In a move that could fast track and streamline municipal efforts to establish a homeless shelter on South Main Street, the City Council may declare a shelter crisis in Manteca.
The declaration could come during today’s 1 p.m. special council meeting at the Civic Center, 1001 W. Center St.
Acting Assistant City Manager Toni Lundgren is recommending the council use California Government Code Section 8698 to declare a shelter crisis. State law allows such a declaration “when a significant number of persons are without the ability to obtain shelter.”
Once that determination has been justified and made, subsections of the state law allow the council to direct the city manager “to prepare alternative local standards and procedures for development and operations of homeless shelters if required.”
This would allow two things to happen.
*The city could legally suspend all required permits that are not in place for the temporary emergency housing at 555 Industrial Park Drive that is now being operated by Inner City Action.
*Manteca could potentially cut through state and local requirements involving everything from the environmental review process and various standards that strict compliance would in any way prevent, hinder, or delay getting a homeless center in shelter on part of 8 acres on South Main Street north of Industrial Park Drive and south of Wetmore Street.
Getting a homeless shelter in place between EIR steps, potential zoning issues, and public challenges once the city buys the land could take anywhere between a year and two years to get to the point of dirt actually being turned on a homeless shelter solution.
The emergency declaration would enable the city to drastically slash the time invested in the approval process among other things.
The resolution justifying declaring a shelter crisis indicates:
*Homeless encampments continue to occupy locations within the public right of way, exposing individuals experiencing homelessness to traffic hazards, crime, risk of death and injury, lack of adequate sanitation and debris services, and other conditions that are detrimental to their health and safety.
* In addition to the rise in homelessness, Manteca is experiencing a housing emergency. Residential rents are climbing, and many citizens face the threat of homelessness due to lack of access to affordable housing.
The last time when a point-in-time census was conducted 30 months ago, there were 218 people in Manteca without shelter. Prior to that, the 2017 number was 88.
The census conducted every two years wasn’t done this year due to the pandemic. However, those who work with the homeless believe the number of unsheltered in Manteca today exceeds the 2019 count of 218.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
