and directed staff to return the document to the Public Safety Committee for further edits, fiscal analysis, and clearer integration with the General Plan update and budgeting process. Mayor Kevin Kildee said the additional review is intended to build broader council consensus and ensure the plan’s actions are realistic and implementable.

The city will keep public engagement open as the plan is revised; the council did not attach any new funding commitments as part of its direction to the committee.