Antioch Set to Create Transitional Housing Overlay District for Executive Inn

On Tuesday, the Antioch City Council will discuss creating a transitional housing overlay district that would impact the zoning of the parcel at 515 E 18th Street, which is the Antioch Executive Inn.

This item dates back to July 14, 2020 when then councilmember Lamar Thorpe held a press conference to propose leasing the hotel for homeless—the entire 32-room facility.  The cost was estimated at the time to be approximately $1 million per year.

Tuesday action could be the first step into the city turning the Executive Inn into a homeless facility which would allow either the city to create a program or someone could apply for a Use Permit to establish a Transitional Housing program.

The move comes as the City of Antioch is working to address its unhoused resident population by pursuing opportunities to provide facilities and services to directly address unmet needs.

According to Title 9: Chapter 5 of the Antioch Municipal Code:

Transitional Housing. Dwelling units with limited length of stay that are operated under a program requiring recirculation to another program location at some future point in time. Transitional housing may be designated to homeless or recently homeless individuals or families transitioning to permanent housing as defined in CA. Health and Safety Code 50672.2(h). Facilities may be linked to onsite or offsite supportive services designed to help residents gain skills needed to live independently. Transitional housing may be provided in a variety of residential housing types (e.g. multiple-unit dwelling, single-room occupancy, group residential, single-family dwelling). This classification includes domestic violence shelters. Transitional housing does not include community re-entry centers or half-way housing for federal or state inmates nearing release. It also excludes any facility licensed as a community care facility by the California State Department of Social Services (SDSS) or defined as such in this chapter.

Proposal

Staff recommends the creation of a new Transitional Housing (TH) Zoning Overlay District that would allow Transitional Housing with a Use Permit to be approved by the Planning Commission. This would provide distinct areas in the City of Antioch where one could apply for a Use Permit to establish a Transitional Housing land use. To achieve this, the
following amendments to the Antioch Municipal Code (AMC) are required:

1. The Transitional Housing (TH) Overlay District must be established.
2. The Table of Land Use Regulations must be modified to include the new district
   and to identify where Transitional Housing is allowed.
3. A site or sites must be identified to receive the Transitional Housing (TH) Overlay
   District zoning and be eligible to develop transitional housing.

Specifically, staff recommends that the zoning of the property at 515 E. 18th Street (Executive Inn) be modified to include the TH Overlay District. This would enable the property owner to pursue a Use Permit for a Transitional Housing project at this site. The General Plan Land Use Designation of this site is Neighborhood Community Commercial, and the zoning is Convenience Commercial District (C-1). The C-1 Zoning allows similar uses, such as Residential Care Facility, Residential Hotel, and Room & Boarding House. A variety of commercial uses are also permitted.

An Ordinance is provided that amends the Zoning Ordinance as described above to achieve the stated purposes and goals

Editors notes:

• Back in December, the Antioch City Council unanimously agreed to spend up to $284,700 on 15-rooms for homeless individuals at the Delta Landing Interim Housing in the city of Pittsburg.
• On Dec. 6, Contra Costa County announced the 172-unit interim housing site in Pittsburg will be among the first in California to open thanks to the state’s Homekey program to build and sustain housing for residents experiencing homelessness.
• During a Nov. 30 press conference where Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe announced the plan through the Transitional Housing Ad-Hoc Committee in which he and councilmember Mike Barbanica serve on.

During the February 2021 City Council Meeting, the City Council agreed to move forward with an RFP for Bridge Housing for Homeless. At that meeting, a report was provided by Jazmin Ridley, unhoused resident coordinator presented the item which outlined a timeline which include:

• October 2018 – Shelter Crisis declared pursuant to CA SB 850
• March 2019 – Council Hosted Homeless Encampment Taskforce Panel
• April 2019 – Homeless Encampment Ad-hoc Committee Formed
• August 2019 – City Council recommends Unhoused Resident Coordinator Position
• September 2019 – Unhoused Resident coordinator Position Classification Created
• February 2020 – Focus Strategies began work as Unhoused Resident Coordinator Consultant
• April 2020 – Transitional Housing Ad-hoc Committee formed
• May 2020 – Project Roomkey Program at Motel 6 opened
• May 2020 – RV Housing Opportunity Program (RP Released/no contract awarded)
• October 2020 – Motel Occupancy Agreement Program to Shelter Unhoused  Residents (RFP Released)
• October 2020 – Focus Strategies Study
• November 2020 – CDBG-CV3 Fund Recommendations and Substantial Agreement
• December 2020 – Unhoused Resident Coordinator Hired

Antioch City Council Meeting

• 6:00 pm – Special Meeting/Study Session
• 7:00 pm – Regular Meeting
• 200 H Street, Antioch CA 94509
• Full Agenda: Click here + Speaker Info