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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-02-11; City Council; 17073; Temporary Farm Worker Shelter ProposalLB# ,TG. 2-11-03 17,073 IEPT. WRED CITY OF CARLSBAD -AGENDA BILL TITLE: WORK PLAN FOR DEVELOPMENT OF DEPT. HD. TEMPORARY FARM WORKER SHELTER PROPOSAL CITY ATTY. CITY MGR. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Adopt City Council Resolution No. 2003-044 approving the work plan for development of a temporary farm worker shelter proposal, appropriating $25,000 to cover costs associated with development of a shelter proposal, and authorizing staff to proceed with implementation of the work plan, ITEM EXPLANATION: The City of Carlsbad's 1999-2004 Housing Element has a variety of programs set forth within it to address the diversity of housingkhelter needs within the community. One of the identified housing needs within the Housing Element is shelter for both permanent and migrant farm workers within Carlsbad. Although the City has had various discussions over the years with non-profit organizations that have indicated some interest in constructing housing for farm workers, a project has not yet been proposed by any organization. A few months ago, the City Council authorized staff to proceed with efforts to develop a more detailed proposal for a temporary farm worker shelter in Carlsbad. The attached work plan sets forth steps to be taken to facilitate the development of a proposal and then to return to the City Council for further direction. Summarv of Work Plan According to the City's current Housing Element, there are approximately 700 homeless farm workers and day laborers in Carlsbad. This number was provided by the Regional Task Force on the Homeless in last few years due to development. It is estimated by staff that the current farm worker population in 1998, and can probably be debated today because farmland in Carlsbad has been slowly eliminated in the Carlsbad is about 400-500 at peak season. The number of farm workers in Carlsbad will continue to decline over the next 5 to 7 years as existing farmland is developed for other purposes. a challenge in developing programs to meet their shelter needs. While the farm workers are resourceful in From a housing standpoint, the cultural and societal characteristics of the farm worker population present cause health and safety concerns for a community. Therefore, they can't be permitted to remain. As a meeting their own shelter needs, their illegal encampments provide for substandard housing and often result, alternative forms of shelter for this population are needed within the community. The City facilitated the development of La Posada de Guadalupe, which is a 50 bed shelter for homeless men in Carlsbad, and has assisted with the operation of this shelter for over 10 years. This shelter was intended to assist homeless men including the urban homeless, day laborers and farm workers. The shelter has been quite successful in assisting the day laborers and urban homeless in Carlsbad. Unfortunately, due to its location and program design, it has been less successful in addressing the needs of the homeless farm worker. Due to the unique needs of the homeless farm workers, staff is proposing to implement a work plan to develop a more detailed proposal for providing a second shelter for homeless men in Carlsbad which would specifically focus on the farm worker population, in cooperation with one or more farmers and a non-profit housing developer. The purpose of the attached work plan is to 1) outline the requirements related to farm worker housing per the City's Housing Element and State Housing Law; 2) provide information on the issues related to farm workers and their housing needs; 3) summarize findings from staff research on various farm worker housing projects in San Diego County and Napa Valley; 4) provide a list of pros and cons to providing temporary farm worker housing in Carlsbad; and 5) set forth a plan to outline the steps the City will take to facilitate development of a proposal to provide a shelter for farm workers. It should be noted that approval of the attached work plan by the City Council does not indicate that the Council will ultimately approve a farm worker shelter project. Approval of the work plan simply provides staff with authorization to proceed t with efforts to facilitate the development of a detailed shelter proposal for consideration by the City Council again at a later date. In addition, it is important to note that it is staff's intent to develop a comprehensive, pro-active enforcement and/or clean-up program for City Council approval at a later date to prevent the future development or ongoing operation of illegal farm worker encampments on both private and public property within Carlsbad. These enforcement and/or clean-up programs can be very expensive. But, if a shelter is ultimately approved and developed, the hope is that many of the farm workers will no longer find a need to build the illegal encampments and the enforcement and/ or clean-up costs will be reduced. Staff Recommendation It is staff's recommendation that the City Council approve the attached work plan, and authorize staff to proceed with efforts to facilitate the development of a detailed proposal for a farm worker shelter for further consideration by the City Council at a later date. As noted above, approval of the attached work plan does actions to facilitate the development of a more detailed proposal for a shelter. Because it is anticipated that not authorize the actual development of a farm worker shelter. It simply allows staff to take the appropriate there may be some initial costs related to development of the detailed proposal for the shelter, staff is requesting an appropriation of $25,000 from the Housing Trust Fund to cover some of these costs. With this funding, staff believes it will have better success in working with one or more of the local farmers and a non-profit housing agency to develop the desired detailed proposal. Environmental Review The attached work plan represents a feasibility study and does not commit to an actual physical development project at this time. Therefore, pursuant to Section 15262 of the California Environmental Quality Act, the subject work plan is exempt from environmental review at this time. FISCAL IMPACT At this time, staff is requesting an appropriation of $25,000 from the Housing Trust Fund to cover designated balance of approximately $2.9 million currently exists in the Housing Trust Fund. An miscellaneous costs related to the development of a detailed proposal for a farm worker shelter. A total appropriation of $25,000 to assist in the development of the subject proposal will not substantially impact the fund balance. No other funding is being requested at this time. Therefore, there is no other fiscal impact for implementation of the proposed work plan. For information purposes, staff has developed some very rough estimates on the potential costs of a shelter for 150 men. Based on these estimates, staff believes it would cost approximately $960,000 to develop the shelter and then operate it for the first year. These costs will need to be confirmed upon completion of a more detailed shelter proposal. The funding for the project could come from a variety of sources, such as federal Community Development Block Grant Funds, HOME Funds, other federal or state grants, the developer, the farmer and the farm workers. EXHIBITS: 1. City Council Resolution No. 2003-044 authorizing staff to implement the work plan to facilitate the development of a farm worker shelter proposal, and appropriating $25,000 from the Housing Trust Fund to assist with some of the anticipated costs related to development of the proposal. 2. Temporary Farm Worker Shelter Work Plan. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION NO. 2003-044 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD, ' CALIFORNIA, APPROVING THE WORK PLAN FOR DEVELOPMENT OF A TEMPORARY FARM WORKER SHELTER PROPOSAL, APPROPRIATING $25,000 TO AND AUTHORIZING STAFF TO PROCEED WITH IMPLEMENTATION OF THE COVER COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH DEVELOPMENT OF A SHELTER PROPOSAL, WORK PLAN. WHEREAS, the City of Carlsbad's Housing Element indicates that there are 700 1omeless.farm workers and day laborers within the community; and, WHEREAS, the City of Carlsbad desires to partner with one or more farmers and a non- ~rofit housing agency to study the feasibility of developing a temporary shelter to meet the needs ,fat least 150 homeless farm workers in Carlsbad; and, WHEREAS, the City of Carlsbad has prepared a work plan for implementation purposes o facilitate the development of a detailed proposal for a temporary farm worker shelter in 3arlsbad; and, WHEREAS, at this time, the City of Carlsbad desires to implement said work plan for levelopment of a detailed proposal for a temporary farm worker shelter in Carlsbad. NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED as follows: 1. That the above recitations are true and correct. 2. That the City Council hereby approves the work plan attached hereto for development of a temporary farm worker shelter proposal. 3. That the City Council hereby appropriates $25,000 from the Housing Trust Fund as a financial contribution to assist with development of the subject temporary farm worker shelter proposal. Ill Ill Ill Ill Ill Ill Ill Ill Ill 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 4. That the City Council hereby authorizes the Housing and Redevelopment Director to proceed with implementation of the work plan attached hereto to facilitate the development of a temporary farm worker shelter proposal. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Carlsbad, California on the 'Ith day of February ,2003, by the following vote, to wit: AYES: Council Members Lewis, Finnila, Kulchin and Packard. NOES: Council Member Hall. 11 ABSENT: None. ABSTAIN: None. NE M. WOOD, City Clerk 2 TEMPORARY FARM WORKER SHELTER WORK PLAN I. Carlsbad Housing Element - Summary of Requirements Every jurisdiction within the State of California is required to prepare a Housing Element which complies with State Housing Law. As part of its Housing Element, the City of Carlsbad is required to 1) identify and analyze the existing and projected housing needs for our community, and 2) list goals, policies, objectives, resources and programs for the preservation, improvement and development of housing. In other words, we must state our housing needs and then outline programs that will be implemented to address the identified needs. This work plan focuses specifically on the homeless farm workers in Carlsbad. Therefore, this summary of Housing Element requirements will.focus specifically on that same population. There are three basic legal requirements (per State Housing Law) of the City when we discuss the housing needs for farm workers. The first requirement is that the City must identify sites within Carlsbad which can be used for the purposes of providing farm worker housingkhelter. Second, the City is required to streamline the process for obtaining a permit to construct the housinghhelter. Third, the City is responsible for addressing the programs within its Housing Element as related to farm worker housinghhelter. Farm workers are identified as a “special needs’’ group within the City of Carlsbad’s Housing Element. For farm workers, one of the objectives (3.1) within the City’s Housing Element indicates that the City will support the development of a program to “provide shelter for both the permanent and migrant farm worker.” The program description states that the City has indicated that it will continue to work with, and assist, local community groups, social welfare agencies, farmland owners, and other interested parties to provide shelter for the identified permanent and migrant farm workers during the five-year housing element period (1999-2004). Although the City has had various discussions with non-profit organizations interested in constructing housing for farm workers, a project has not yet been implemented. One of the key issues facing farm worker housing is the relatively short-term future of agricultural activities in Carlsbad. Most of the agricultural areas in Carlsbad are designated for development in the City’s General Plan. It is currently anticipated that virtually all agricultural land in Carlsbad will be developed within the next 5 to 7 years. This means that permanent housing for farm workers is not financially feasible because it will not have an adequate amortization period. Therefore, it is anticipated that Carlsbad’s program should primarily focus on temDOrarY housing for farm workers. Within the City’s Housing Element, the housing needs for farm workers are addressed separate from the other special needs populations, including general lower income households. This is due to the unique characteristics associated with this population. The specific issues related to the farm workers and their housing needs are summarized below. 11. IntroductionlBackground - Farm workers & Shelter Issues According to the City’s 1999-2004 Housing Element, the largest portion of the homeless population in Carlsbad is farm workers. The Housing Element indicates that there are 25 urban homeless and 700 homeless farm workerdday laborers in Carlsbad. Resolution No. 2003-044 AB # 17,073 5 Farm Worker Shelter - Work Plan Page 2 According to the Regional Task Force on the Homeless, nearly all of the farm worker population is comprised of single men. The average age is between 20 and 40 years. Many of these men have families that remain in Mexico or Guatemala, and they come to the United States to earn money to support their families. The City has been very aggressive in addressing affordable housing issues for low income households in Carlsbad, through its Inclusionary Housing Program, and providing shelter opportunities for homeless men through La Posada de Guadalupe (a 50 bed transitional housing project in Carlsbad). Although the farm workers are eligible to participate in our affordable housing and shelter programs, many are extremely reluctant to do so. The primary reason for this is believed to be financial. Many of these men are attempting to earn enough money to send back to their families. Others are trying to save enough money to return to purchase farmland in their country of origin. It is much more expensive to live in an apartment or dormitory than in a camp, and, for this reason many are reluctant to leave their temporary camp accommodations as we have seen in Carlsbad. In addition, the farm worker encampments may often offer comfort, camaraderie and security due to the community atmosphere. It is also highly possible that some of these men are not legally residents of the United States. Therefore, they are reluctant to participate in programs which require applications, credit checks, etc. because they might be discovered and forced to return to their native country. Therefore, illegal farm worker encampments have become on ongoing concern in Carlsbad and other cities within San Diego County. The farm workers are generally paid minimum wage, and their earnings are further diminished by unpaid time off caused by rain or equipment failure. Although they may often work up to 60 hours per week during peak seasons, they are not always paid overtime. Even if the farm worker is interested in doing so, it may be quite difficult to obtain standard rental housing due to the uncertainty of the pay and the seasonal nature of the agricultural work. From a housing standpoint, the cultural and societal characteristics of the farm worker population present a challenge in developing programs to meet their shelter needs. While the farm workers are resourceful in meeting their own shelter needs, their encampments provide for substandard housing and often cause health and safety concerns for a community. Therefore, they can’t be permitted to remain. The City has assisted with the operation of a shelter for homeless men in Carlsbad for over 10 years. This shelter has been quite successful in assisting the day laborers and urban homeless in Carlsbad. Unfortunately, it has not be quite as successful in meeting the needs of the farm workers due to its location and program design. Due to the unique needs of the homeless farm workers and the fact that seasonal farm work is essential to this country’s abundant and affordable food supply and to the agriculture business, it seems to be appropriate to study the feasibility of developing a second shelter for homeless men in Carlsbad which would specifically focus on farm workers. The City Council has previously authorized staff to pursue the development of a more detailed plan and to present this plan at a later date for further consideration. The purpose of this work plan is to outline the steps that staff is recommending be taken to develop a more detailed proposal to provide shelter for homeless farm workers in Carlsbad. 6 Farm Worker Shelter - Work Plan Page 3 In order to obtain some examples of housing or shelter provided for farm workers in other areas, staff toured a couple of local projects and obtained information on projects in Napa Valley. A summary of the information obtain is provided below. 11. Farm Worker Housine Tours (San Diego County) Staff visited two (2) farm worker housing projects in the San Diego area in November, 2002. The first was located on the Singh property which is within the County of San Diego, on the border of the Oceanside city limits. The second was on the Melano property which is located within the City of Oceanside. These projects were very different but both impressive in terms of the effort being made to provide shelter for the workers of these farms. The following provides a brief description of both projects. Sin& Ranch: The Singh Ranch provides a variety of different housing types for their farm workers. Families are provided mobile home accommodations and a couple of single family homes. The bulk of the housing is provided for single men in a permanent, dormitory-style building that can accommodate a maximum of 375 men. On average, there are about 50 to 100 men being provided accommodations at any given time. The complex is operated by the Singh family and has been available for about 13 years. The Singh Family is currently not charging the farm workers for the shelter. However, they have charged in the past (approximately $22 a week). The farm workers can pay for 3 meals a day which are provided both at the residential complex (within a cafeteria) and in the field (through the use of catering trucks). The charge for the 3 meals is approximately $8.50 per day. The facility provides sleeping quarters (6 to 12 men per dormitory-style room), restrooms, showers, laundry rooms, recreational facilities and around the clock security. The housing is privately owned and operated. Staff is still waiting for some budget numbers on the Singh Ranch. Mellano Ranch: The Mellano Ranch provides for shelter through a renovatedkonverted labor camp. A facility is provided which can accommodate a maximum of 55 men. There are separate sleeping quarters which can accommodate approximately 3 to 4 men per room. The farm workers are also provided a large kitchen where they may prepare their own meals. The men purchase their own groceries and share refrigerators within the kitchen. A community room is provided for family visits. In addition, washerddryers are available for use. The men pay $130 month (approx. $4.30 per day) to live at the complex which includes a bed, some storage, a shared refrigerator and basic "maid" or room cleaning services. The annual cost for operating this facility is approximately $116,000 per the ranch owner. The housing is privately owned and operated. 111. Napa Valley Farm Worker Housing Through a Joint Powers Authority with other cities in Napa County, the City of Napa Housing Authority provides for farm worker housing. They contract with a non-profit agency to operate or manage the housingkhelter. The Authority tried tent housing, but indicated that it did not work well and was basically unacceptable to all of the advocate groups. They now provide primarily permanent housing for approximately 300 farm workers in 3 separate facilities, and are working on the construction of a 4" facility which will provide approximately 60 additional Farm Worker Shelter - Work Plan Page 4 beds. All of their facilities are for single persons. They have no family housing. The facilities are located on both public and private property. The largest facility is the Calistoga Farm Worker Center, which is a year-round migrant worker shelter. It provides beds, showers, laundry facilities and meals. All of the facilities cost the PA approximately $650,000 per year for operations. The Napa Valley program has been fairly successful due to a strong industry partnership and community support. The farmers agreed to assess themselves $10 per acre to help pay for the farm worker housing. This revenue pays for about 30-40% of the total cost for operations. The farm workers also pay for the housing. The charge is $1 1.50 per day, which includes 3 meals per day. This is about $345 per month. The Housing Authority representative indicated that the $11.50 per day would probably be a little high for the farm workers in San Diego County because they are going to be paid lower than those in Napa County. Vineyards typically pay higher wages than other general vegetable or fruit growers. IV. Pros and Cons of a Farm Worker Shelter Develoument Staff has identified a list of pros and cons to providing a temporary Farm Worker Shelter Project in Carlsbad. Attached as Exhibit A to this Work Plan is a chart outlining the identified “pros and cons” to this project. V. Work Plan for Proposed Carlsbad Farm Worker HousindShelter Proiect To address at least a portion of the need for farm worker housing in Carlsbad, staff has made a proposal to study the feasibility and/or facilitate the development of a dormitory-style shelter within our community. The proposal sets forth an idea to facilitate a partnership between one or more farmers in Carlsbad and a private non-profit housing developer to create an additional shelter complex similar to La Posada de Guadalupe. The proposed intent is to install temporary modular units on an appropriate site which would provide for dormitory-style sleeping quarters, a cafeteria, and restrooms/showers for approximately 150 farm workers (men) maximum. As proposed, the shelter will be owned and operated by either the farmer and/or a non-profit housing developer/agency. Financing for the project is proposed to come from various sources, such as Community Development Block Grant Funds, other federal or state funds, City Housing Trust Funds, the developer, the farm workers, the farmer, and perhaps other private/public sources. Staff proposes to take the following actions to prepare a more detailed proposal for this shelter : Step 1: With approval of this Work Plan by the City Council, staff will partner with one or more Carlsbad farmers to distribute a Request for Qualifications to appropriate non-profit agencies in an effort to identify an organization to assist with the development of a more detailed proposal for the subject facility. A City Staff Team, together with the farmer(s), will review the qualifications of, and interview, each interested agency. Following the interview process, the Staff Team and the farmer(s) will select an Agency to work with to further develop a detailed proposal for the subject facility. It is anticipated that the Agency selected will ultimately develop and operate the proposed temporary shelter, if the Council authorizes the project to proceed. Step 2: Meetings will be held with the various stakeholders to identify an appropriate site for the type of shelter noted above. A description of the property/site will be prepared together with a related locator map. Farm Worker Shelter - Work Plan Page 5 Step 3: Based on the size of the identified property and the discussions with the various stakeholders, the project proposal will be further developed through modification and/or refinement as appropriate. A preliminary site plan will be developed to further detail the proposed facility. Step 4: A project budget for both construction and operation will be prepared for further review. Research will be completed on possible revenue sources for the project. A current estimate indicates that the cost to develop the shelter and operate it for the first year will be approximately $960,000. This cost estimate will be further refined and then submitted with the final proposal. As a final procedure under this step, appropriate agreements to allow for use of the identified property for the final, proposed project will be drafted and conceptually approved by the appropriate parties. Step 5: The process to be used in obtaining the appropriate permits (coastal development permit) for the proposed facility will be summarized, and a schedule will be set forth for processing the required permits for the project. Step 6 The detailed proposal will be presented to the City Council for conceptual approval. If authorized, efforts will be made to continue the steps to implement the shelter proposal. Step 7: With appropriate conceptual approvals, the necessary plans, applications, etc. will be prepared to process the project through to the City Council for final approval to proceed. During the processing stage of the project, appropriate actions will also be made to amend any ordinances which may be required to allow for development of the subject shelter project. VI. Timing for Implementation of Work Plan Staff believes that it will take approximately 2 to 3 months to complete a more detailed proposal for the subject shelter for further consideration by the City Council. An additional 4 to 5 months would then be required to process the permits and establish the shelter, if the Council provides authorization to proceed with the project at a later date. VII. Comprehensive Enforcement to Prevent Future Encampments With development of a shelter proposal for the farm workers, staff will also be recommending a comprehensive, pro-active enforcement andor clean-up program to prevent the future development of illegal farm worker encampments on both private and public property. This will be an expensive enforcement effort/program. A single clean-up can cost $40,000 or more. However, if alternative shelter is ultimately provided, the hope is that many of the farm workers will no longer find a need to build the illegal encampments and the enforcementlclean-up costs will be reduced over time. VIII. Summary Upon approval of this Work Plan by the City Council, staff will initiate the appropriate activities to begin the process of developing a more detailed proposal for a farm worker shelter in Carlsbad. As indicated, it is staff's initial intent to work with one or more farmers (s) and a non- profit housing developer/agency to simply prepare a detailed proposal of a farm worker shelter project for conceptual approval by the City Council at a later date. Approval of this work plan at .. ,r i Farm Worker Shelter -Work Plan Page 6 this time does not indicate that the City Council has approved the development of a temporary farm worker shelter. It simply allows staff to proceed with efforts to facilitate the development of a more detailed proposal for further consideration by the City Council at a later date. Farm Worker Shelter - Work Plan Page 7 EXHJEIT A FARMWORKER HOUSING pros 1. City obligated to implement Housing Element Programs; project will address significant need for homeless farm worker housing 2. Limit costs and issues related to ongoing removal of illegal farm worker encampments 3. Short-Term Need (5- 7 yrs); agricultural land disappearing due to development; number of farm workers has been reducing over the years 4. Farm owner willing to provide land; funding currently available for facilities 5. Non-profit agencies willing to operate & possibly provide some operations funding 6. Shelter will have no negative impact on residential areas 7. Shelter can be screened from public view 8. The housing will be on the site where the farm workers are located; more likely to utilize; no transportation issues 9. CDBG or Housing Trust funding can be used to purchase and install the modulars; other federal and/or state funding also available; no general fund money required 10. Safer & Healthier form of Shelter for farm workers and for community 11. Make peace with farm workerhigrant worker advocates 12. Help with goal to provide diversity of housing for low income households in Carlsbad; will help in development of next Housing Element due to good faith efforts being made by the City to address all type of needs in community. Cons 1. Long Term funding for operations unknown; no funding guarantees 2. No assurance that all farm workers will use the housing; may still have a problem with some encampments 3. Not comprehensive; addresses only 150 farm workers out of estimated 700 (per Housing Element) 4. May house some illegal residents, even though documentation is required 5. Families with workers will not be housed under the proposal; may need another solution for families, if any identified 6. Permitted through CDP process; difficult to respond quickly; possible NIMBY issues with process 7. May have operational issues if not well- managed 8. Liability - City may be asked to assume 9. Expensive to install and operate on an annual basis (approximately $1 million first year; est. $500,000 thereafter). 10. Advocates may not want the shelter removed, even if the farm ceases operations for whatever reason. 11. May be a perception that farmers or farm workers are receiving special treatment, or perhaps a “windfall” of public funding benefit; belief that farmers should be solving the problem with no assistance from City.