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Commission debates homelessness response, plans letter to Board of Supervisors urging housing-element action
Summary
Commissioners criticized prior spending, cited rising numbers of unhoused residents, and tasked a committee to draft a letter to the Board of Supervisors urging specific housing-element actions and timelines.
Commissioners spent an extended portion of the meeting discussing homelessness and behavioral health and whether the commission should send a formal recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. Several commissioners said earlier programs (including HomeKey) had limited long-term success and urged the commission to push for concrete housing-element deliverables.
A commissioner argued that county officials had “spent millions of dollars” with little visible result and suggested the commission draft a letter that specifies targets and locations for new housing. Another commissioner recommended a starting point of quoting the existing county housing element and identifying provisions the commission believes the county has not implemented. The commission discussed potential remedies including ADU-policy changes, safe-parking sites, small-unit developments and transitional housing pilots.
Commissioners also discussed involving tribal leadership before sending the letter. The chair proposed presenting the draft to a local tribal chairmen’s association for input and suggested soliciting buy-in from tribal leaders before formal submission to the board.
“We should be issuing out a series of letters to the board. I mean, that’s kind of our job,” one commissioner said, urging focused recommendations tied to the housing element’s existing language.
Commissioners agreed to begin drafting the letter and to circulate it for edits; the commission will return to the item at a subsequent meeting.
