San Mateo County Discusses Purchase Of Hotels To House Homeless

SAN MATEO, CA — San Mateo County is in the process of purchasing two hotels in San Mateo along El Camino Real to use for homeless shelters.

In a San Mateo City Council meeting on Monday, San Mateo County Manager Mike Callagy revealed the two hotels the county was considering to be Stone Villa Inn and The Catrina Hotel. Callagy said the county was doing appraisals on the properties, and that the planning commission would discuss the matter next week. If the sale proceeds, the county plans to hold community meetings on the details.

The Stone Villa Inn would provide 44 units of housing, and The Catrina Hotel would have 57 units available.

The potential purchases are part of the county’s “functional zero” plan to eradicate homelessness. The county has taken a “housing first” approach, with a goal to provide permanent housing as quickly as possible without requiring assurances about employment, savings, health challenges or lifestyle issues.

“The main thing is we don’t just want to maintain folks in a shelter-type setting,” Callagy said. “We really want to try to give them the resources and the wraparound services necessary to get on to the next step and find permanent housing.”

As of 2019, there were 1,512 homeless people in the county, with 901 of them unsheltered.

San Mateo County is currently operating rooms for the homeless at two hotels: Pacific Inn in Redwood City and Coastside Inn in Half Moon Bay. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the county has had to reduce the number of beds available in its shelters by 105 beds. It has instead turned to various motels throughout the county to house 184 homeless individuals, but Callagy said that model isn’t sustainable due to the financial cost.

In addition to the 126 combined units at the Pacific Inn and Coastside Inn, the county said it needs 254 more hotel rooms in the near term.

San Mateo County Supervisor Carole Groom said the initiative was about restoring dignity to people.

“Many of our homeless people in this county work,” Groom said. “If they have a better place to live, they’ll be better employees. They’ll feel fresher when they go to work in the morning.”

Callagy acknowledged that residents will have questions and concerns about the program. But he said that in Redwood City and Half Moon Bay, the neighbors’ tone shifted from skeptical to supportive after discussions with county officials.

“Most people were fearful that the county would just open these places, let them run themselves, (with) people coming and going at all hours,” Callagy said. “It’s not that way at all.”

There will be a 24/7 on-site presence at the hotels with rules restricting guests, alcohol and drug use. The goal is to integrate those who are housed with their surroundings.

“This is a place we want to blend in with the community,” Callagy said. “We want them to shop locally. We want them to use public transportation.”

Homeless people might prefer living in a non-congregate shelter such as a hotel setting because of the privacy and safety that it offers along with better access to resources like medical appointments and opportunities to apply for permanent housing and social service benefits.

The San Mateo City Council voiced its support for the county’s proposal. Councilmember Amourence Lee said that one of the biggest lessons from the pandemic is that a community is only as safe as its most vulnerable members.

“The chance to create short-term shelter beds in a way that’s COVID safe, but also create a long term opportunity to fill the unmet need of our low-income affordable housing and permanent supportive housing — which we almost have none — is an opportunity that this community cannot miss,” Lee said.