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Residents press Taft council for navigation center, shelter access and accurate homeless counts
Summary
During the housing element hearing, multiple residents, faith leaders and service providers urged the council to address shelter access, undercounted unhoused populations and coordination of services; speakers recommended rezoning, a navigation center and pursuit of state funding.
A string of public comments during the Aug. 19 city council hearing focused on homelessness, service gaps and the need for local facilities even as the council adopted the housing element.
Residents, faith leaders and volunteers recounted the difficulty of accessing shelter and services in West Kern. Several commenters said the nearest shelter is in Bakersfield, more than 30 miles away, and described obstacles including transportation barriers, curtailed hours at some providers and a likely undercount in the point-in-time (PIT) report. ‘‘The PIT report of 2024 states that there are 39 people who are unsheltered in our community. However... I know the count is much higher,’’ Sandra Popejoy told the council.
Speakers recommended concrete steps that align with the housing element’s programs: rezoning to allow low-barrier navigation centers and supportive housing, joint meetings with service providers, targeted outreach to lower-income and special-needs households, and improved communication channels. Louis Gillum and others endorsed programs in the housing element that would amend zoning to permit navigation centers, transitional housing and single-room-occupancy units, with a timetable cited to pursue rezoning by late 2025.
Faith-based groups and volunteers offered to assist with conversions of existing buildings and with volunteer staffing. Daniel Rodela of Faith in the Valley highlighted potential funding sources his group and partners are watching — including state allocations and bills cited as possible avenues — and urged the city to pursue cooperative agreements with Kern County for satellite services.
Council members heard the public comments during the hearing but did not take separate action on shelter construction at the meeting; the housing element adoption is a planning step that staff said enables subsequent implementation actions and grant-seeking. Several commenters asked the council to study navigation-center options and research funding before October 2025.
The council voted to adopt the housing element; staff and community groups will now move into implementation discussions, funding pursuit and any future zoning actions needed to enable specific shelter or navigation-center projects.
