Tiny home shelter for Thousand Oaks' homeless residents moves forward

Thousand Oaks' first emergency homeless shelter won approval Monday night from the city's planning commission.

The panel voted 5-0 to approve a special-use permit for up to 50 tiny homes of interim housing on city-owned property at 1205 Lawrence Drive in an industrial area in Newbury Park.

The applicants developing and operating the one-story shelter at the 6.5-acre site are the nonprofits Dignity Moves, Many Mansions and Hope The Mission, who will lease the land from the city.

City staff, commissioners and residents spoke in favor — and none against — the project during the meeting at the Scherr Forum. If any opposition surfaces, the deadline for an appeal is 10 days after the commission's vote filed with the Community Development Department, Chair Sharon McMahon said.

The idea for the project has been in the works for more than a year. The city approved the site for the shelter in September 2022 and grant funding came through in August.

Commissioner Don Lanson said that although the project won't solve homelessness, it's a step in the right direction.

"I don't think the benefit to the community can be overstated," commission Vice Chair Justin Link said. "It's extremely impressive."

The center is being financed in part by a recent $5.8 million grant from the California Interagency Council on Homelessness. Under the grant's conditions, the city must spend no less than half of that by June 30, City Senior Planner Scott Kolwitz said.

Dignity Moves, a nonprofit that built a similar complex in Santa Barbara, plans to assemble the complex from a series of tiny homes — prefabricated buildings manufactured in Portland, Oregon.

The project's first phase is 30 units for as many as 44 residents. The second phase of construction is an additional 20 units. The site will include laundry facilities, restrooms, indoor and outdoor meeting space, and an area where dropped-off meals will be assembled for distribution to tenants.

Kolwitz said costs could be lowered by having separate four-unit structures. He said that modification would be possible under the proposal before the commission and that and other possible changes could be decided later.

"Each unit is an approximately 70 square-foot room with a bed and desk," Marge Cafarelli, the chief real estate officer of Dignity Moves, told commissioners.

The shelter will provide emergency housing for people sleeping on the streets, but Kolwitz said onsite staff will navigate tenants toward permanent housing. He said that's why "Navigation Center," the facility's official name, is a better description than "emergency shelter."

"Each participant would be assigned a housing navigator and a case manager," Kolwitz said. "One staff member is required for each 15 participants."

Everyone living at the Navigation Center will be selected on a referral basis from local agencies or the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, Kolwitz said. "There's no walks-in."

He noted that Navigation Center won't accept registered sex offenders or anyone with active felony warrants. He said none of the tenants will be permitted to possess or consume alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs. Kolwitz said the 24-hour security will include cameras, patrols, fencing and gates.

"We will operate an incredible facility to the highest standards," said Ken Craft, CEO of Hope The Mission. "We take a very aggressive approach to what I believe is a humanitarian crisis with the numbers of people who are languishing and suffering on our streets. We are committed to helping people get back their lives."

Rick Schroeder, president of Many Mansions, told commissioners that the Navigation Center will operate with a good neighbor policy. He explained that will include a council of stakeholders and neighbors meeting regularly to discuss problems.

Chief Assistant City Attorney Patrick Hehir said the existence of the Navigation Center will help law enforcement in working with homeless residents.

He said sheriff's deputies currently can't stop anyone from sleeping overnight in public places because there's no shelter. The Navigation Center will provide the beds and give them a some place, Hehir said.

The most recent count of homeless people, conducted in January, showed 128 people living without shelter in Thousand Oaks.

Dave Mason covers East County for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at dave.mason@vcstar.com or 805-437-0232.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Tiny home shelter for T.O.'s homeless residents OK'd