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Council hears micro-shelter pilot update; staff to return with data before expanding to city sites
Summary
Staff reported the micro-shelter/safe-parking pilot is nearing its one-year expiration (May 26); the program has placed most of the authorized units on private sites and served people who later moved into permanent housing; councilors requested a breakdown of outcomes and costs before allowing micro-shelters on city-owned lots.
Linda Klein (identified in the transcript as housing and procurement analyst) and staff reported on the city's micro-shelter and safe-parking pilot and said the pilot authorization in code is set to expire on May 26. Staff said the program served 134 individuals last year and that 39 people moved into permanent housing; they also reported that 8 of the locally authorized micro-shelter units have been installed and that the city's passthrough/state funds paid for 10 units overall that sit in the region.
Staff said the micro-shelters have largely been placed on private properties (for example, church parking lots), and council members raised questions about siting on city-owned lots, the cost to bring power to dry lots, and the possibility of displacing RV participants. Staff noted the program prioritized sites with existing power to limit installation costs and said additional funding cycles will affect whether more units can be placed.
Council members asked for more detailed participant data before approving any expansion to public property: specifically, a breakdown of how many safe-parking participants were in vehicles/RVs versus micro-shelter occupants, how many people moved on to permanent housing from each cohort, and whether public complaints or safety concerns occurred at current sites. Staff said they had not received complaints from fire or public-safety partners and that program managers would present more detailed numbers and participant feedback at the upcoming City Council meeting (a scheduled presentation by the program manager, John Edwards of the safe-parking program, was mentioned).
No binding decision was made during this informational session; staff framed the next step as presenting the item on the council agenda (removal of "trial" language and possible study of city-site feasibility) and returning with cost estimates and outcomes data for council consideration.
