TITLE
Recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record, conclude the hearing, and approve the Redevelopment Plan and Homeless Assistance Plan recommendations for the Schroeder Hall U.S. Army Reserve Center; for the reuse of the Schroeder Hall site for an East Division Police Substation; an offsite homeless assistance accommodation at a Department of Health and Human Services-owned site; and an alternate proposal for an onsite homeless assistance accommodation only to be used in the case that the offsite accommodation cannot be provided. (District 5)
DISCUSSION
Background In November 2005, the U.S. Department of Defense declared the Schroeder Hall U.S. Army Reserve Center located at 3800 E. Willow Street (Schroeder Hall) surplus under the Base Realignment and Closure Act (BRAC). This was the beginning of the disposition and planning process for the site, which will be vacated by the Department of Army in 2011.
In May 2006, the City of Long Beach was designated as the Local Redevelopment Authority (LRA). As the LRA, the City is responsible for developing a Redevelopment Plan and a Homeless Assistance Plan for Schroeder Hall as prescribed under the Base Closure Community Redevelopment and Homeless Assistance Act (Base Redevelopment Act). The Base Redevelopment Act specifies that the LRA is responsible for developing a redevelopment plan that appropriately balances the needs of the community for economic redevelopment, other development and homeless assistance. The final Redevelopment Plan and a Homeless Assistance Plan will be evaluated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Army.
The 4.73-acre Schroeder Hall site is located at the southeast corner of E. Willow Street and Grand Avenue, adjacent to light industrial uses to the south and west, and single-family residences and duplexes to the east and southeast. The City's Department of Health and Human Services (Health Department) is located westerly across Grand
Avenue. The Grand Event Center, Jewish Community Center and two extended-stay hotels are located northerly across Willow Street. (See Exhibit A).
In accordance with federal regulations, staff issued a solicitation for Notices of Interest (NOls) in June 2006. Organizations interested in the reuse of Schroeder Hall had approximately 175 days to submit a formal NOI to the City. During this time, Schroeder Hall was opened to interested parties for a comprehensive BRAC workshop and two walking tours. A total of seven NOls were received by the December 15, 2006 deadline, which included proposals for private development, public benefit conveyances, and homeless assistance conveyances. (See Exhibit B).
As required under BRAC, the City is required to provide recommendations for two specific components: 1) a land use plan recommendation that balances the social and economic needs of the community and, 2) a homeless assistance plan recommendation. The homeless assistance plan may stipulate that the accommodation for the homeless occur either onsite or offsite. If offsite, the accommodation may be in the form of alternate sites or program funding.
A Base Reuse Advisory Committee (Advisory Committee), representing various community interests, was established to work closely with a professional facilitator to evaluate the seven NOls. (See Exhibit C). The Advisory Committee, made up of business owners, homeowners, and community volunteers, met regularly for approximately six months. During this time the Advisory Committee heard presentations from the Planning Bureau, Economic Development Bureau, Health Department, Neighborhood Services Bureau and Airport Bureau to gain a better understanding of the City's current needs and long-term strategic vision. Additionally, the Committee had an opportunity to hear presentations from each of the organizations submitting proposals followed by question and answer sessions. Further, City staff was in constant communication with the Washington office of HUD, providing the Advisory Committee with additional advice and guidance.
Advisory Committee's Redevelopment Plan and Homeless Assistance Plan Recommendation
HUD will only consider private economic development proposals that counter significant economic impacts created by the base closure. Since the closure of Schroeder Hall will have a minimal economic effect on the surrounding community, private economic development proposals were considered to be inferior to public benefit proposals. Of the seven NOl's submitted for consideration, only one was a proposal for private economic development. The Advisory Committee chose to reject this proposal. In addition to three homeless assistance proposals, the three remaining land use proposals under consideration included uses for public safety, higher education and low-income housing.
The Advisory Committee considered all information they received during the evaluation process including the City's long-term strategic plans, 10-year Plan to End
Homelessness, and the City's public safety needs. Working with the professional facilitator, the Advisory Committee determined that the best use of the Schroeder Hall site was to address the City's need for an updated East Division Police Substation. The current East Division facility is undersized and provides inadequate facilities for its nearly one hundred and fifty employees. The East Division covers 23.9 square miles and is the largest patrol division serving approximately half of the City of Long Beach.
The current East Division facility is 7,000 square feet, while the City's West and North Divisions are 22,000 square feet. The Police Department has searched for alternate locations for seven years, finding only a lack of appropriately sized vacant properties or other unsuitable facilities. The high cost of land has also been a prohibitive factor. The Advisory Committee's recommended Redevelopment Plan for the Schroeder Hall site is for a Public Benefit Conveyance for the 4.73-acre site for an East Division Police Substation and an offsite homeless assistance accommodation. (See Exhibit A).
Homeless Assistance Plan
Since the Advisory Committee's recommendation was for an offsite homeless assistance accommodation, City staff began negotiations with the homeless service providers to determine an appropriate offsite accommodation. Of the three homeless assistance proposals submitted, one was rejected, as it was determined through consultation with HUD that the entity did not meet the criteria for a homeless service provider. Of the remaining two homeless service proposals, staff unanimously recommended the proposal submitted by the Mental Health Association of Greater Los Angeles (MHA), as the entity was a more established organization currently providing well-regarded services in the City of Long Beach.
Considerable efforts have been made with MHA to agree on an appropriate offsite accommodation. Up to eight different alternative sites were considered, and offers to fund programmatic funding were also made. These initial considerations were found to be either not financially viable or otherwise unavailable. A recent proposal to provide City-owned property adjacent to the Health Department has been received well by MHA and will have the potential for cross-collaboration for future programming of homeless services. (See Exhibit A).
The Health Department site is approximately 1-acre, currently accommodating four temporary buildings for administrative staff. The site also provides secured storage and parking for various Health Department equipment and vehicles. As an accommodation for the homeless, the site would provide a suitable location for MHA's Homeless Healthcare Access Program. Further, the site would provide an isolated location with convenient access to public transportation, and, due to its location adjacent to the Health Department, possibly allow for potential joint programmatic activities. MHA is supportive of this proposal, as is the Advisory Committee. If approved by the City Council, the City would enter into a Legal Binding Agreement (LBA) for this proposed accommodation.
The use of the current Health Department-owned site for the homeless assistance accommodation would require some issues to be resolved internal to the City, including relocation of some staff, parking and storage issues identified by the Health Department. While no significant obstructions to this accommodation can be foreseen, the cost of purchasing private property for the offsite accommodation of MHA is not financially feasible. For this reason, staff is also recommending an alternative onsite homeless assistance recommendation. The alternative onsite recommendation would result in a 1-acre parcel being carved from the Schroeder Hall site and provided to MHA for their use as a Homeless Healthcare Access Program. (See Exhibit D). This alternative would only be enacted should the Health Department site prove to be infeasible for reasons not known today.
In summary, the following recommendations are being presented to the City Council for approval:
1. Approve the reuse of the Schroeder Hall site for an East Division Police Substation.
2. Approve the offsite homeless assistance accommodation at the 1-acre Health Department-owned site.
3. Approve an alternate proposal, only to be used in the case that the offsite accommodation cannot be provided, for an onsite homeless assistance accommodation in conjunction with an East Division Police Substation.
The Redevelopment Plan and Homeless Assistance Plan, along with the draft LBA, are required to be submitted to HUD by January 11, 2008. HUD will have 60 days to accept the City's submission and forward to the Department of Army for final disposition discussions, or offer an opportunity for the City to cure any shortcomings. Regardless of how soon the final plans are finalized, the site is not expected to be available for reuse until 2011.
This report was reviewed by Assistant City Attorney Heather Mahood on December 6, 2007, and Budget Management Officer Victoria Bell on December 11,2007.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
Consideration of this item is requested on December 18, 2007, to adhere to Federal guidelines under BRAC law to complete the planning process by January 11, 2008.
FISCAL IMPACT
The fiscal impacts of these recommendations are unknown at this time. Assuming HUD accepts the recommendations, the Schroeder Hall site would be conveyed to the City in 2011. It is anticipated that the cost of the conveyance will be $0. It is not known at this time what the fiscal impact of constructing a new police facility would be.
The fiscal impact of conveying the Health Department site to the MHA is also unknown at this time. It is expected that some costs associated with relocating existing Health Department staff and vehicles would be incurred.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
DENNIS J. THYS
DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
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APPROVED: |
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PATRICK H. WEST |
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CITY MANAGER |