Homeless shelter at ACT V parking lot approved

Choices of a location were limited because of the shortage of suitable sites and the impacts on surrounding areas and activities.

ACT V was the least objectionable, although only usable through mid-June, when the California Coastal Commission requires that all the parking spaces must be available throughout festival season.

Pietig said the goal was to open the site on or before Nov. 1. The original concept was to buy an event-size tent, to be furnished with cots, three portable toilets, picnic tables, heating and bus service from the depot to ACT V at 6:15 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. There is no city bus service Sundays, but Orange County Transportation Authority buses service the area for a fee. Duffel bags, which hold more than lockers, will be provided for regulars to stow their stuff.

After research, the staff recommended, and council approved, swapping out the tent for leased modular units, covering about the same area and costing $50,000 less than the original estimates. Two restrooms would be installed in the modulars in lieu of the three portables, and no heater would be required.

“This is a difficult issue — it has been challenging to come up with a solution, and it may be unsolvable, but we do the best we can,” said Ed Sauls, who chaired the Homeless Task Force and the Advisory Committee on Homelessness.

The notion that the city should not take so much on its shoulders was a common thread among the opponents.

“I encourage the city not to take ownership of the homeless,” Wendy Crimp said. “It is a regional problem.”

The Chamber of Commerce takes the position that no shelter should be established in the city limits, period. Chamber Executive Director Rose Hancock, who sat on the advisory committee, cast the lone vote against it.

However, the Laguna Beach Visitors & Conference Bureau gave its support to the proposals in a letter signed by the board of directors and voiced at the meeting by Vice President David Shepherd.

“We are offering this letter in support of the City Council’s efforts to provide a practical solution to the challenges facing all of us with regard to the plight of the homeless and the need for a balanced, humane effort that will allow businesses to continue to operate in a profitable manner,” Shepherd said.