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 THURSDAY 10/4 - 6:30 PM - SONC Vision Committee Meeting. 

SO Library 14245 Moorpark Street. VERY IMPORTANT TO BE THERE!!!!

Agenda items of interest:

#5b New Business

Motion:

Responding to the communities concerns, if the proposed sites at 15314 W. Dickens St. and 5161 Sepulveda are found feasible and if Councilmember Ryu chooses to move forward with these sites, we recommend the proposed Permanent Supportive Housing on the Dickens site be limited to seniors or women and children only (NOTE: More and very important information on this at the end of this message) and the proposed project replace the existing public parking spaces plus have parking for the new units as per code.

We recommend the proposed Sepulveda site be Bridge Housing or Affordable Housing that is limited to serving seniors or women and children.

i)                    Presentation

ii)                  Public comment and discussion.

iii)                Committee discussion and possible motion and vote

SUNDAY 10/7 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM — SAVE THE DATE FOR OUR GROUP MEETING AGAINST THE PROPOSALS

More Details forthcoming. 

MONDAY 10/8 - 6:00 PM SONC Board Meeting - NO DETAILS YET EXCEPT WILL HAVE AN ELECTION FORUM

Likely held at the Sherman Oaks Elementary School (TBD)

Proposed Seniors and Mothers with Kids Housing

As you may have heard Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association (SOHA) last week announced that they are now changing their “recommendation” for the PSH at Dickens and Bridge shelter at Sepulveda/Magnolia so it will have only seniors and mothers with kids. We believe that this is a bait and switch tactic to silence us because we have confirmed with that it would constitute discriminatory use under Prop HHH. This is the way we believe it came about and the issues with it:

Jay Weitzler and Tom Glick are both on the SOHA board. Both were at the SONC Homeless Committee meeting last week at which SONC board member Lisa Petrus just happened to be in the audience and mentioned it should be “seniors.” The next day SOHA announced on Nextdoor and through private emails that they are supporting that the two locations be seniors or moms with kids. That day or shortly after, SONC’s Vision committee placed it on their agenda for this week’s meeting (Thursday 9/4) also saying they are changing their recommendation in this direction.

Here are the issues: 

(1) From various sources, we’ve learned that the City’s Permanent Supportive Housing Ordinance prevents PSH’s (Permanent Support Housing) from designating one group like “seniors” and “mothers with kids”. The target population is having one or more “disabilities including mental illness, HIV or AIDS, substance abuse or other chronic health conditions and are homeless or chronically homeless. And, Bridge Housing that receives any HHH funds cannot be designated to one group either. They have to be multiple groups including drug addicts, mentally ill, and recently incarcerated, keeping in mind also that seniors and moms with kids could have any of those disabilities as well. There was a women’s shelter in Los Angeles that was recently killed because of this.

(2) It is questionable that SOHA board members Jay Weitzler (an attorney) and Tom Glick (a valley supervisor for LA City Planning) would not know this. Weitzler has posted on Nextdoor essentially that it was something that would be up to CD4 (Ryu) to decide. It also is questionable that SONC Vision chair/Board member Jeff Kalban (an architect) and SONC board member Lisa Petrus (who is also on the Ventura Blvd/Cahuenga Planning Review Board) would not know this either.

(3) Even if it is possible, the following scenario happened recently on McCadden Street in Hollywood: The City Council approved HHH Funding for 25 permanent supportive housing units …the 25 units are part of a 99-unit building of affordable housing for seniors. So that means the new 25 units on McCadden are for anyone (drug addicted, mentally ill), and the rest (74) are for seniors, who also can be drug addicted, mentally ill. As with other PSH's in the city, neither sobriety nor treatment is required. 

(4) If the Dickens and Sepulveda/Magnolia facilities are built, there remain issues with adverse effects on nearby businesses, schools, and residents that we’ve outlined before.

(5) Then, as of 10/1, Jay Weitzler posted that he “spoke to Ryu” and that the Dickens parking lot that they “thought” was owned by the City is actually owned by Caltrans which is leasing it back to the City and “no one knows what their position might be and whether they would consider using the land for this purpose.” With the new SB 519 bill, the City can lease property from Cal Trans but has to be used for emergency shelters. The caveat is that Caltrans could still “sell” the entire Dickens lot to the City. 

We believe that SOHA and SONC may be using their new “recommendation” for CD4: to get us off their backs and appear helpful to the community/ their constituents to allow construction to move forward and then say that they wanted it to be for “seniors” and “women with kids” but the law won’t allow it provide a way that CD4 may circumvent the law similar to McCadden
 

And, remember CD4 (Ryu’s office) was involved in SOHA’s and SONC’s decision making process before it was announced. So they may still be involved now, as they continue to have private “community” member meetings in their office.

 In short, we don't believe that SONC, SOHA or David Ryu are being honest with us or making this proposal in good faith.

Contact us at BetterValley@gmail.com with any questions.

 Best regards,

 Jim & Gina