By Brooklynn Wong
It was a late night in Buena Park when the proposed homeless shelter on Lincoln, that would serve all of the North Service Planning Area, was discussed, but that didn’t keep the crowds away.
There was lots of business for the City Council to attend to, as it was the first meeting of the new year, following a long holiday break, and it was almost 9 p.m. before the study session on the proposed facility got started.
After Judge David O. Carter commanded North Orange County cities to provide more shelter for the homeless before anti-camping laws can be enforced, it was determined that Buena Park and Placentia are logical and strategic locations, so as for Buena Park, efforts have begun to open a homeless shelter in a vacant furniture store at 7101 Lincoln Ave.
An open house was held in December, where many came out to an area school to hear various organizations and city employees provide information.
But the project must still go through certain procedures, including Tuesday night’s study session.
And the initial feedback was not positive.
Many residents came out to speak, and encouraged the city to look for a different location and accused them of trying to find a quick fix that would not have lasting positive impact.
Rebecca Kovacs-Stein, a homeless advocate who was recently selected as one of the Orange County Register’s 100 top influencers in Orange County, echoed these sentiments, and said that such a shelter ought to go in an industrial area.
Police Chief Corey Sianez gave a comprehensive history of homelessness in Buena Park. A homeless shelter previously existed, in the late 1990s, at the church at 6801 Western. It housed 150-200 people and fed hundreds of others.
But “Over time it became an eyesore and a public nuisance,” and generated an excessive number of calls for police service, Sianez said.
That shelter was eventually torn down.
2015 saw a major spike in homeless calls, tying up too many officers. In late 2015, the problem was comprehensively addressed at a City Council meeting.
As a result, in 2016, two Homeless Liaison Officers were selected for the police department and the city entered into contract with CityNet and Bright Paths.
And Matt Bates, the Vice President of CityNet, said as a result, “Overall homelessness in the city is decreasing.”
However the problem is still there.
The controversy is not so much over whether to have a shelter, but over where to house it.
Parents who live in the area that would be impacted expressed great concern that their children would not be able to walk to school safely, or that drug paraphernalia would become more apparent.
The Council said they could not answer the public’s questions at the time of the study session, so they simply listened to the comments and concerns that the public raised.
City Manager Jim Vanderpool gave assurance that,“This is not a done deal.”
While the property has been acquired, it could be put towards another purpose if it was decided not to put a homeless shelter there.
The city will take the public’s feedback into consideration, and put a comprehensive report together, then reconvene and discuss it further, in a setting where the city can answer the public’s questions.
It was decided that on Feb. 12 at 7 p.m., following the regularly scheduled City Council meeting that day (which will take place from 5-7), a special meeting on the homeless issue will take place.
