Berkeley Homeless Agency Contract Extended for a Year

After hearing sharply differing views in public comments, the Albany City Council Tuesday night unanimously approved a one-year extension of a contract with the Berkeley Food and Housing Project to provide help for Albany Bulb dwellers and other homeless people.

After deciding last May to clear the Bulb of its longstanding illegal encampments, the city first contracted with the Berkeley nonprofit for three months beginning in July for $30,000 to offer assistance to Bulb residents in obtaining services and alternative housing. The contract was renewed for three more months in September.

The one-year extension, at a cost of $76,000, drew opposition Tuesday night from Bulb resident Amber Whitson, two representatives of the Berkeley Free Clinic and some others who have worked with those living at the Bulb.

The critics said Bulb residents don't trust the Berkeley Food and Housing Project and that its track record after more than six months – of successfully housing only five people of the 60 people it has made contact with – has been poor. They said a recently formed ad hoc group has had far more success in a short period of time in winning trust at the Bulb and securing income for some Bulb residents to make them eligible for housing assistance.

Supporters of the extension, including representatives of the Berkeley Food and Housing Project, said establishing trust with the homeless takes a long time and that the organization has made good progress considering the challenges in finding housing, such as accommodating residents with large dogs.

Some speakers suggested also that Bulb residents have intentionally withheld cooperation with the agency in hopes of strengthening their efforts to remain on the Bulb.

Andrew Franklin of the Solano Community Church, which has been asked to act as kind of bridge between the Bulb population and the Berkeley Food and Housing Project, said he felt "like I'm sitting in the middle of this" and added that some of the characterizations of the agency's relationship with Bulb residents were exaggerated.

At the same time, he acknowledged the performance of the church and the agency have been "not perfect."

"But at the end of the day, they have been out there and built a lot of relationships," he said.

Councilman Peter Maass said before the vote, "I think when we started this process we had an idea, but probably not as great an idea as we have now about how long it was going to take and how complicated the process is in finding homes for people. I would say there may be ad hoc organizations that have formed coalitions, etc., that have had some success, but whether they would have had that same success without the groundwork that Berkeley Food and Housing has done is a question in my mind."

Zoning code amendments for transitional and supportive housing, emergency shelters
A related measure that also won unanimous council approval Tuesday night will make it easier to establish transitional and supportive housing as well as emergency shelters. The changes were proposed to bring city law into compliance with state requirements, according to the staff report.
The city currently requires that an emergency shelter be issued a conditional use permit from the Planning & Zoning Commission, a process that also entails notification of nearby owners and occupants.

A state law that became effective Jan. 1, 2008 (SB2) eliminated this step and requires city's to designate at least one zone where such shelters can be placed "by right." So the council agreed with the staff recommendation to allow such shelters in the Commercial Mixed Use and San Pablo Commercial zone.

The council also agreed to allow transitional and supportive housing by right in residential and mixed-use zoning districts.

Some speakers questioned why the staff didn't follow the recommendation of the Planning & Zoning Commission to allow emergency shelters in the Solano Avenue commercial zone too. 

Albany Community Development Director Jeff Bond said the Solano Avenue possibility emerged in the planning commission discussion and that outreach to merchants and residents who would be affected had not been carried out yet. The staff recommended that the council consider adding Solano at a later date.

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