HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-11-30; La Posada Potential District 2); Barberio, GaryTo the members of the:
ITV COUNCIL
Date\,\~ CA ✓ cc ✓
CM ACMdDCM(3)~
November 30, 2023
Council Memorandum
{cityof
Carlsbad
Memo ID# 2023121
To:
From:
Via:
Honorable Mayor Blackburn and Members of the City Council
Gary Barberio, Deputy City Manager, Community Services
Mandy Mills, Director of Housing and Hg.,eless Services
Geoff Patnoe, Assistant City Manager ~
La Posada Potential Expansion (District 2) Re:
This memorandum provides a status on the potential expansion of the La Posada de Guadalupe
homeless shelter.
Background
The Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego operates the La Posada de Guadalupe homeless
shelter (shelter) in the City of Carlsbad. What originally opened as a cluster of temporary
buildings in 1992 to shelter 50 homeless migrant workers, became a permanent 13,810 square
foot facility in 2011. The shelter provides emergency and transitional shelter services to a total
of 100 homeless men, including a portion reserved for 50 farmworkers. The City of Carlsbad has
been a cooperative partner with Catholic Charities for many years, helping to identify a location
for the shelter, providing funding for the development and expansion of the shelter, and
providing ongoing support of operational costs.
The City Council has identified the expansion of the shelter to serve more individuals
experiencing homelessness, including space for women and families, as a priority project in
both the City Council adopted Carlsbad Strategic Plan {2023-2027) and the Homelessness
Action Plan. City staff have been working with Catholic Charities to examine the feasibility of
expanding the footprint of the shelter building to include additional shelter capacity.
Discussion
The City of Carlsbad previously granted approximately $183,000 in Community Development
Block Grant (CDBG) funding to Catholic Charities to pay for architectural and engineering costs
to examine the feasibility of expanding the overall building square footage. The conceptual
phase of the predevelopment work is complete. The proposed project would consist of
improvements to the single-story buildings on the north side and reconstructing the south
building to two or three stories. If a two-story building is reconstructed on the south side, the
project could provide space for 45 women/families in the north building and 100 men in the
south building, which is an increase of 45 beds with an overall bed count of 145 (50 homeless
men, 50 farmworker and 45 homeless women and families). If a three-story building is
constructed, the project could add another 54 beds for men, with 45 in the north building and
Community Services Branch
Housing & Homeless Services Department
1200 Carlsbad Village Drive I Carlsbad, CA 92008 I 442-339-2810 t
Council Memo -La Posada Potential Expansion (District 2)
November 30, 2023
Page 2
154 beds in the south building, for an overall bed count of 199 {104 homeless men, 50
farmworker and 45 homeless women and families). The building expansion would allow for the
shelter to continue to reserve 50 beds for farmworkers, as required by an existing loan
agreement between Catholic Charities and the State of California.
Based on the preliminary design and current materials and labor costs the project is currently
estimated to cost $12 million. City staff have been actively seeking outside funding alternatives
to reduce the amount of capital needed to be raised. The City of Carlsbad has committed
$4,200,000 towards the project. Almost half of the amount committed, $2 million, is from a
grant city staff received from the County of San Diego. The remaining $2,200,000 are from the
Housing Trust Fund (HTF) and Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) Fund, which are both
reserved for affordable housing and programs serving people experiencing homelessness. The
city also submitted the project for funding through a fiscal year 2023-24 State Budget Priority
Funding Request and a matching grant application to the State of California, but were
unsuccessful in both requests. City staff and Catholic Charities continue to meet with state and
federal elected representatives to discuss funding needs for the project. Catholic Charities will
still need to mount a significant capital campaign to raise enough funding before the project
could begin construction. Traditional loans from the private market are not feasible as a
homeless shelter does not receive revenue and is reliant on grants and donations for annual
operating costs.
Based on the significant funding gap, city staff and Catholic Charities are exploring another
alternative. Housing & Homeless Services Department staff and Catholic Charities have initiated
conversations with the State of California Housing and Community Development to explore
flexibility within the regulatory agreement for the 50 farmworker beds due to the reduced need
for such a use. Currently, the shelter is required to reserve half of the beds (SO) to farmworkers
due to a restriction recorded against the property from a $867,352 State of California loan
towards the construction of the existing permanent La Posada facility in 2011. The shelter was
originally built because of a significant need to shelter farmworkers who were living in canyons
and other open spaces. However, since agricultural uses in the North County Coastal area have
significantly decreased since the inception of the shelter in 1992, many of the 50 farmworker
shelter beds at La Posada go empty, particularly outside of the limited farm picking season. If
regulatory flexibility is authorized, the expansion project cost estimate could be significantly
reduced by repurposing space within the existing buildings. Such an alternative would no longer
need to provide 50 beds specifically for farmworkers.
Next Steps .
The timeline for potential expansion is dependent on discussions with the State of California for
regulatory relief or a successful capital fundraising campaign. City staff will periodically update
the City Council on the progress of the project and other funding recommendations and
awards.
Council Memo -La Posada Potential Expansion (Dist rict 2)
November 30, 2023
Page 3
cc: Scott Chadwick, City M;rnager
Cindie McMahon, City Attorney
Mickey Williams, Chief of Police
Paz Gomez, Deputy City Manager, Public Works
Laura Rocha, Deputy City Manager, Administrative Services
Jeff Murphy, Community Development Director