A 33-UNIT PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING PROJECT PROPOSED BY JAMBOREE HOUSING CORP

THE UNDERSIGNED CITIZENS OF CLAREMONT BELIEVE THE CITY, PILGRIM PLACE,
AND JAMBOREE HOUSING CORP HAVE NOT FULLY CONSIDERED THE BEST INTEREST AND
SAFETY OF CLAREMONT CITIZENS IN THEIR SUPPORT OF LARKIN PLACE,
A 33-UNIT, FOUR-STORY PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING PROJECT.

Permanent Supportive Housing¹ is specifically for tenants with a diagnosable disability (including serious mental illness, developmental disability, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance use disorder, cognitive impairments resulting from a brain injury, or chronic physical illness or disability)”.

Los Angeles County’s Coordinated Entry System² prioritizes placement of persons with the most severe chronicity of homelessness and greatest vulnerability to early mortality or high utilization of crisis services. Jamboree has confirmed that Claremont’s current homeless cannot be given preference.

Projects funded through LACDA³ are intended to “help combat homelessness, meet the housing needs of their communities, and assist in the alleviation of local blighting conditions”. This project IS NOT expected to help combat homelessness (for Claremont residents), WILL NOT meet the housing needs of our local community, and WILL NOT assist in the alleviation of blighting conditions as the area is not blighted.

Housing First funding⁴ allows the use of illegal drugs and all counseling and treatment therapies are optional. There are no plans for onsite security personnel or property manager backup. Residents are allowed unvetted overnight, guests, and there are no provisions to protect the neighboring park and community from spillover effects of drug use and supply, prostitution, assaults, thefts and vandalism that are known to occur surrounding similar projects, including similar Jamboree projects.

Larkin Park playgrounds, Joslyn Senior Center, El Roble Intermediate School, and Claremont Baptist preschool are within unsafe (600-foot) proximity. State requirements for school location specifies avoiding their placement in “proximity to social hazards such as drug or alcohol abuse”.⁵

The City neglected to perform “a thorough analysis of the economic, social, and environmental effects” of this project or evaluate whether the project would have a specific “adverse impact on the public health or safety” prior to approving the funding and site plan.⁶

FOR THE ABOVE REASONS THE CITY OF CLAREMONT AND COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES SHOULD WITHDRAW AND REJECT FURTHER SUPPORT OF THIS PROJECT.

HOUSING, YES!! – LARKIN PLACE, NO!!
www.SaveClaremont.org

¹ PSH –https://unitedtoendhomelessness.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Orange-County-Cost-Study-Homeless-Executive-Summary.pdf
² CES Scoring – https://cceh.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/SPDAT-v4.0-Manual.pdf
³ LACDA Nofa 27 https://www.lacda.org/docs/librariesprovider25/affordable-housing-programs/multifamily-rental-housing—nofa/round-27-documents/nofa-27-guidelines.pdf?sfvrsn=208262bc_0https://www.lacda.org/affordable-housing/multifamily-rental-housing-nofa
⁴ Housing First- California Welfare and Institutions Code § 8255 (2021) :: 2021 California Code :: US Codes and Statutes :: US Law :: https://law.justia.com/codes/california/2021/code-wic/division-8/chapter-6-5/section-8255/
⁵ School Location https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/fa/sf/documents/sitecrit.pdf
⁶ CA Gov Code §65589.5 https://codes.findlaw.com/ca/government-code/gov-sect-65589-5.html
Jan 25 City Council https://claremontca.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=1542
Jan 26 Architectural Committee https://claremontca.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=1543