Richmond City Council to hear appeal on denied emergency shelter permit
The Richmond City Council will consider an appeal Tuesday for a conditional use permit to operate an emergency shelter at 207 37th Street, which the Planning Commission denied over concerns about public safety, parking, and compliance with city regulations.
Lonnie Holmes, Executive Director of California Portsmouth Square Association, is challenging the commission's findings, arguing that some conditions imposed on the shelter are excessive and beyond the operator's control.
"The City of Richmond Planning Commission abused its discretion in denying the permit application and application for use at the subject location. The City of Richmond considered impermissible factors including but not limited to hearsay evidence, inaccurate evidence, racially charged evidence, and other impermissible information," Holmes wrote in the appeal.
Holmes said CPSA was approached by the City of Richmond, and Ways to Love, a nonprofit contracted with the City of Richmond, who was charged with relocating unhoused residents from the Castro Encampment in Richmond in January 2023.
"They stated they wanted to provide housing for individuals which included women with children at our facility," Holmes said. "CPSA acquired all the proper licensing, and insurance, and approvals to conduct business from the City of Richmond's Planning Department."
Holmes argued that the Richmond Planning Commission's denial of the shelter permit wasn't based on a rational basis and that it refused to consider his requests for information about its requirements.
"Some of the conditions imposed were impossible to comply with and were completely unrelated to the subject project," Holmes wrote. "Said conditions also placed an unreasonable and irrational burden upon the applicant to resolve Richmond's crime problem which the City of Richmond, and The State of California have been unable to resolve."
City staff, however, maintain that the project site has long struggled with litter, illegal dumping, and safety hazards, particularly when it was previously operating without a permit. They argue that the applicant has not demonstrated a willingness to meet the necessary conditions to address those issues.
"The operating characteristics of the project, including capacity, security protocols, and on-site management, are proposed to be imposed to address adverse safety impacts and security issues, but the applicant has requested modification or elimination of conditions that would adequately address these concerns, such that the conditions, if adopted, would exacerbate local safety and security challenges rather than alleviate them," the staff report states.
The 5,045-square-foot office building has been vacant for several years, except for four months in 2023, when it was used as an emergency shelter.
In May of 2023, the California Portsmouth Square Association (CPSA) assisted the City of Richmond and the nonprofits Ways to Love and the Consortium of the East Bay by providing and overseeing an emergency shelter at the building.
The shelter housed up to 15 people at one time, and each resident had an individual lease agreement with CPSA. The residents primarily consisted of women, some of whom had children. No land use permits were needed at the time since the city was involved with the three-way arrangement to address an emergency situation at the Castro encampment.
Soren Hemmila
In August 2023, the Richmond Fire Department advised Community Development staff that the use could not continue because the structure had code deficiencies that did not allow for use as housing. The city discontinued its involvement with CPSA, and the occupants moved out in August 2023.
Holmes and architect Gregory VanMechelen later requested a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to convert the office building into an emergency shelter. The project involves converting an office building into a 25-bed emergency shelter for up to six months. Residents would receive individualized support services, and the facility would include dorm rooms, restrooms, an entertainment room, a dining hall, an office, and a courtyard.
The Planning Commission denied the application after multiple public hearings from May 2 to December 19, 2024, due to potential land use impacts, inadequate mitigation, and noncompliance with zoning standards.
Neighbors said they were negatively affected when the homeless shelter operated out of the building.
Roxanna Molina, who owns the home next door to the building, told the planning commission last year she witnessed prostitution, drug dealing, and property crimes while the shelter was active.
Soren Hemmila
"They already used this property as a shelter before without any permit, without any community input at all. We were put under severe circumstances, including our young children on our block. They were abused by all these people that were coming in," Molina said at the meeting. "We have no safety, we have no protection even though we pay taxes to protect ourselves and have a peaceful neighborhood to live in."
Amanda Jenkins, a former resident of the 37th Street Shelter, started a petition to support the shelter's emergency use. Jenkins said she witnessed firsthand how such a place can provide individuals with a chance to rebuild their lives.
“Having personally experienced homelessness, I can testify that access to a shelter is not just an amenity but a necessity for those living on the fringes,” Jenkins said. “While transitioning out of homelessness, this building provided crucial support for individuals in similar circumstances as me by offering either temporary or permanent Single-Room Occupancy.”
City staff recommend that the council deny the appeal and uphold the Planning Commission's decision. However, the council has the authority to affirm, modify, or overturn the ruling, or remand the matter back to the commission for further review if new evidence is presented.
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