Homeless housing sparks concern for Millbrae community

“The county spends more than $150 million every year to house people experiencing homelessness,” said Callagy, who added 48% of the 1,800 people experiencing homelessness in the county are seniors.

The 99-room hotel has laundry facilities, an operator suite, on-site parking for every unit and half of the units have kitchens installed. Callagy said the county plans to install kitchens in the other half. The county identified the site for its parking, walkability, proximity to public transportation and amenities. The county purchased the site for around $30 million.

However, the City Council has no say in the county buying the property, which was one of the issues Mayor Ann Schneider highlighted during the meeting.

“You, the Board of Supervisors, voted for this, you approved it on June 27 and my meeting with you was June 30. How is that collaborative? It’s a done deal before you come to us,” Schneider said.

Lakhya Desai, grandson of the La Quinta Inn owner, said his family’s dream was to keep the hotel running as a multi-generational business but it needed to be sold due to economic concerns.

During the meeting, Callagy was met with backlash from some councilmembers and the community who cited concerns over lost revenue and safety. Schneider said the county doesn’t support the city and that buying the property would result in lost hotel tax revenue.

“We have fallen through the cracks for 75 years and now you are taking $600,000 but you are offering one year of making us whole, but you are leaving us for perpetuity in a hole, it’s not fair,” Schneider said.

Councilmember Gina Papan echoed those concerns by saying it is a huge blow to the city to lose that money but had a more neutral approach saying she understands both finances and the humanitarian aspects.

Councilmember Angelina Cahalan made a point that the owners could have sold the property to anybody, which could have resulted in a loss of the hotel tax revenue anyway.

Vice Mayor Maurice Goodman said he understands the financial burden it may cause the city but expressed his support for the project saying it’s about humanity and helping the community.

“It seems as though we can’t afford this, but I feel like we can’t afford not to,” Goodman said.

However, the county doesn’t plan to leave the city high and dry. The county has committed to giving the city a one-time payment $600,000 it is negotiating with City Manager Tom Williams for lost revenue. Callagy also plans on deploying a full-time sheriff deputy and a mental health clinician to the city, which the county estimates will cost it around $575,000 per year. After the contract expires in a few years, the county will renegotiate based on the city’s needs, he added.

The city works hard to provide affordable housing, Schneider said, citing a development the city entitled in 2019 at the Millbrae Serra Station for 488 units, 73 of which would have been low-income units. But the project was blocked by the California High-Speed Rail Authority, and Schneider said the county did nothing to support the city. 

Ultimately, it affected the city’s ability to fulfill its state mandated Regional Housing Need Allocation requirements. However, this housing cycle, between 2023 and 2030, the city needs to plan for 2,199 housing units, 575 of which are extremely low income.

With that in mind, Cahalan said the La Quinta Inn project will help chip 17% off this cycle’s low-income housing goals, which she believes would be difficult for the city to achieve otherwise.

Around 10 community members supported the project, two of which were former mayors of the city, Marge Colapietro and Anne Olivia.

“I want to remind everybody that these homeless people are people and they can be any of us,” Olivia said. “Let’s take care of this issue.”

But dozens of community members who showed up to the meeting were against the county’s program. One of those residents, John Munoz, said people experiencing homelessness can be criminals and drug users, which will ruin the city. 

However, Callagy assured that the process is vetted and many of the residents will be seniors or rehabilitated persons ready for permanent housing.

He spoke of one woman, who was a teacher in the county for 30 years, became homeless because of medical bills.

“The county moved her into its permanent housing in Redwood City, where she will be able to live for the rest of her life,” Callagy said.

Councilmember Anders Fung said the county’s initiative to eliminate homelessness is important but believes every city should become part of the solution. While he didn’t say outright that he is opposed to the project, it appeared he would prefer alternative solutions.

The county’s shelters are typically dorm-style-living and are used as a temporary fix to get people off the street. There are multiple transitional housing shelters throughout the county but still Callagy said there needs to be a permanent solution.

It has already converted three hotels into interim housing. Those programs are the Coast House in Half Moon Bay, which offers 51 private rooms and baths. Six are ADA units. The former Pacific Inn shelter in Redwood City provides 74 private rooms and baths. El Camino House in San Mateo provides 44 private rooms and baths. The Navigation Center in Redwood City provides 240 private rooms and baths. 

Its two permanent housing solutions are Shores Landing in Redwood Shores, which provides 95 studio and one-bedroom apartments for formerly homeless seniors. And Casa Esperanza in Redwood City provides 51 studio apartments.

Other residents were in support of the program like Katie Joe, an attorney who works with primarily low income people.

“I can tell you, it changes lives, it saves lives,” Joe said.” It makes me sad and a little bit ashamed that the emotions that I see here in this room with my neighbors, my friends and my community is fear and cynicism and not wanting to welcome people in. And I know we are better than that. I know if you met these people you could respond to them with compassion.”

Cahalan said she found it difficult that community members have judged the future residents of the program before meeting them, adding she worked nearly two decades with people experiencing homelessness.

“I encourage folks to take a step back and think about the judgment that we are having of people,” Cahalan said.