Nearly twenty-five residents descended upon Santa Monica’s City Council meeting on Tuesday evening, all sporting matching T-shirts emblazoned with the logo, “Safer Neighborhoods – Advocate.” Whether they meant “advocate” as a noun or a verb, they all had one goal in mind: they had come to protest the development of affordable housing for the homeless in their neighborhoods, asking the City Council to replace such a project with affordable housing for senior citizens instead.

The city is currently negotiating with Hollywood Community Housing Corporation (HCHC), which has proposed building permanent supportive housing units for the homeless on surface parking lots located at 1217 Euclid Street, 1211-1217 14th Street, and 1146 16th Street.

Lauren D., a 20-year Santa Monica resident and RN, instead expressed her support for developing affordable senior housing on the 14th and 16th Street sites, citing the proximity to essential services as well as the significant need to trim a lengthy waitlist for seniors who need reasonably priced housing.

“For those unfamiliar with our neighborhood, these are quiet residential streets, homes, and families located two to three blocks from Lincoln Middle School,” she said. “The site is uniquely situated near businesses like markets and pharmacies, inpatient and outpatient healthcare, and transportation that would allow senior Santa Monicans the opportunity to age and thrive within their communities.”

“I have a 98-year-old grandmother who transitioned to assisted living last year,” she continued. “In her prior home, she had access to similar services, and I saw how much it supported her independence, allowing her to stay within her community until she was 97 years old. I want the same for the seniors in my community. They don’t deserve to spend their final years facing isolation, loss of independence, and potentially, homelessness.”

Multiple speakers highlighted the potentially negative effects of affordable rental housing for the homeless, emphasizing their concerns about neighborhood character and business viability, as well as safety, traffic, and parking.

“Since the state does not require adequate parking for some of these housing projects, like the 16th and Wilshire one, where there is street parking currently if you do build in that place, I’m hoping you won’t issue parking permits for them, because it’s really hard to park in that neighborhood,” said George Guttman.

Giacomo Valentini joined other residents in arguing that senior housing is a better fit for the area, as it addresses the aging population’s needs and alleviates concerns about crime and substance abuse. Other speakers underscored the importance of intergenerational community building.

The audience often erupted in applause, but Mayor Phil Brock discouraged such acclamation and also interjected several times with a point of privilege to clarify misrepresentations.

Three hours later, after an intensive discussion in closed session, council members emerged around 11:00 p.m., having voted 4-3 (with Mayor Brock, Councilmember Christine Parra, and Councilmember Oscar De La Torre voting no) in favor of giving the following modified directions to City negotiators.

The city will continue exclusive negotiations with HCHC based upon a revised 100 percent affordable development, which will include large family housing on 1217 Euclid Street. Housing with 40 permanent supportive housing units for seniors will be slated for 1211-1217 14th Street and 1402 Wilshire Boulevard, provided that 1402 Wilshire Boulevard can be acquired by HCHC from a third party.

This revised project would be coupled with a city subsidy. To resolve potential parking issues, development on 1146 16th Street would be eliminated, and the lot would remain available for public parking. To reduce the height of buildings near neighboring residences on 14th Street, the development of 85 senior housing apartments, including 40 permanent supportive housing apartments for seniors, would be built on two parcels (at 1211-1217 14th Street and 1402 Wilshire Boulevard) rather than one.

HCHC’s online project overview provides details regarding the architecture and landscaping of the proposed developments: “The heart of each development is the Landscaped Podium: a lush, flexible, and generous outdoor space which gives residents a shared amenity space separate from the street. This environment offers both expansive open areas for play or recreation, as well as intimate seating spaces for reading or a coffee, and can be adapted to resident needs at each site. This communal outdoor space will feature drought-tolerant landscaping, shade trees, durable and child-friendly finishes, and organic seating spaces.”

Image of Lauren D. acquired via screen capture.