The Santa Ana City Council has asked city staffers to take a look at the cost and feasibility of requiring more city inspections of permanent supportive housing units.
Councilmember Phil Bacerra’s request to his council colleagues to consider requiring more frequent inspections was prompted by a police investigation in February that uncovered the sale of narcotics out of a permanent supportive housing unit, he said. The city currently conducts annual inspections of the properties.
“There was a drug den inside this community,” Bacerra said. “We’re trying to help these folks. We’re trying to make sure that they’re in housing and they have the services that they need to get better, to thrive.”
The additional inspections are not meant to be intrusive, Bacerra added.
“This is not saying we need to go in and look at every single apartment. What I hope will be done, in a more holistic way, is to look at calls for service from these particular communities and try to see where they need to take a look before entering the properties,” Bacerra said. “I know we all want to help these folks in our community, and we want to make sure that they’re in a safe environment.”
Permanent supportive housing often combines some sort of social services with housing assistance to help people who may be getting out of homelessness or have other barriers to stable housing be successful.
Councilmembers Thai Viet Phan and David Penaloza raised concerns about the cost of conducting more frequent inspections and whether the requirement could expose the city to litigation.
“Is this sustainable? Can this be achievable? What’s this going to cost? Is this going to be sustainable five years from now? I can’t say that I could see this being successful two years from now,” Penaloza said, adding that he hopes the city is also working with property managers. “At the end of the day, that’s on them. It’s private property, and these property managers and these owners of these facilities should be doing their job.”
Councilmember Jessie Lopez shared concerns that the policy, if drafted and approved, could be discriminatory toward parts of the city’s lower-income population.
Mayor Valerie Amezcus welcomed the idea of more frequent inspections.
“This is about the safety of people who live in our permanent supportive housing,” Amezcua said. “It’s not just happening in one location … Just like drug use is not happening in one location in this city either, it happens everywhere.”
City staff were directed to return to the council with more information by Aug. 5.