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Home My Public Portal About16) 10A Response to Civil Grand Jury Interim Report - Inadequate El Nino Planning for County Homelss PopulationAGENDA ITEM 10.A. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM DATE: April 5, 2016 TO: The Honorable City Council FROM: Bryan Cook , City Manager Via : Michael D. Forbes , AICP , Community De_y_ei_9Pment Director By : Bryan Ariizumi , Public Safety Supervisor~ SUBJECT: APPROVE TEMPLE CITY'S RESPONSE TO THE 2015-16 LOS ANGELES COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY INTERIM REPORT ENTITLED "INADEQUATE EL NINO PLANNING FOR COUNTY HOMELESS POPULATION" ·RECOMMENDATION: The City Council is requested to : 1. Approve the City's response to the findings and recommendations of the 2015-16 Los Angeles County Civ il Grand Jury Interim Report entitled "Inadequate El Nino Planning for County Homeless Population "; and 2. Authorize the City Manager to submit the City's response to the Civil Grand Jury. BACKGROUND: In December 2015, the Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury (CG J) released an Interim Report entitled "Inadequate El Nino Planning for County Homeless Population (Attachment "A "). ANALYSIS: The 2015 -16 Civil Grand Jury Interim Report entitled "Inadequate El Nino Plann ing for County Homeless Population " found that an estimated 29 ,000 homeless people will be unsheltered during the predi cted El Nino winter storms . The CGJ feels that curre nt planning efforts by individual cities are inadeq uate and the CGJ developed seven recommendations addressin g the shelter and supply needs for the homeless population during the El Nino winter storms . City Co un cil Apr il 5, 2016 Page 2 of 2 Pu rs uant to Cali fo rnia Penal Code § 933 et seq ., Los Angeles County and all 88 cities with the county are re q uired to su bmit a written response to all seven recommendations contained in the report. Staff has prepa red a draft re sponse (Attachment "B") to the CG J recommenda ti ons a nd is seeki ng approval an d authorization to submit the response . CITY STRATEGIC GOALS: Approva l the Ci ty 's res ponse to the Civ il Grand Jury Inte rim Report will further the City 's Strate gic Goals of Pu bl ic Health and Safety . FISCAL IMPACT: This items does not hav e an impact on the Fiscal Year (FY ) 2015-16 City Budget. ATTACHMENTS: A . 20 15-16 Civi l G ra nd J ury Interim Report B. D raft response to th e Grand Jury Interim Report recommendations INADEQUATE EL NINO PLANNING FOR COUNTY HOMELESS POPULATION: ATTACHMENT A An Interim Report (IR) by the 2015-2016 Los Angeles County Civil Gra nd J ury I. EX EC UTIV E SUMMARY T he enormous an d growing number of people without homes in Los Angeles County is tragic .1 Our county must better add ress the rea lity that more than seventy (70 ) percent of t hem , about 29,000 people , wi ll be unshe ltered du ring what is expected to be a hi sto ric rai ny seas on . T he members of th e 2015-2016 Los Angeles County Civil Grand Ju ry (CGJ) are ala rmed by this f act. We have learned, as a resu lt of recen t inquiries to the 22 largest cities in the county,2 th at not enough is being accomplished to alleviate the suffering that is certain to increase among those who lack re liable she lter as a massive El Nino w eath er pattern app r oac hes .3 We urge at a mi nimum t hat funds be e xpended for the immediate stockpili ng of suppl ies and equipment suffi cient to provide at least mi nimal she ltering for homeless peop le who cannot be acco mmoda ted in she lters so that they mig ht survive the rainstorms to come. A plan to efficie n tly distribut e these sup plies must be p ut i n p lace . Th e CGJ is please d that there is an effort to clear rive rbanks and dry washes of human e ncampments as th e winter app roac hes ,4 but we are very concerned that the 2,772 shelter and surge capacity beds 5 pl an ned by the Lo s Angeles Hom e less Services A uthority (LA HSA) is ju st a fractio n of th e n um be r necessary to shelter homeless people in severe weather. Moreover, the i nformation we received also indica tes t hat current p lanning by ind ivi du al cities will not ade quate ly supplement the LAHSA shelters .6 Th e CGJ believes th is situation is u n co nscionable and grossly i nadequate . 1 The Los Ange les Ho meless Services Auth o r ity repo rted 44,359 homeless people in Los Angeles Co u nt y in its Ja n uary 2015 coun t. http://www.lahsa.org/homelesscount results 2 See Appendix: Los A ngeles County Civil Grand Jury Homel ess Survey 3 This El Nino is p red icted t o b e pe rh aps the stronges t on reco rd . http://www.latimes.com/local/weather/la-me-ln- el-n ino-coming-20151113-story.html The se a-s urface wa t er tem perature in the Eastern Pac if ic Ocean reached its hig hest ave r age po int at this time o f ye ar si nce 1950. http://www.wunderground.com/news/strong-el-nino- december-2015 Above -avera ge precipitatio n is forec a st during t h e 90-day per iod beginn ing in Jan ua ry 2016. http://www .cpc.ncep.noaa .gov /p roducts/pred ictions/long range/lead01/off01 prcp.gif 4 http://www .Ia tim es.co m/loca 1/ countygovern men t/la -me-tujunga-clean u p-2 0 151115-sto rv. ht m I 5 http:/ldocuments.lahsa.org/Programs/funding/2015/2015 WSP RFP Funding Recommendations. pdf htt p://file.lacounty.gov/bc/g4 2015/cms1 235457.pdf 6 See Exhibit B, in fra. 2 015-2016 LOS ANGELES COUNTY CI V IL GRAND J URY INTE RIM REPORT II. RECOMMENDATIONS The Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury therefore makes the following recommendations . IR1 .1. The County of Los Angeles and each of its 88 cities should immediately locate buildings that could be used to shelter the approxi mately 29 ,000 homeless people who will not be accommodated by the plans known to the CGJ from the expected torrentia l rains . IR1 .2 . The County of Los Angeles and each of its 88 cities should determine what additional supplies and equipment need to be relocated to the buildings identified above to provide for the basic human needs of the peop le housed in those buildings during the El Nino event. These build ings should be identified and located according to need across the County . Shelters additionally should provide space for personal items and be staffed and controlled by Department of Health employees and patrolled by police . IR1 .3. The County and its 88 cities should immediately take steps to reasonably modify ordinances and regulations that would impede the sheltering of people in public structures and facilities during the El Nino event, by relaxing restrictions in health , fire , and other safety standards applicable to non-catastrophic times . IR1.4. The County and its 88 cities should immediately take steps to waive ordinances and regulations that for whatever reason similarly block private entities from providing temporary shelter to people w ithout homes. IR1 .5 . The County of Los Angeles and each of its 88 c ities at a m1n1mum should purchase and provide tents , tarps , and ponchos to people who cannot be accommodated in shelters because they have pets or for whom there is no room in existing emergency shelters . Every step should be taken to assure that unsheltered people remain dry and avoid hypothermia . IR1 .6 . The County and its 88 c it ies should make plans or they should partner with non - governmental entities to d istribute these suppl ies . IR1 .7 . Public Service Announcements shou ld be made throughout Los Angeles County about the location of public-bui lding shelters ava ilable to unsheltered people , including public transportation when needed. 2 2 01 5-2016 LO S ANGE L ES COUNT Y C IVI L GRA ND JURY INTE RIM REPORT Ill. BACKGROUND T he CGJ is aware that approximately 44 ,000 people are homeless in our county and t hat on any given night seventy (70) percent of them are not sheltered . 7 Thus every day more than 29 ,000 people sleep on our streets and in parks . The County and its largest cities have deve loped plans for th e coming win ter that inc l ude provid ing emergency she lter for just a fraction of that numbe r.8 IV. METHODS AND PROCEDURES Th e CGJ gathered information from cities w ith in t he cou nty wi th populatio ns exceed ing 85 ,000 . Th e questionn aire sent to city managers and to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Au th or ity (LAHSA)9 asked recip ients to provide a cu rrent estimate of home less peop le in their j urisdicti ons and to de tail plans to she lter those ind ividuals in extreme weather. Th e questionnaire is attached in the Append ix . V.DATA Th e Grand Jury examined the data it collected and focu se d o n th e in form a tio n pertaining to cities of 100,000 or more in population. The se sixteen ( 16) cities , listed in Exhibit B, are located in all areas of Los Angeles County . The data presen t a clear picture of wha t preparati ons have be en made to prov ide shel ter to th e County 's homeless population during severe w inter storms . The data clear ly shows that the number of beds planned will benefit j ust a fraction of th e homeless population . Appro xi mately 25 ,000 unshelte red homeless people in large c ities across the Cou nty will be left unsheltered . Preve ntab le outcomes , such as great suffering and poss ibl e loss of life in an already unhealthy segment of ou r populat ion , will like ly occur. Exhibit A , w hich fo ll ows , is a chart showing the relationship between the tota l estimated numbers of unshe ltered homeless people in those cities compared to the proj ected number of winte r storm she lt er beds provided by Los Ange les County and those sixteen (1 6) cities . 7 http:/ /Ia hsa .org/homelessco u nt_resu Its 8 See da t a in Exhi bit B. This report specifically does not address shelter b eds tha t are not funded directly by Los An geles County or its 88 cit i es. 9 LAH SA covers all o f Los An geles County and ass ists county department s and independent cities coordinate the loca l response to the eve r -inc r easing number o f in d ividuals without homes in the county. 20 15-2016 LOS A NG ELE S CO UNTY CIVI L G RAND JU RY INT ERI M REPO RT 3 Exhibit A • Estimated number unshe lt er ed homeless • Number of ava ilable beds This pie chart shows that only 13.2% of the un sheltered homeless people in LA County's 16 largest cities will have shelter beds provided by LA County or the cities themselves. Exhibit B l ists the County's sixteen ( 16) largest ci ti es and shows the number of homeless people, includ ing those unsheltered , indicated by those cities. It also li sts the number of winter shelter beds planned to be available. 4 20 15-20 16 LOS ANGELES CO UNTY CIVI L GRAND JU RY INTERIM REPORT EXHIBIT 8 COUNTY CITIES ESTIMATED ESTIMATED NUMBER OF NUMBER WITH POPULATION NUMBER UNSHELTERED AVAILABLE >1 00 ,000 HOMELESS HOMELESS BEDS BURBANK 168 168 0 DOWNEY 180 165 0 EL MONTE 238 122 136 GLENDALE 208 128 80 INGLEWOOD* 150 50 100 LANCASTER * 2,818 2,612 104 LOS ANGELES 25,686 17 ,687 2 ,239 LONG BEACH* 2,345 1,513 144 NORWALK 235 118 117 PALMDALE 416 416 0 PASADENA 632 488 144 POMONA* 912 588 125 SANTA CLAR ITA* 298 238 60 SOUTH GATE 189 189 0 TORRANCE 28 28 0 WEST COVIN A 72 72 0 TOTAL 34,575 24,582 3,249 This chart lists the 16 largest cities in L os Angeles Cou nty and the estimated number of homeless people and unsheltered homeless people in each (provided by the cities themselves). It lists the number of winter shelter beds planned for each jurisdiction . Every effort was made by the CGJ to obtain accurate information f or this chart. *The available bed numbe r listed is included in LAHSA Winter Shelter grants for 2015- 2016 . VI. FINDINGS There are more than 44 ,000 homeless peop le in Los Ange les County. There is a severe lack of shelter beds and/or eme rgency beds available in Los Angeles County . 20 15-2016 LOS ANGELES COUNTY CI V IL GR AND JURY INTER IM REPORT 5 There is very little substan tive plann in g , at least as reported to the CGJ , that has the purpose of keep ing large numbers of people dry during severe rainstorms. There are coordina ted sweeps of river ba nks a nd dry washes , and , presumab ly , other areas known to present risk of flooding. Th e re is little or no effort to suspend ordinances and regulations t o provide additional shelter by government o r private enti tie s . Some pri v ate entities would provide emergency shelter if permitted to do so. VII. REQUEST FOR RESPONSE Ca li fornia Penal Code Sections 933(c) and 933.05 require a written re sponse to all recommendations conta i ned in th is report. Such recommendations sha ll be made no later than ninety (90) days after the Civil Grand Jury publishes its report (fi les it w ith the Clerk of the Court). All resp onses to thes e interim recommendation s of the 20 15-2016 Civil Grand Ju ry must be subm itted with in ninety (90) days fo ll owing the release of the report to the public , to : Presiding Judg e Los Ang e les County Superior Court Cla ra Shortridge Foltz Crim i nal Justice Center 210 West Temple Street Eleventh Fl oor-Roo m 11-506 Los Angel es , CA 90012 Re spon ses are required from : Los Angeles Co unty Board of Su p e rvi so rs: IR1 .1, IR1 .2, IR1 .3 , IR1.4 , IR1 .5, IR 1.6 , a nd IR1 .7 . Th e 88 cities of Los Ange les Cou nty : IR1 .1, IR1 .2 , IR1 .3 , IR1.4 , IR 1.5, IR1 .6 ,and IR1 .7. Agoura Hills A lhambra Arcadia Artesia Avalon Azusa Baldwin Park Bell Lancaster La wndale Lomita Long Beach Los Angeles Ly nwood M a lib u Manha tt a n Beach 6 2015-2016 LOS A NGE LES COU NT Y C IVIL G RA NO J URY INT ERIM RE PORT Bell Gardens Be llflower Beverly Hills Bradbury Burbank Calabasas Carson Cerritos C laremont Commerce Compton Covina Cudahy Culve r City Diamond Bar Downey Duarte El Monte EISegundo Gardena Glendale Glendora Hawai ian Gardens Hawthorne Hermosa Beach Hidden Hills Huntington Park Industry Inglewood Irwindale La Canada Flintridge La Habra Heights La Mirada La Puente La Verne Lakewood VIII. ACRONYMS CGJ Civil Grand Jury IR Inte r im Report Maywood Monrovia Montebello Monterey Park Norwa lk Pa lmdale Palos Verdes Estates Paramount Pasadena Pico Rivera Pomona Rancho Palos Verdes Redondo Beach Rolling Hi lls Rolling Hi lls Estates Rosemead San Dimas San Fernando San Gabrie l San Marino Santa Clarita Santa Fe Springs Santa Moni ca Sierra Madre Signal Hi l l South El Monte South Gate South Pasad e na Temple City Torrance Vernon Walnut West Covina West Hollywood Westlake Village Whittier LAHSA Los Angeles Home less Services Authority IX. COMMITTEE MEMBERS 20 15-2 01 6 LOS ANG EL ES CO UNTY CIVI L GRAND JU RY INTERI M R EP O RT 7 ..--------------------- Heather H. Preimesberge r, Co-Chairperson Cynthia T . Vance , Co-Chairp e rson Edna E. McDonald Stephen Pr ess Molly M ill iga n Patri cia T . Turn er Sandy A. Orton Bob P. V il lacarlos 8 2015 -2016 LO S ANGE LE S COUNTY C IVI L GRA ND JURY INTER I M REPORT A PPEN DI X Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury Home less Survey TOPIC : Shelters for Extreme Weather Eve n ts and /o r Hea vy Rain Events As you may be awa re , the function of the Civil Grand Jury is to investiga te selected aspects of the operations of co unty and ci ty government. We therefore ask a few questions related to your city 's policy and plans co ncern ing cari ng for th e home less during periods of extreme wea th e r eve nts such as unusually co ld weather and heavy rain , which is often accompanied by flooding , mudflows , and lands li des. We ask t hese questions now because of the impending likelihood of heavy rainstorms during the strong El Nin o weather season forecast to soon impact Southern Cal ifornia. Please pro vide the name , phone numbe r and emai l contact of person with primary responsibility for deal ing with the ho mele ss people in your city and please provide by November 18 , 2015 t he fo ll owing questions . 1. How significant, usin g numbers , is the home less problem in your city? 2 . Has the number of homeless people in your c ity increased or decreased during the last 5 years? Is t here a consistency in the home less popu lation in yo u r city, or have you observed a chang e in the makeup of the homeless pop ul ation in terms of th e number of single adu lts, couples , and children in fa milies? 3. Does the city have an Emergency Preparedness Plan that includes provid ing services t o home less people during extreme te mperature events (very low or high temperatures), and /o r severe rain storms? If so , could you provide us with a copy of this p lan? 4 . Does the city currently provide she lters for th e h omeless during t imes of ext reme tempe rature events and rai nstorm s? If so, how many shelters does the city provide , where are th ey loca t ed , and during what hours are they open? Are cots or other s leeping fa ci liti es prov ided ? Is f ood provid e d, and if so by whom ? Are toilet and washing facilities , including showers , pro vide d at the shelters? 5 . After the need for short-term she lters has passed , does the city provide any service , either d ire ctly or indirectly , to aid the hom eless as they leave th e shelter to find trans itional or permanent hou sing? 6 . Is th e re anything else yo u 'd like to tell us to better understand your city's prepa rat io n and res ponse to the need for homeless people t o have shelter during extreme temp eratu re e ve nts and ra in storms? 20 15-2016 LOS ANGELES CO UNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY INTERIM R EPORT 9 City of Temple City's Response to 2015-16 ATTACHMENT B Los Angeles County Grand Jury Interim Report [Inadequate El Nino Planning for County Homeless Population] March 17, 2016 LA #482 4-8869-9183 v1 Pursuant to Penal Code § 933 et seq., the City Council of th e City of Temp le City ("City") hereby respo nds to reco mm e nd ations set forth in the "Inadequate El Nino Planning or For County Homeless Population : An Interim Report (IR) by the 2015-2016 Los Angeles County Grand Jury." Th e recomme ndation s of the Grand Jury have been copied verbatim from th e IR below for ease of reference and response . As an introductory comment to me mbers of the CGJ who may not be familiar with Templ e City , we are small subu rban , pri marily residentia l, city wi thin Los Angeles County . The City contr acts for all of its police services with t he LA County Sheriff's Departm ent , and for all of its fire services with the LA County Conso l idated Fire District. Nearl y all emergency response se rvice s wit hin the City are provid ed by those two e ntities . Th e City re lies heavi ly upon such programs as the Specific Needs Disaster Volunta ry Registry (SNAP) and the ALERT LA County notification system to help disseminate emergency informa tion . The re is a Sherriff's facility (8838 Las Tunas Drive , Templ e City, CA 9 17 80) and a Fire District's fa cili ty (5946 Kauffman Aven ue, Temp le City, CA 92780) located within the City which those entities may plan to util ize to shelter homeless persons in the event of a major El Nino event. The CGJ may wish to contact those e ntities to learn more about their specifi c emergency preparedness and respo ns e plans as perta ins to homeless persons in Temple City and its environs . City's Response To IR1.1. LA #48 2-1 -8869-9183 v i RESPONSES The County of Los Angeles and each of its 88 cities should immediately locate buildings that could be used to shelter the approximately 29 ,000 homeless people who will not be accommodated by the plans known to CGJ from the expected torrential rains . This recommendation has been implemented. The most re cent survey of homeless people within the City identified le ss th an ten (1 0) homeless persons. In addition to facilities ope rated by th e LA County Sherriff and LA County Fire (see introductory remarks above), the City 's emergency preparedness and response plan designates facilities at Live Oak Park (10144 Bogue St. Temple City, CA 91780) as an emergency shelter in the event of declaration of a local emerge ncy by the City Council. The County of Los Angeles and each of its 88 cities should determine what additional supplies and equipment need to be relocated to the buildings identified above to provide for the basic human needs of people housed in those buildings during the El Nino event. These buildings should be identified and located according to need across the County. Shelters additionally should provide space for personal items - I - City's Response To IR1 .2 . IR1.3 . City's Response To IR1.3 . IR1.4. City's Response To IR1.4 . LA #4 824-8869-9183 v 1 and be staffed and controlled by Department of Health employees and patrolled by police . This re c omm e ndation has b een implemented to th e ex tent of th e City 's jurisdiction . The City 's facilities at Live Oa k Park are sufficient t o s helter te n (1 0) homeless p erso ns fo r a limited duration . Th e fa cilities ar e equipped with s uitable sa nitary facilities and are patrolled by th e LA Co un ty Sheriff under contract with th e City. Th e City ex er cises no j urisdiction ove r th e Co unty Dep artm ent of Heal th or its employees. Th e City wo uld se ek t o p a rtn er with th e America n Red Cross to assist in th e st affing a nd op era tion of th e shelter in th e event of a loca l eme rge ncy. The County and its 88 cities should immediately take steps to reasonably modify ordinances and regulations that would impede the sheltering of people in public structures and facilities during the El Nino event, by relaxing restrictions in health, fire , and other safety hazards applicable to non-catastrophic times. This r eco mmenda tion h as been implemented to th e ex t ent of th e City's jurisdictio n. No exis tin g ordin ances or reso lutions of th e City wo uld p ro hibit th e s heltering of up to ten (1 0) ho me less pers on s fro m Te mple City a t th e Live Oa k P a rk f acilities in th e event of a lo ca l e me rgency declared by th e City Coun cil. Th e City doe s no t h ave auth ority to mo dify h ea lth regula tions se t by LA County or the State of Ca lifornia. The County and its 88 cities should immediately take steps to waive ordinances and regulations that for whatever reason similarly block private entities from providing temporary shelter to people without homes. Th e r ec omme ndation will be implemente d by th e City in th e event o f an El Nino event de clared to be a lo ca l emerge ncy by th e City Coun cil. In resp on se to suc h an event, th e City Co un cil could and would be prep a red to iss ue an eme rg en cy reso lutio n tempor arily suspendin g enfo rcemen t of s uch or dinances and r eso lutio ns th a t might block private entities fro m p roviding t emporary shelter to p eople with o ut h omes. - 2 - IR1.5 . City's Response IR1.5. IR1.6 . City's Response To IR1.6. IR1.7 . City's Response To IR1.7. LA #4824-8869-9183 v1 The County of Los Angeles and each of it s 88 cities at a minimum should purchase and provide ten ts, tar ps , and ponchos to people who cannot be accommodated in shelters because they have pets or for whom there is no room in existing emergency shelters. Every step should be taken to assure that unsheltered people remai n dry and avoid hypot hermia . This reco mm e ndation will not be implemented because the City is able to accommodate she ltering all of its identified homeless population at its Live Oak Park facility. The County and its 88 cities should make plans or they should partner with non-governmental entities to distribute these supplies. This recommendation has been implemented. To the extent necessary due to an El Nino event declared to be a local emergency by the City Coun cil, the City may direct members of its public work crews, members of its Public Safety Division , or members of its vo lunteer Comm unity Emergency Response Team (CERT) to distribute information and supplies to persons in Temple City adverse affected by the emergency conditions. Public Service Announcements should be made throughout Los Angeles County about the location of public-building shelters available to unsheltered people including public transportation when needed . The recommendation will be implemented by the City in the event of a n El Nin o event declared to be a local emergency by the City Council. The City maintains numerous methods to provide emergency notifications to persons within the City. The Connect-CTY service allows city officials to send persona lized phone messages to residents and businesses over the phone system . Individua ls may also sign up f or "Nixie," th e citywide emergency notifications system that disseminates information via text message, email and socia l media l. Th e City also posts emergency information on its website and currently has links to helpful sites with emergency preparedness information . Shou ld LA County or the CGJ deve lop a map of emergency shelter locations within the County, the City will identify it on its we bsite and - 3 - LA #4824-8869-9183 v 1 include the appropriate link to any such map. Finally, the City has, in the event of a local emergency, public service announcement rights in a digital billboard lo cated on Rosemead Boulevard within th e City. The City wo uld post public service announcements directing persons in need of s helter to the Live Oak Park facilities during a local emerge ncy. -4-