Sonoma County supervisors approve $330,000 to extend Sebastopol safe parking site for six months

The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors has allocated funding to extend a safe parking site in Sebastopol for six months.

The board voted 5-0 on Tuesday to allocate $330,000 in contingency money from the county’s General Fund for Horizon Shine Village, a temporary housing site for people in RVs and campers.

Sonoma Applied Village Services (SAVS), a local organization that manages the site, opened the site in February 2022 to provide housing for people then camped in their vehicles along Morris Street in Sebastopol. The county provided $350,000 in initial funding for the site, which included $80,000 paid to Sebastopol to offset some of the city’s costs for the project.

The 1-acre site houses 25 people and provides security, meals and support staff, among other services. The intent was to fund the site through December 2022, by which point SAVS had aimed to help residents move into permanent supportive housing, said Dave Kiff, interim executive director of the county’s Community Development Commission.

However, the process was slow, prompting SAVS to ask the board to allocate more funding and extend the program through June 2023.

“When you’re serving persons coming out of chronic homelessness, it’s pretty challenging to pick a timeline that works for many people,” Kiff said in an interview Monday. “I think SAVS had a different expectation for how much housing would be available to transition from Horizon Shine, as well as how ready the people would be to move into permanent housing.”

The funding discussion comes amid a broader push to provide more permanent supportive housing options for homeless residents. It also follows moves by city governments and the Board of Supervisors to implement new ordinances restricting camping and RV parking in public areas.

A coalition of civil rights groups last week sued the city of Sebastopol over its rules to restrict overnight parking.

The county’s latest annual report on its unsheltered population highlighted the need for long-term housing, said Kiff and Michael Gause, the county’s homelessness program manager, in September.

The report showed the number of chronically homeless people had increased 43% since 2020 to 725. More than two-thirds of those individuals were found to be without any shelter.

The count documented a 5% increase in the county’s overall homeless population, to an estimated 2,893 homeless residents, the first reported increase since the 2017 North Bay fires.

The report also found that 63% of people surveyed said unaffordable rent was an obstacle to finding permanent housing.

The newly appropriated $330,000 amounts to a monthly $55,000 operational cost — a $5,000 increase from the site’s $50,000 per month rate, a staff report from the commission said.

However, the site’s total monthly cost moving into 2023 is expected to reach $65,000, a reflection of rising costs due to inflation and SAVS’ interest in adding personnel to assist residents in finding housing, the report said.

County leaders expect SAVS to get the additional funding through other sources, including grants, Kiff said.

Funding the site through June 2023 will align Horizon Shine with the county’s fiscal calendar and also allow SAVS time to pursue other funding sources, Kiff said.

“I recognize this is an unusual last-minute request,” said Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, whose district includes Sebastopol. “The hope is to throw them that lifeline for them to be able to compete for the funds.”

Acknowledging the timing of the funding request — falling in the middle of the fiscal year rather than during annual budget discussions in the spring — Hopkins suggested the board adopt annual check-ins before budget hearings, for county staff to provide an update on all of the county’s homeless services and projects.

All five supervisors supported the allocation, but expressed concern.

“I think that it’s important that as we do approve this and provide this bridge to a competitive process, that we see the performance that was predicted and promised at the beginning of this,” Supervisor Chris Coursey said.

Supervisor Susan Gorin also noted there are programs in her district in Sonoma Valley that do not receive any county money and said she would like to find them funding opportunities. She also questioned why Sebastopol was not contributing more to Horizon Shine.

“I don’t think the county should be shouldering the responsibility for Sebastopol,” Gorin said.

Hopkins, in response, noted that Sebastopol is operating at a $1 million deficit.

During public comment, Sebastopol City Council member Diana Rich said the city has spent money on homeless services, including paying $75,000 for an outreach worker.

“We’re doing the best that we can and we also (show) support by attending these meetings,” Rich said.

Adrienne Lauby, SAVS board president, also weighed in and said Sebastopol has provided Horizon Shine with support.

Lauby said SAVS intends to continue serving homeless residents even after the new June 2023 deadline, though Horizon Shine will have to leave its current location, 845 Gravenstein Highway North, in 2024 because St. Vincent de Paul plans to build affordable housing there.

“There are many people who are still homeless and our idea is not to take care of these 25 and then close,” Lauby said. “Our idea is to take care of this 25 and the next 25 and the next 25.”

You can reach Staff Writer Emma Murphy at 707-521-5228 or emma.murphy@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MurphReports.