Millbrae La Quinta trial date set, temporary injunction rejected

The city of Millbrae filed a petition Nov. 13, asserting Article 34 of the state Constitution prevents the county from purchasing the site for low-income housing without a ballot vote. The move came after the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors approved purchase of the hotel for homeless families and seniors Sept. 12, 2023.

Millbrae was seeking a temporary injunction on a validation action — a determination to the validity of a public agency’s actions that would have prevented the county from closing hotel transactions prior to a ruling — but the court rejected the request based on legal precedent, Nibbelin said.

Both the city and the county will present the legal merits of their case at the upcoming trial hearing, with Judge Nancy Fineman presiding.

Warren Slocum, president of the Board of Supervisors, said in a Jan. 25 tweet that “yesterday a Superior Court judge denied Millbrae’s request to stop the county’s purchase of the La Quinta Inn which would be used to house seniors and families,” noting that “we have communicated with the Attorney General’s Office on this.”

Millbrae Mayor Anders Fung reiterated that the legal merit of the case had yet to be decided.

“The judge did not rule on the merit of the case, she ruled she cannot issue an injunction on a validation,” Fung said. “It is important that we let this matter resolve in a court of law rather than social media.”

The city of Millbrae said in a press release that it supported efforts to fight homelessness but the La Quinta Inn purchase would have a significant fiscal impact on the city, and residents had a right to decide for themselves.

“We are pleased the court will consider the city of Millbrae’s argument that San Mateo County violated the California’s Constitution by failing to seek a vote of Millbrae residents in its effort to turn the La Quinta hotel into housing for the homeless on an expedited basis,” the press release read.

When voting on the purchase of the La Quinta Inn, supervisors acknowledged the concerns raised and attempted to strike a better deal with the city. Rather than offering a one-time payment of $600,000 to help cover lost hotel tax revenue, the board agreed the city should receive three $600,000 payments over three years. It also offered to fund additional patrols by sheriff’s deputies and shared support for helping the city address homelessness issues resulting from being at the end of the BART line.

The purchase is part of the county’s recent effort to provide permanent supportive and transitional housing for homeless with funding assistance through the state’s Project Homekey program. So far, hotel purchases in other cities have been without controversy. If the county completes its purchase of the hotel and another less-controversial purchase of the Ramada Inn at 721 Airport Blvd. in South San Francisco, it would have a total of seven such properties in its inventory.