Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Good evening,

commissioners, director Pelumbi, staff, and members of the audience. We're gonna go ahead and call this meeting to order. Can I get a roll call, please?

Of course. Commissioner Lopez? Present. Commissioner Cuevas?

Present.

Commissioner Morales? Present. Vice Chairperson Lomelli? Present. Chairperson Medina?

Present.

And we do have a quorum.

Thank you so much. The next item is the Pledge of Allegiance. Can you please stand? Ready? Begin.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of The United States Of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you so much.

The next item is the any questions to the agenda? Good evening, Mr. Chair, members of the Commission. There are no corrections to the agenda for tonight's meeting.

Thank you so much. The next item is public comment. Can you help me with

that statement? Yes, Mr. Chair.

Will go ahead.

At this time, the public may address the Planning Commission on any items listed on the agenda, including non agenda items that are within the Planning Commission's subject matter jurisdiction. State law prohibits the Planning Commission from acting or entertaining extended discussion on a topic that is not listed on the agenda for tonight's meeting. Please show courtesy to others while providing public comments, and direct all comments to the chairperson. Thank you. Thank you so much.

The next item is staff communications.

Mr. Chair, there are no staff communications tonight. Thank you.

Thank you so much. The following item is the approval of the Planning Commission meeting minutes for 10/07/2025. Can I entertain a motion to approve the minutes?

I would like to make a motion to approve the Planning Commission meeting minutes from 10/07/2025.

I'll second.

Thank you. Can we get a roll call, please?

Of course. Commissioner Lopez? Present. Commissioner Cuevas?

Aye.

Commissioner Morales? Aye. Vice chairperson Lomelli? Aye. Chairperson Medina?

Aye.

The motion passes.

Thank you. The next item is the public hearing. So I'm going to go ahead and open the public hearing.

Mr. Chair, item two on tonight's agenda pertains to a proposed conditional use permit for the operation of an interim housing facility within an existing multifamily residential property at 2645 West Via Corona. Grace Hayashi will present the staff report on this item, And I believe the applicant is also present and would like to present on this item as well.

Good evening Chair, members of the Planning Commission, and the public. The item before you is a request for a conditional use permit for the proposed operation of an interim housing facility within an existing multifamily residential property located at 2645 West Via Corona submitted by the applicant Michelle Johnson on behalf of the organization, chances for change. Per appendix a, index of primary uses of the Montebello Municipal Code, family care services for seven or more persons requires approval of a conditional use permit in all residential zones. The purpose of a conditional use permit is to ensure that certain uses are appropriately integrated into the community. These uses may only be suitable in specific locations or may require special design, construction, or operating conditions to ensure compatibility with the surrounding properties.

Per the organization's website, chances for change incorporation, it states that their company is a nonprofit organization that supports and empowers justice involved individuals at a risk youth to integrate into society. They provide support for the individuals facing the following, homelessness or unstable housing, reentry challenges after incarceration, employment and financial hardships, mental health and substance use concerns, family reunification and life skills development. On 11/26/2024, the applicant came into the city of Montebello and asked about the proposed use of an interim housing facility with 15 individuals. I provided the applicant with the CUP applications as well as the general business license handout for after Planning Commission decision and if and when the project was approved. The applicant misinterpreted the business license handout and called HDL, which is the third party business license company for the City Of Montebello business licenses and proceeded with their process and then submitted a home occupation license when the CUP process was first required.

On 04/14/2025, the home occupation license was issued, And the home occupation license is for an office use within a residential home, and that was an invalid representation of their business operation. And staff approved this due to the standard conditions listed that the applicant agreed to when signing the home occupation application. On 06/09/2025, an adjacent property owner filed a complaint with the city's code enforcement division regarding the increased activity and high foot traffic associated with a, reported residential care facility operating due to the number of occupants that were living on the site. On this same day, staff contacted the applicant and confirmed there were 15 people living on the site and informed the applicant that this type of use is not permitted under a home occupation and not a conditional use permit would be required. On June 10, there was an exterior inspection conducted by the code enforcement division as they received a complaint regarding unpermitted mesh along the raw iron fence as well as 15 lockers being visible from the public right of way.

On 06/21/2025, the applicant filed an application for a conditional use permit application to operate an interim housing site, and staff issued a deemed complete letter that same day. Then on 06/23/2025, the applicant received the formal revocation for the home occupation license due to the unapplicable correlation. On 10/30/2025, staff conducted an external site visit. The project site is zoned multifamily residential with the neighborhood land use designation. The site is surrounded by other residentially zoned properties, and the immediate surrounding land uses are neighborhood and parks.

The property is currently developed with a primary single family dwelling and an existing two car garage and an accessory dwelling unit with a total of eight bedrooms on the site. For reference, the full set of plans are included in attachment b of the staff report. The project site measures approximately 5,775 square feet, 0.13 acres, and the building square footage is approximately 3,302 square feet. The proposed interim housing facility is situated on West Via Corona Avenue near its intersection with North Garfield Avenue, also near Ashia Park, Learn Academy, and Time Banquet Hall. On 10/30/2025, I went out to the site to see the surrounding area and measured the approximate distance from the subject site to both the Ashia Park Playground as well as the parking lot for Learn Academy and a banquet hall.

Originally, Google Maps measurements were used, but I wanted to get as approximate of a measurement as possible to provide here today. The adjacent Ashia Park Playground area is located approximately 46 feet away from property line to property line. The subject property is located approximately 24 feet away from 482 North Garfield Avenue parking lot from property line to property line, which houses Time Banquet Hall and LERD Academy, an organization that provides educational and behavioral services for students grade grades k through 12. The close proximity of the proposed interim housing site to these sensitive uses was noted during the site visit. And, therefore, it is recommended that a different location is suitable for this type of operation of 15 residents.

Although this specific location, due to staff's research, has been determined to not be suitable, the city of Montebello does recognize and support social programs and services such as transitional slash interim housing through the MCAT program, the Montebello Community Assistance Program. This program works in partnerships with people experiencing homelessness to provide and address medical conditions, mental health, and substance abuse disorders. MCAT provides intensive care management services with linkages to housing needs. The city of Montebello also has Operation Stay Safe, which provides a 30 unit tiny home village to shelter 30 unhoused residents in the parking lot at the Montebello Commerce Metro Link Station. While the city and staff are supportive of housing initiatives, staff must ensure that any proposed project is compatible with the surrounding area and does not adversely affect adjacent properties or the public interest, which is why the CUP request is before us today to do that research.

The city of Montebello is also currently operating two residential care facilities that have six residents or less. The property has been subject to multiple code enforcement complaints and has generated 11 calls for service to the dispatcher, is redirected to either the police department, fire department, or emergency medical services related to the following calls that consisted of two subject disturbances, two citizen arrests, four department requests fire department requests, one nine one one check, and one burglar alarm within the past six months. Based on communication with the applicant and code enforcement case logs, we have estimated there have been approximately eight calls for service with 15 residents on the site between 04/25/2025 and 07/08/2025 and approximately three calls to the fire department for fire requests between 07/08/2025 and 08/17/2025 with six residents on-site. These reoccurring calls have indicated that the site may not be suitable or adequately equipped to accommodate the proposed supportive housing use as it generates increased noise and activity to the site in the surrounding area. Case number PCDash2025Dash0006 CUP qualifies for a statutory exemption under CEQA guidelines section one five two seven zero, projects which are disapproved.

This exemption applies to projects that a public agency rejects or disapproves. Therefore, if the proposed project is denied, it is statutorily exempt from CEQA review pursuant to section 15,270 of the CEQA guidelines. On 10/23/2025, the public hearing notice was mailed to the owners within the 300 foot radius from the exterior boundaries of the subject property. And on that same day, the public hearing notice was published in the daily journal, Whittier Daily News. From October 24 to 11/04/2025, staff received 16 letters of opposition and one letter in favor.

One letter of opposition was from the director of the nearby school learn academy, and then the one letter in favor of the project was received, and it was by a current resident at the site. We also received a petition letter in one of the opposition emails, with signatures of surrounding residents and property owners. Staff recommends that the Planning Commission adopt resolution number 10 dash 25 denying the conditional use permit request to allow the operation of an interim housing facility within an existing multifamily residential property located at 2645 West Via Corona Montebello, California based on staff's findings related to the site's close proximity to sensitive land uses, including but not limited to an existing public park and playground as well as an academy for students causing the proposed interim housing facility to be incompatible with those existing adjacent sensitive land uses and does not support the city's objectives for maintaining neighborhood quality of life, public safety, and the protection of community serving recreational spaces and is therefore inconsistent with the goals and policies of the Montebello General Plan and to determine and find that the project is statutorily exempt from the CEQA guidelines pursuant to CEQA 15,270 projects which are disapproved if the project is denied.

Thank you. That concludes my presentation. And I'm available for questions as well as the applicant who has a presentation.

Thank you so much. Do we have any questions for staff commissioners? I have a quick question. Is the interim housing facilities are not allowed by right in any residential area?

If it's seven or less, it would be approved. Or I'm sorry. Seven or more requires a conditional use permit. Six or less, they can just operate as a typical residential home.

Understood. Okay. Is there a zone that allows it by right? Any more than six?

No. It would be a CUP and residential zones only. And then, obviously, manufacturing commercial not allowed at all. Okay.

Thank you.

I have a question for me. Thank you. The I noticed that the zones surrounding the facility or the house are multi residential. Mhmm. But a lot of the lots are not developed with multi residential buildings. They're mostly one or two family dwellings. Is that correct?

Correct.

Okay. Just trying to understand exactly where the the location is, and I have a pretty good idea now. Thank you.

Actually, just maybe a little bit more on on that point also. The commercial that's across the alley, what what what uses are in can you remind us what uses are in that commercial space?

Yeah. They have a time banquet hall, and then they have Learn Academy, which is a school, like a behavioral school, an educational school for kids k through 12.

Thank you. Any more questions for staff?

Is I do have one. Is that the Time Academy, is it still running that's that school, or is it currently

Yes. It's currently still operating, and they have a a business site

as well. On okay. Yes. And right across, there's another commercial building. Right? I think it's the On Garfield.

On Garfield.

Like, a multi tenant commercial complex. Correct?

So that zone is surrounded by commercial because there is a high school, also Cantwell, right across. Yes. So it's commercial and residential. Correct.

Okay. Thank you.

Any more questions for staff? No? In that case, I I suppose we can hear from the applicant. Do I have to open the public hearing, the public comment or no?

Yes. Anyone who's going to comment on the side of the panel. Okay. Thank

you.

Thank you. Can we hear from the applicant, please? Please state your name for the record.

Good evening, commissioner, city council chambers, city staff. My name is Michelle Johnson, and I'm the founder and CEO of Chancellor for Change. Thank you for allowing us to come out tonight to represent our project. Next slide. Oh, I'm slicking it.

Okay. Okay. So on or about November, we were contracted with the Department of Mental Health to open up an interim house beside in Spot 7. At that time, I approached I can't say your last name, Grace, But I approached Grace at the city hall and got the cup information from her, and she gave me a phone number to provide any follow-up questions. And, I proceeded to move forward with the cup application.

When I called to find out about the Radius map, this guy on the phone gave me the wrong information, and I end up submitting the application for a home occupation permit at that time. In June, after we we we we start our program in in May. May 1, we started receiving clients with that permit. On June 9, the neighbor came to the gate because we had amnesty lockers because we support housing first and harm reduction in the in the program. The neighbor came and asked me about the lockers.

And at that time, I I stated my phone number. I gave him the permit that was issued to me by the city Of Montebello. Kent took the permit to you guys, and he called me and told me that we had the wrong permit. It was never our intention to open the site without being properly permitted. Rex was my first point of contact after we were awarded the contract from DMH.

Okay? So our our purpose to be on via Corona is to bridge housing and spot set. I understand y'all got programs out here, but we came to to help. Right? We didn't come and cause no problems. The 11 service calls, there wasn't no citizen arrest. We had four false alarm. We have alarm system that's connected to the police department. We got twenty four hour staff. We had four alarms, false alarms, four fire department calls.

This lab, we had a client that was really, really sick. Two one accidental call, and we had two disturbance calls from my staff the whole time we've been there. The noise the banquet hall rinse their their property out every weekend. Behind our house is a alley. It's a gate, and it's the other side. She showed the other side of the gate is the bank law. Those people congregate over there. When they rent that hall out, that's where the noise is coming from. Our program has a curfew. We have guidelines.

We we our clients are in at eleven, and currently, acquired all of this from ten to eight. There's no movement. Nowhere in on our site. So the noise complaint, I got a call from one of the residents because they have my personal phone number because I'm I'm trying to be a good neighbor Since I've been here, and he called me and told me that, there was no x. And my security staff got twenty four hours security. Unbeknownst to me that the was behind there and let me know that it's not our house. It was the people from the party that they were having. So that's where increased noise came from. None of our clients have no vehicles or none of that. These people our clients come from homelessness.

So the foot traffic and all that, it it it ain't coming out of my house. You know, the our our client and if it is foot traffic, they either going to school or work. It ain't no hanging out in the front yard. We we've been a good neighbor. We they don't smoke. They don't hang out. They don't bother nobody. So at our site, there's no alcohol.

Excuse me. Can you please use the microphone?

I can't

see. Oh, sorry. I can't see. Could you just use that microphone?

Yeah. I can take it.

Jill, you wanna help you out?

No. I can't see.

I think you can take it out. Thank you.

I apologize. I'm in I'm in the arm. So at at our site where there's no alcohol or substance, due to the site's proximity to the park, registered sex offenders are violent. Offenders are not eligible for enrollment and are not referred to us by DMH. All our clients are referred to us by DMH.

Participants receive and sign house guidelines upon intake. The program is committed to maintaining a safe, respectful, and supportive environment for all the participants and the surrounding communities and neighbors. Case management and housing navigation services are available for participants who wish to engage. The facility is staffed twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. They're somewhere there every day of the week.

All staff are trained in CPR, trauma informed care, and harm reduction practices. So Thank you. So that's the end of my presentation. I'm just gonna say that we came to Sylvia help. We haven't caused no problems with anybody in the neighborhood. We haven't been a disturbance. We haven't been loud. We haven't been nothing. We're just helping people get on their feet and move on with their lives. Thank you for letting me be a Do you have any questions?

You. If

you have any questions about the EMS contract, we do have some representative media that next year they can answer your question. Gotcha.

What what was your name again? I I didn't catch your name.

My name? Yes. My name is Lucille.

Lucille?

Michelle.

Michelle.

Michelle.

Michelle. Oh, sorry. Miss Johnson. Hi, Michelle. I I do we have any questions for Michelle commissioners? Yes. Looks like we have a couple of questions. Go ahead. Thank you. Miss Johnson?

Yes.

Hi. Right here. Hi. How are you doing? Good. Good. A couple of questions. So you you felt like you were miss misinformed about the procedure requirements and I feel like I'm talking really loud. The procedural requirements in terms of processing the proper licenses and permits.

Yes. I was. Grace gave me a phone number when I got the the the the package from her, and she and she told me that if I had any questions to call the number that she had written down on the paper. I asked questions about the radius map because I'm new to this. When I called the number, the guy, Eric, that answered the phone, he asked me what I was trying to do, and I explained we're trying to get the the right, permit to open up our entrance. I he pretend to tell me I didn't need that. And he he walked me through the whole thing on the phone. I paid for the permit, and that was it.

So you got a you were issued and you paid and were issued a home occupation permit.

Yes. And and I I have a copy of it, but then it it says on there, and it it would be descriptive. And I was very descriptive that it was an interim housing site. I never would have got a permit for a home office when I the intended use was for 15 beds. I wouldn't ever and and my I didn't read the fine print either.

Okay. Because it could've been a misunderstanding of what that means is what I'm

No.

It was a mishear it was a misrepresentation on on behalf of city Montebello, the person that answered the phone, per Grace. Because when when she when when Ken I mean, I gave Ken the the permit, the neighbor, and she called me. I said, this is what you told me to do, Grace. And she said, oh, that's a third party. They gave you the wrong information.

So you were never asked about the number of patients, the the number of beds, the number of I have the email. Clients.

I have the email where they they told me to give a full description of what I was trying to do, and I sent it to them. DMH contract, 15 bids. I've never strayed away from that at all. That's what we came here for. It's about seven, four, and some housing. Okay. 15 bids.

Thank you. Sorry. Have more questions. Thank you for that response. Sorry. I I don't mean to hog up the mic, but hopefully, you know, just wanna clarify some points.

That's fine.

So you were not clear about the number of beds and the number the requirements that were necessary for a conditional use permit. I think you called it a cup earlier. That's funny. I've never heard anybody call it that. But that's

Conditional use permit.

Right. So never was brought up that that would may be necessary because normally, a home occupation is for someone that just works at home, like an architect, like a an attorney that doesn't even

me that at first.

That she

gave me the application. Okay. But the number that she gave me to follow-up wasn't the correct number. When I came around the second time, when all this stuff happened, she gave me her personal number. So that's how I've been able to move forward correctly in here.

Okay. No. I'm just saying that typically home occupation is for someone that works at home. But I can see how the misunderstanding could have occurred. And you mentioned that you had that you have security staff and staff that works there.

Normally, that's not allowed in the house with the home occupation also. But, you know, again, could have been a misunderstanding. Can you clarify how many people you have working in your in the facility? Because at that point, it's not is is it still considered a care facility when there's people employed there? Because a home I mean, a a house that allows patients not to exceed six individuals, it's usually managed by the person that lives there. Right? Is that correct?

They're not patients.

Just Well, know, it's a They just

have person on this.

Because at that point, you can have patients. You can have people that are transitioning. You can have various, you know They're Okay. But you can have patients. You can have clients. You can have individuals that you We call them program participants. Program participants. Fine.

I'm just

trying to make a point about how a home occupation not a home occupation, a home that doesn't require special condition use permits to be operated and can still be considered a home if you have clients I I forgot what you call them. Program participants. Sorry. Six or less. You don't need a special kind of permit from the city. I think it's allowed by right through state programs. Just wanna get that, you know, okay. So I'm getting the yes from city staff. Thank you.

Yeah. Okay. And I believe we do have two existing locations where there are six beds or less that are operated through state law. So that is correct.

Yes. And for those facilities, do you issue the same type of permits, a home occupation permit? You don't issue anything. Right?

No. There would be a business license. A business license? Yes.

Okay.

Yes. Similar to what you require if someone is renting or type of, you know, program or, you know, business, I guess, you can call it. Okay. That is correct. Okay.

So, sorry, more questions. I mean, I really think it was very neighborly of you to provide some of the residents your phone number for questions and concerns that they have and had about the various type of situations that kinda unfolded. And and it could be unfair for you to be blamed or the facility for the house to be blamed for some of the noise coming from the back. I understand that and want to be sensitive to that. But do you live in this house or you no.

So the individuals that are housed there, you you do have security, I think you said, but the security probably doesn't live there. And the case managers or people that assist also probably don't live there either.

On top of that, I can't and I have a.

Okay. Okay. Just wanted to kinda

the police with the call this morning.

Is being recorded. So sorry. Alright.

Okay. Just wanted to get clarity. I I'm sure some of my fellow commissioners have other questions, so I won't keep you longer if you know, in case they have more questions for you. Thank you.

Thank you. Do we have any questions? Any more questions for the applicant?

Well, going yes, I do. Going off what commissioner Cuevas just said, would the participants be living on-site? Or are these participants what program are they coming from? Or how is this program just to know, the activity on on the side.

So so the household Mhmm. Has eight bedrooms. Mhmm. It's two participants to a room. I have eight bedrooms. I contracted with Department of Mental Health for a 15 bed, interim housing. So they are referred to us through the Department of Mental Health.

Mhmm. So a total referred

to us. And then the mental health worker brings them to us.

So a total of how many participants would be living in this household?

15. 15. The house is huge. It has a ADU that Mhmm. Okay. We don't we're even using it now because we don't have a top limit, but the space in it holds 18. 15. I'm sorry.

And these 15, they'll transition out, and then new participants will come in?

Yes. Right now, we've been open since May. We just matched four people for housing. Mhmm. It's not that they're sitting there and lollygagging. We have activities. We have housing navigator. We have a case manager. We got a mental health worker. We're helping people start their life forward and move on. Even though they can stay with me for twenty eighteen to twenty four months, we're getting them in at home, getting them matched for housing. We just got four matched for housing at Hacienda Heights, and we only been open since May. So we're not just housing people and just disrupting the neighborhood. I I got I got six clients. Four have been matched for housing.

Four already got jobs. One goes to school. So they're not sitting in the park messing around or or at the banquet hall or jumping the gate to go. They're not doing any of those things that's portrayed in the in the report, suggested in the report. We get it about the security, but the back of the house and the between the back door, the gate is this high. Their gate is this high, and my gate is too. And the reason why we put the tarp around the gate is because they were congregating in the alley. And it's you can stick your hand in the gate. So I gotta be be mindful of my residents, so we put the tarp to block the alley way out. That's why the tarp was out. Thank you

for the clarity. I

have a question. So just to clarify, you're contracted through the Department of Mental Health? Just to clarify, you're contracted through the Department of Mental Health?

Yes, sir. I submitted the whole application with my application.

Okay. So I I have a question for you, director. Would it not be customary for the department to go to the city of Montebello first before any kind of CUP happens for this kind of facility?

As far as customer, it would be helpful. I think it would alleviate a lot of the confusion that is taking place, but I don't think it's standard practice. And maybe I could have somebody from the county address that, how they deal with other jurisdictions. But if answer your question, mister commissioner, we did not receive an inquiry from the county on mental health regarding this specific location.

Thank you, director. That's all my question. Thank you.

I guess my only last my question would be, I am fully in support in rehabilitation programs. I I just wanted to state, am fully in support of your vision and what you're trying to do. I fully support rehabilitation programs. And, you know, I believe that everybody deserves a second chance. My only question, given you guys are I see you guys are being denied here based on the recommendation.

But before you guys entered this location, did you guys I'm just trying to figure out how it is that you guys got into this. Was this is a resident a multi a multi residential home. Right? So okay. Correct. So because I am familiar with the area, I was just wondering how it is that you guys occupied this unit prior to obtaining the CUP.

So as you guys know, I I have a non my nonprofit is based in Los Angeles. Okay. And I do work for just involved in South Los Angeles. Okay. When the RFP came up to be a mate, they asked us to find a flight 12789. I have a I have a real estate realtor. Okay. And I have three other housing facilities in Los Angeles. Exactly. That house just as involved. That's what she got that information off my website. But with this particular project Mhmm. Sam, that's my little man. Mhmm. I told him what spot we wanted to go to, and he came out here and found me the house on my own.

I have my own realtor. Okay. He found it, and we worked with the landlord. The landlord was in support of the project Okay. And gave us his best.

Okay. Okay. Thank you. Thank you.

And one more question. Thank you. Miss Johnson, you indicated that you have three other similar type businesses in LA? Okay. In LA, do you have the same type of setup where you have more 15 patients or more than six patients?

I have 10 men, and I have 10 women, and I have five older people. Older resident with the spirits of homeless people.

Because in because it it's pretty throughout the state, it's a very common type of setup that requires a conditional use permit in LA for sure. The same setup. So having that type of experience, it is, you know, difficult, you know, for us to explain to the residents that you did not know that such a setup here in Montebello or in in any other city would trigger a conditional use permit.

So in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, never asked me for a cut. Never. Well where our homes are at South Central. So I when I got here in November, the first my first stop was to take place. He gave me the information. We wouldn't have been at the top. But I got detoured. I understand what you're saying.

Because if code enforcement finds out that you're doing that in those houses, you're gonna be in trouble. You're gonna be triggered a conditional use permit, and that requires a full hearing with the nearby same here and pretty much same in every city.

Department of Correction, sir. I'm not gonna jeopardize that. All my ducks are gonna go. Like I said, when I came to my in November, when I got. So came, you guys first. I went to see the office.

Sorry. I because you're saying no. You don't have that condition you

It's not they're not asking me for one.

Okay. I'm just saying that you are required one. Just because you don't have one doesn't mean you're not required. I

Okay.

I so I I don't need your address, but I

No. I said, okay.

But Okay.

I'll get into it.

But Okay.

I'm pretty sure when I went to City Hall to get my business license and to start this transition to Harvard, I checked all my I checked all the boxes. Okay. So

don't be surprised if somebody complains that you're gonna be facing the same situation in LA. But, you know, just heads up. Thank you.

Any more questions?

Maybe. I I just want to you know, there's been some discussion about how there was some confusion in the application process. And I want to give staff perhaps an opportunity to maybe say a few words on how this came about. Do we have staff here?

Yeah. I can provide that information. So back in November 2024, we did provide like Michelle was saying, we provided her with the CUP application as well as the supporting documents, which did include the radius map with, you know, that information to contact the radius map individuals to assist with that, as well as the HDL business license company handout, which is typical when we do give out the entitlement applications. So they have all of the documents going through the entire process, and then after upon the administrative plan check process, which would then require the business license application. So we provided all of that information.

And then the applicant did call the HDL business license phone number due to the fact it does say City of Montebello business license, but it is a third party company, so they aren't directly at the city. And they don't understand and don't necessarily have the knowledge of the entitlement process and how that process would work with the city. As well as the home occupation provisions, they have their understanding of that process on their end being the internal department to work with the applicant, but we are like the middlemen with the home occupation application. So we are the ones that essentially are approving and denying these business license applications and making sure it complies with the code.

And if I may, mister chair. So and this, I think, directed to Grace, can you explain a little bit about the information that was initially provided which led to the home occupation permit?

So within the, received business license under the home occupation application, it does have and come with a letter. And so this letter we received, it does have a list of conditions that explicitly state that there cannot be any individuals coming to the site. It is mainly used as an office use, kind of just for people to work from home and to do very small business operation within their home, and then the applicant is required to sign and get it notarized with the county. So for any home occupation application, we do make sure that the applicant signs and agrees to that, and then we go ahead and proceed with the home occupation due to their agreement with that.

And just to clarify, we do have that signed document from the applicant? Yes. Yep. Okay. Which the conditions would state that they can't have clients coming to the property. It's home occupation. Okay.

Correct. So can I can I say something in my defense on that? The guy email Eric emailed me that that form, and I heard it and sent it back. I didn't read it. Because after I had talked to him, I was thoroughly convinced that that's what I needed per his instruction.

So I did sign it, and I did get it notarized. But I never read that it the small print where it said that I can't have nobody on-site because that defeating my whole purpose. That was defeating I wouldn't why would I pay for that permit, do all that knowing that I'm gonna house 15 people? So the arrow might be the part I played in is I didn't read the fine print. I signed it, and I did get it notarized.

I have one more question. Thank you. Miss Johnson, first of all, I appreciate your honesty in acknowledging that, you know, you didn't thoroughly review that. But my last question, I know I keep saying that. Do you or your organization or your business own the house, or are you renting it? Yes. This house that we're

It's on it's on the market, but we sold, and I've been talking to buy it, but I can't make a decision exactly tonight.

Okay. So at the moment, you don't have ownership or

They locked us in three year. The same amount of contract, three year contract with your mates. My lease is for three years. I also submitted that.

Got it. Thank you for clarifying that.

Thanks. I just want a little bit more clarify clarification on that on that point itself. So you are renting the home?

Yeah.

K. And the home is owned by a corporation?

It's owned by DK Wealth Wealth Incorporated.

Oh, it's a corporation.

LLC. Sorry. Gotcha.

Okay. And in in that lease, you you do state that you would intend to run it as a interim housing facility?

The lease is I I submitted with my company. The lease is under with the intent for a 15 bed interim housing facility, and I have a support letter from the landlord. I've been in here now. Okay. Lease.

I see. Okay. Any more questions for the applicant? No? Thank you so much, miss miss Johnson. Appreciate it.

Right. We

do have speaker cards on this item, so I'm gonna go ahead and open the public comment.

The first speaker is Raymond Howard. Please state your name and address for the record. You will have three minutes.

I wanna thank everybody for allowing me the opportunity to come out here and share on behalf of the organization. My name is Raymond Howard. My address is 4148 Garth Way, Baldwin Hills, California 9008. Anything else? State, go ahead and and speak now.

Yes. Okay. So

I am the employment specialist for Chances for Change. I am the one that is responsible for going to the PAC meetings which is where we interact with the This is where we interact with the clients on my behalf. And what I do is I help them with getting employment after their housing is stabilized and help them to address the areas of concern that they communicate with us within the area of employment. So that's that's my job. It's very rewarding, very fulfilling.

And what that does for me is gives me a sense of accomplishment and a sense of purpose to be able to assist people to, have another go at life. So, rather, whatever their situation is, justice impacted, mental health, whatever the case may be, if they're employment ready and they're ready to look for work and to become a productive member of society, I'm here on behalf of Chancellor of Change to help them in that direction to give it 100%. Anything else?

Does that conclude your public comment?

I'm sorry?

Does that conclude your public comment?

I would like to add this piece right here that I've been in this field for a period of time, and I have history working at other facilities. Michelle's organization, is the most fulfilling and the most rewarding because what it does is we're pretty pretty much, I would use the term coined as boots on the ground. We're up close and personal with the, with the clients as far as, whatever whatever it it takes for them to be successful. Michelle has a motto, two words we don't use, no and can't. So we we we really move forward to help them in their endeavors to be successful as far as education is concerned, as far as employment is concerned, and any other areas that we can address.

That would conclude my comments. Any questions?

That's it. Thank you, sir.

Thank

you. The next speaker would be Bianca Harris. Please state your name and address for the record. Thank you.

Bianca Harris. 134 East 61st Street, Los Angeles, California.

Hi.

So I'm the support specialist at the Montebello Home, and one of my roles there is to have implicit interaction with the clients. A lot has been said this evening already as far as zoning, official business, and all of that. But I just really wanna touch on the fact that these are individuals who are really debilitated by the homelessness. And not only the homelessness in California, right, but it's the mental health. And as someone who interacts with these clients and the staff and myself, I'm a certified peer support specialist with CALMEASA, which is a California mental health support organization, and dealing with that and having to be face to face with some of the clients and seeing the struggles.

And when some of the issues came about about these calls to law enforcement and things of that nature, I'm not really gonna touch on the official zoning and all that, because I feel like we need to put faces and more meaning to these individuals who are challenged with this. Right? We all live in the state. We see people on the side of the freeways. Right?

Not everyone, as she mentioned, comes there justice impacted. Some are just dealing with difficult issues. And I don't wanna get emotional, but it's hard to because it's tough. When you're looking at people struggle to just get out of bed or want a place to live or be able to go outside and and and have a sense of normalcy and just look at people be able to live their lives in a a very good neighborhood. And I don't wanna take anything away from the city of Montebello.

But I will say this, vehemently, I feel everybody has a right to live wherever they are contributing to. And a lot of these clients that come there, they don't know how to contribute. And some of them come, and they need they wanna know how. And we provide everybody here is an an extreme tool in providing that. I apologize on behalf of anybody feeling offended by the events that have taken place at that residence, but know that it was never intentional.

We're simply trying to provide a service that helps. And, again, I understand the legalities, and I understand the issues with zoning and all those cup applications. I don't that's out of my scope of practice. My scope of practice is actually knowing people and seeing them struggle every day. Lately, people feeling like they don't wanna go outside. Our clients feeling like they don't wanna go out as outside because, you know, the neighborhood is complaining. They're feeling less than. They're feeling like they can't have an opportunity to have someone. We've come in support of them. This is not about us.

These are our family members. These are our neighbors. These have been sometimes it could be us. And I just wanna kinda, like, interject that humanity into this room this evening with everyone. I don't know how much more I can say because it just it's it's been a journey. I've been there through those times where we had the 15. We had the 15. We had men women. We had, you know, people really actually trying to reunify with their children that got matched and housed and reunified with their children. We've had people who have not worked in years consider it because they have a safe space and a good community and a nice community.

Thank you, miss Harris. Can you wrap up your thought?

Yes. Okay. So I'm gonna wrap up. I just wanted to, you know, speak on behalf of those clients who can't be here to say that they need a place. And it just happened to have been Montebello, but thank you for your time.

Thank you. Our next public speaker is Sabas Livo. Please state your name and address for the record. Thank you.

Hello. Good afternoon. My name is Sabas Labo. My address is 151 East 94th Street, Los Angeles, California, and I'm here to support miss Michelle. I'm the security guard for the Montebello site.

You know, I was able to work the morning shift and night shift, so I was there mostly, like so, you know, like, through the comments with all the noise complaints and everything, I just wanna say that, like, all the all the all the noise that was complaining of the noise that was coming from, it was coming from the back. On the back of the housing, there's a school, the elementary school. It's also in the night when the school's over. They they rent that that place out. It's a it's a party.

It's a like, know, like, where you go rent it out, and they start throwing parties since Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. And that thing, it gets really it gets packed. Like, you know, the street where we're at, there's literally no parking at. And then all the people that come from there, from the party, they all come from the you know, they all park on, like like, in the parking, like, in the, like, in the block. They take all the so all that foot patrol is coming from them. So all the noise and everything. You know? And then besides that, before even all the clients came in to live there, in the park, there's no fencing. There's no there's nothing. Literally, like, no cops come in, and there's a lot of homeless people that come in in the afternoon.

And I was there, like, before the clients came in, so I I, like you know, I I was there. So, you know, there's they're like, at first, there was, these two ladies living there, like, in the playground in the afternoon. So, like, every day in the afternoon, they will come, set up their little living space, and they will scream, scream nonstop. I don't know if the you know, like, they'll start screaming, they, like literally, like, sleep there and, like, leave in the morning. So I'm like, there's literally, like, no supervision in that park.

It's literally, like, it's like, you know how the house is surrounded by the alley? All these people use the alley to to access that park to get in in and out. Where I come from in LA, the parks have curfew. You can literally can't be at the park, like, around eight. The there's a police officer already there kicking everybody out. In that park, I don't see no supervision, no nothing at all. So I'm like, these these homeless or the people that are already living there in the streets, they all come there. So I'm guessing, like, you know, with the confusion, oh, this is a shelter homeless. You know, I see where the confusion is coming from with the neighbors. You know?

But, like, as miss Michelle states, our facility has curfew. There's, you know, this this, the clients can come out at certain times. You know? So there's, like there's no foot patrol, like you know? So everything else is literally, like, the neighbors, the the homeless people already living there, hanging out at the park that they're every day, every afternoon, they're there. You know? So there's, like like, even before you even got there because I'm telling you, I was there before the clients were there. There was already noise from five from 5PM. The homeless start coming into the park.

Thank you. Can can you Mhmm. Wrap up your thought real quick?

And that'll be all.

Thank you, sir. And and you provide security services for the facility? Yes. Understood. Thank you.

You're welcome. Our next speaker is Luis Antonio Camano. Please state your name and address for the record. Thank you.

Hi, everyone. My name is, Luis Antonio Camano. I'm an owner of a resident right in front of the facility. My address is, 36, 2636, West Via Corona. And as a neighbor, I, you know, since they start all this program on this house, I, you know, I just see the quality of my life. It's changing. You know? I'm I don't wanna say bad things or anything, but, you know. So I have three kids. I don't feel, like, safe.

I have about six years old. And just the playground, it's not, like, 40 feet like they stated on on on the on the the picture, it's just literally, like, 20 feet. And since that happens, you know, it's like a year ago. I don't bring my kid to the playground. And that's how I feel my lifestyle change. That's that's gonna be all.

Thank you, Luis. Appreciate it. Thank you.

Our next speaker is Susana Guilla. Please state your name and address for the record. Thank you.

Do we need the translator, director Palami?

I think Viviana, can you

Since the project started or was implemented, she hasn't been able to take her children to the park. She hasn't been going to the park, and she's remained indoors for fear or just for just feeling uncomfortable because of the the use that's in close proximity to her house. And she's saying at this point residents or neighbors are no longer communicating with each other because everyone's remaining indoors and it's not healthy for a healthy quality of life that they would like. And that's really the bulk of what she was presenting.

Thank you.

Our next speakers, it looks like there may be two on the speaker card. So either one or it's Miguel or Berta Gutierrez. Please state your name and address for the record. Thank you.

Miss Gutierrez shares the same sentiment as the previous speaker. She says she owns a property in close proximity to where the project site is at, and her daughter reside there. And she says that her daughters are constantly letting her know that they're that they that they are seeing a lot of foot traffic necessarily specifically related to police vehicles and fire trucks. And they have younger daughters there as well, that they're not wanting to take them to the park either for fear, just for feeling uncomfortable taking them to the park.

Alright. Our next speaker is Vascon Demerjian. Please state your name and address for the record. Thank you.

Vascon Demirjam. 2641 Via Corona. Good evening, chair and commissioners. My name is Vascon Demirjan. I am a fifty year resident and owner in this neighborhood.

First, I want to say that all of us understand the importance of providing more housing. We have compassionate neighbors, caring neighbors. The question is just, does this project fit into the neighborhood character from a character and safety standpoint? Really, that's the context. So I'm going to speak to four points that are consistent with what Ms.

Hayashi stated. I'm going talk about the CEQA exemption, at least from my perspective, the CEQA exemption, the R3 zoning and how this fits into that, the neighborhood designation in terms of how it relates to the general plan, and the lack of or the uncertainty with respect to the management plan associated with the the property. I'm going to be brief. I know I only have a few minutes, but the first with respect to CEQA, I believe that it's exemption if there's negligible or no expansion of use. So this proposal, this change is a substantial change of use relative to what it really is, which is a single family residence with just a recent addition of an ADU.

So there's a big change with respect to how the property is being used. Second, R3 zoning. We have a multifamily neighborhood, about half the block maybe has more than one residence on it. But we have long term residents who raise families, and this proposal is more like an institutional project as opposed to something that fits into our neighborhood. Third, and I think Ms.

Hayashi referred to it, the city's general plan emphasizes long term residential stability, and the frequency of resident turnover and the institutional activity associated with this project is inconsistent with the city's general plan. And then finally, you know, we really don't know what the plan I mean, who's on-site? Who's managing? Coming? We we have no concept of that, and I was surprised to learn how many calls there have been in just this short period of time.

So it's it's it's not inconsistent to expect that that would continue or or grow over time. So again, I would urge you to deny this application, and thank you for taking the time to listen to me.

Thank you, mister Vascon. Appreciate it.

Our next speaker is Elias Canelos. Please state your name and address for the record. Thank you.

How are you doing? Elias Canelos, 2603 Via Corona, Montebello. First of all, I can appreciate everything that they're doing, trying to help homeless people and people that need rehabilitation. I understand that completely. As far as the location, it's not suitable.

Now, you know, I I live in the neighborhood. I I have my children, I have grandchildren, there's a lot of children children in the neighborhood on the block, and people are coming in, mental health issues, maybe drug issues, homeless, all that stuff. Now they need a special place to be, not somewhere in a residential neighborhood where there's parks that we no longer take our children to and homes and people that live, elderly people, young people, just it's a residential area, family oriented, kids, and a lot of people don't go to that park anymore. I'm not saying it's anybody here in general, but since the house did open up a while back, it's changed in the the activity at the park, the people walking around the neighborhoods talking to themselves, smoking, things like that has changed drastically. I see it on my camera.

I've seen people on my camera come that came from that house. Now, like I said, I'm not saying anybody in general. I'm just saying it's not an appropriate place for this home. I I can appreciate the fact that she's helping people, that that's great. That there's a lot of people that need help. It's just not the proper location to place a home like this, having mental people in and out. And another issue is that some of these people may not stay. And where do they go after that? They end up roaming around the parks or roaming around the streets in our neighborhood. So all that's gotta be taken accountable for us.

A home like this and a situation like this does not belong in a residential neighborhood, so close to school, so close to so many young children, so close to the parks. That park is trashed. And that needs since I'm here, that that park needs some major work. And that's that's all

I gotta say. Appreciate your time. Thank you, Elias. Appreciate it.

The next speaker is Jacobo Fernandez. Or Jacob. I'm sorry. Please state your name and address for the record.

Good evening. My name is Jacob Fernandez. My address is 2641 West Via Corona. I want to say, you know, I appreciate all the work that this organization is doing, and I do encourage them to continue their work. However, like many of our the residents are saying, is it is really concerning to have children that are right next door.

I am right next door. My daughter's room is right next door to their home, and we have a glass door that is her entry and exit way. And every night, I do have to check that door even though they say they have security or they're monitoring it. I, as a father, have to check that door every night, every day, just to make sure that my daughter is gonna be safe. She is a preteen.

I have a six year old son. We do go right around the block, and that is something that is a concern. The concern is the homelessness that is around that park, And I think that it encourages them to be there because of the home. So I think that is that's another concern that you guys need to work on besides that. Because there's people in those vans that are just parked there, and they're just waiting right there. My dad, like, we can't walk around. I can't let my kids ride their bikes alone. I'm always with them. You know, it's not like how back like, you know, when you be like, alright, I'm gonna go play outside. Give me a minute.

I have to be out there. So there is a concern for safety on my end because I am a father. That's what my job is, to make sure that my kids are safe. And like I said, I was the one that called Michelle because there was loud noises. I called her, I text her, I said, hey, there's a disturbance in front of your home, you might want to check on it.

It was all good and dandy, but until she responded, she knocked on my door at 01:00 in the morning, trying to, you know, settle it instead of waiting for the next morning. You know, a little hostile to me, and I didn't appreciate that. And as a neighbor, there's a time and a place for you to come talk to your neighbor. I just text you to give you a heads up, to let your security know, hey, something's happening in front of your yard. Had you, you know, text your security that is there, it would have been fine.

We could have handled it in the morning. That's all I really have to say. Like I said, my biggest concerns are my kids, my daughter's door, and, you know, the cameras that I have to that we installed just to make sure that I know for peace of mind that my daughter is gonna be safe at night when I'm asleep. That's all.

Thank you, mister Fernandez. Appreciate it.

Next speaker is Noelia Meza. Please state your name and address for the record. Thank you. Our next speaker is Do you want to have

Oh, sorry.

The translate. So sorry.

It'll be brief. So the the resident is is saying that she feels unsafe. And one of the at one point, one of her securities asked her where she was parked, and

she says

for her own safety, she wanted to know where she was parked, and she felt uncomfortable with being asked that question. She also says that they congregate to smoke maybe the corner by near the park or in in close proximity to the residents, and that she's constantly seeing vehicles and specifically a gray truck or van taking pictures and maybe video, possibly video of the home, and she's afraid to ask, but she sees a lot of vehicular traffic focused on that property videotaping or taking pictures, And she feels very unsafe because she doesn't know what is taking place at the site. And she's uncomfortable about that.

Thank you. All right. Our next speaker is Sarvar Morodian. Please say your name and address for the record. Thank you.

Almost got it. Sirvart Merodian, 2641 Via Corona. Oh my gosh, is that loud? I thank you for allowing us to speak. I've never done a planning commission before. This is a at my age, it's a new thing for me. I don't have a lot of firsts in my life anymore, but this is definitely a first. And I didn't know what was going to happen, so miss Hayashi definitely went over some of the things I'm gonna go over, but I'd like to reiterate. So I'm also here to speak, on my concerns about the CUP, approval. My concerns revolve around a few things.

That there is a significant increase in the number of occupants being allowed regarding the zoning, that there is a lack of transparency and severity of the justice involved individuals, the nature of the support services, which is to be received on the premises, The overall size and structure and the design of the property is not conducive to accommodate 15 individuals. Its location next to the park and, of course, the school and the alley. And, of course, the most important is the school nearby. I'm very familiar with the area because I grew up at 2641 Via Corona. That is my childhood home.

And we watched the property get renovated and a 2nd Floor ADU be added. While visiting a few months ago, we noticed that there was a tarp placed around the fencing. And there were the 15 lockers that faced our property and which prompted us to inquire as to what was happening. And that's how we learned as to what was happening. And we learned that there was a business license that was issued called for home office work.

And now I understand there was a misunderstanding of what that was, but obviously that was not what was taking place there. I think we all agree that mental health issues need to be addressed, homelessness needs to be addressed. But when you see the words justice related, you have to wonder what kind of involvement were they with the criminal justice system, the juvenile justice system, were there misdemeanors, were there felonies? It's it's really, difficult to to have your mind not go to the absolute worst things. The second, of course, the issue of the support services too.

I I'm I'm had trouble understanding what kind of support services will be provided in a residential home and how is that going to impact the overall neighborhood, you know, the traffic, the the noise level, the different kinds of parking issues, the activities that were going to take place. And as mentioned before, obviously, the property is not a dormitory or a lockdown facility. It was not designed to accommodate 15 occupants plus a security guard plus management plus caseworkers in very tight quarters. Even though the house is redone, the it's still a small facility. And the most important thing is the ADU faces the alley.

So people come and go in the alley. Even though there's cameras and lights and things, it's it's not really it's difficult. I'm gonna finish in just

this one second. Last last point, please.

I think lastly, the most important thing is the school. There's a school right there, right behind on the other side. And then, of course, down the line, it was mentioned before, Cantwell and Sacred Heart is just down the street as well. So I hope you would take all of these into consideration. Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you so much.

Our next speaker is Monica Almeida. Please state your name and address for the record. Thank you.

Yes. My name is Monica Almeida. I represent the residence at 2646 Via Corona. Good evening, commissioner. My mother owns a duplex rental property across the street from 2645.

I represent her and manage the property which has been in our family for three generations. We currently have two trusted and responsible tenants to close knit families with young children who have lived there peacefully for many years. The proposed plan to introduce temporary housing for up to 15 justice involved individuals in such close proximity raises serious concerns. This family, this quiet family oriented neighbourhood has long been a safe and stable environment. And I am deeply concerned that this proposal could significantly disrupt that balance.

I respectfully urge you to carefully consider the potential impact on the well-being of our current residents, especially the children. With the park and playground directly adjacent to the proposed site, I am concerned that our tenants and other families will feel compelled to live in a constant state of alert, monitoring the coming and goings of unfamiliar individuals across the street. One of our tenants already keeps close watch on the park and has contacted the Montebello Police Department when suspicious people hang out there. He says that situation has kinda calmed down now, and we but we are committed to maintaining the safety and stability of the neighborhood. And I understand.

I really do. The urgent need for housing for homeless individuals, and I believe chances for change provides valuable resources. But this location is not appropriate for introducing such a large number of people into a quiet residential area. I have some serious questions. And I think Michelle has addressed a lot of those. House rules governing behavior. Is there a 20 fourseven on-site manager? Is this a sober facility? What are the rules for use of alcohol or drugs on or near the property? And parking on the block is already limited.

And the expected increase in traffic will make an already difficult situation even worse. I researched the property in the nonprofit organization. It was a little confusing because I discovered chances for change is already listed as a Montebello location on the LA County Department of Mental Health website. There are also two job postings for the Montebello site on ZipRecruiter. So why were we, the longtime residents of this neighborhood, who are most impacted only informed one week before this Planning Commission hearing? Our priority is the safety, peace and well-being of our tenants and our community. Thank you. And I appreciate the opportunity to share our concerns.

Thank you so much, mister Guerrero.

We have a few more speaker cards, mister chair. Lakonda Horn. Miss Horn, please state your name and address for the record. Thank you.

Lakonda Horn. 43814 8th Street East, Lancaster, California 93535. I am here as a site administrator for Chances for Change to just share a little bit, with the planning committee and the public and the neighbors about our program at 2645 Via Corona. It's a great residential area as the neighbors have experienced and said. We feel that offering interim housing site in this area allows the residents normalization to be a part of a residential neighborhood where they are in a neighborhood, a park, and a school, and having all these things near them allows them some normalization as part of their life and their changes.

We do offer support services, and those services consist of on-site case management and a clinician that helps us with our crisis situations when any of the individuals are experiencing crisis outside of emergencies. May need to call a first responder to assist. We also have a part time vocational nurse. I can licensed vocational nurse to assist with any medical needs. And I wanted to address the issue of our residents being exited from the program.

They're not just exited to the community. They are exited to either another DMH facility or to a friend or family member who can pick them up during that time. If there is no one that is available, we do offer and support them in a Uber or a Lyft, and so they're not just left to roam out in the community. Thank you for this opportunity, and I just wanted to share some of the services that we offer at Chances for Change.

Thank you, miss Horn. Our next speaker is Erica Pataglia. Please state your name and address for the record. Thank you.

Good evening. My name is Erica Batavia. My address is 14865 West Maple Terrace, Panorama City, California 91402. I am the licensed clinical social worker that contracts with chances for change to support the staff and the clients at the property. Oh, I'm sorry, the participants.

And just to give a little background about myself, I've been working in housing and homelessness for over ten years. And I specifically enjoy supporting grassroot organizations such as Chances for Change in order to support them clinically and with training crisis intervention. I currently right now support the staff through crisis processing and training. As Michelle mentioned earlier, they are all trained in CPR, harm reduction and trauma informed care per DMH. Additionally, I support the participants with processing.

I also provide clinical support if they ask or wish to do so, which I was just at the property this past Saturday and spent time with them at the park, not observing some of the things that were mentioned today. I wanted to clarify one thing or a few things, but chances for change specifically as Michelle mentioned, her primary source of contracts are not through DMH. This is her DMH contract that is not to house individuals that are justice impacted. The eligibility criteria for this program is that those individuals are experiencing homelessness and are in need of supportive services to transition them out of homelessness. So all of the justice impact talk is irrelevant to the residents that we're serving at this property.

Another thing that was mentioned quite a bit is individuals coming into the Montebello area, and I understand that residents of this area are very concerned about their families. But I do wanna mention that all of the individuals, all six men at the property are either residents, former residents, and have families in Montebello or surrounding areas within Spa 7. And so majority of them visit their families, their wives, former spouses, their children, their mothers within the area, either walking or taking short public transportation. And they do not have cars, so they are not taking the parking spaces at the facility. The other thing that I wanna emphasize is the talk about the environment in commercial spaces and frequent individuals at the property.

Because there is a commercial space that hosts parties behind the property, there is a lot of times that traffic that comes from that. Lastly, to end my point, I know that a lot of us are uncomfortable uncomfortable with homelessness and what that looks like and how that can present to our families. But unfortunately, Montebello as well as Boss Seven does have this issue, and it is our job to support this in both our residents and commercial spaces. Thank you.

Thank you, miss Erica. Appreciate it.

Next speaker is Richard Hockey? Please state your name and address for the record. Thank you.

Richard Holly, 2645 Via Corona. I'm a resident of the facility, and I'm a client. I've been there for a little over a month now. The way I became homeless was I was a I was in Whittier. I had a marketing digital marketing agency.

I employed 10 people and I was diagnosed with secondary acute myeloidness leukemia. And I battled that for I had to shut my business down and I battled that disease, the cancer for seven years and I was then given something called proton radiation which was very experimental all the time and it worked and it you know, it was a joyous occasion at the time and my wife of nine years, two weeks after we got that news, had a had a brain aneurysm and passed away. And I I kind of went off the deep end, ended up homeless, have been for about four years. I've been to different facilities. I've I've been in different different programs off and on, but I've never been one like this.

I I I came there expecting more of the same, and when I walked in the door, it was a palace. I mean, I can't say anything else other than it's a palace. It was brand new. Everything was clean. The ladies there, I call them my angels because they've they've given me a home, not just a housing, not just a roof over my head, but a home in a neighborhood that is very nice. The neighborhood is is is really nice. The park has its issues. It has nothing to do with us. It has zero to do with us. We only have six people there right now, and we're all doing our best to get our lives together.

And when and the ladies even gave me because they know I'm a I'm a I'm a computer guy, I'm a digital marketing guy. I'm an AI expert. Just because I was homeless doesn't mean I didn't study and learn and try to better myself. And there's been times in between where I haven't been homeless. So I just wanted to let you guys know that a lot of the issues that are going on in the neighborhood, in the park, can have absolutely zero to do with our facility.

We're quiet, we keep to ourselves, we keep to the rules, we come and go when we need to, when we're going go to see doctors or whatever we're going to do. They've they've even given me a place up in the activity room for my computers and my place to work and do what I do. And it's been a blessing. It's been a gift. And I'm truly grateful for Michelle and the ladies, my angels, because they care.

They really do. And they're doing their best to give us a place that we can call a home, not just a housing, not just a roof over our head. I have my own space. I have my own closet. I have my own I share a bathroom with one other guy right now. And and and it's all brand new. It's beautiful if you would come and take a tour of the place and get to know meet us and see the people that live there and get to know who we are as human beings and what we're about. You'll understand it's not it's not a flop house. It's not. There's nobody that's criminally engaged.

There's nobody. We're all there just for a place to just transition. And the services we are we're offered, housing, navigators, employment, everything we need is there, transportation to and from doctor's appointments or to social services or whatever we need is is is it's all given to us there. And it's an amazing program. And the neighbors should actually be proud to have this this place in their neighborhood. Thank you.

Thank you, mister Holly.

Any questions?

We have two more speaker cards. Next speaker would be Jason No questions. Thank you. Art Artola? Artola.

Please state your name and address for the record. Thank you.

My name is Jason Artola. I'm at 2641 Via Corona. And I'm here just to reiterate the same concerns as the residents. We're just concerned about safety. There's a lot of schools in the area. There's a school bus stop right in front of the property. And as far as the noise, there's a hall that hosts events, but it's usually on the weekends. And a lot of the noise that we've been hearing is during the week. And we also had to install security cameras out of concern of that. Also concerned about the emergency vehicles.

A lot of, you know, cops, ambulance, and so on would show up to the property regularly. And so we're just really concerned about safety. So that's all I wanna say. Thank you.

Thank you so much, mister Oto.

Our next speaker is Matthew Santarosa. Please state your name and address for the record. Thank you.

Hello. My name is Matthew Santarosa. Address is 2605 West Via Corona Montebello, California. First off, I just wanna thank you guys for allowing me to speak here. I grew up here. I went to school here. My husband, I'm a father, and I give back to the community by coaching youth sports. I'm all about the community. I understand exactly what they're doing. I see the vision. I worked with LA Cada Homeless Outreach for two years. I was an EMT, and I was firsthand with those clients. You know, it's all about empathy. So I understand what it is that they're trying to do. However, I have been in so many shelters, so many interim housing, and I've seen that some people just don't want the help.

Some people would just take advantage of it. Some people will see an opportunity and run with it and see, hey, this is a nice area and if I break the rules, what? I could leave. Who's gonna stop me? Nobody. That person leaves, they're in a bad mood, you don't know what that person's gonna do because they broke the rules and a lot of these clients, they have mental health issues, you know, they're on psych medications, they've been on holds, You know, there's that's a that's a huge concern for me as a father. I have two little ones. I have a five year old and I have a three year old son. Again, I appreciate what it is they're trying to do. I do because I love that.

But just not here, unfortunately, because of where it is, I I don't agree with it.

That's it.

Thank you so much, mister Santa Rosa. Appreciate it.

That concludes our speaker cards.

Thank you, Director Pelombi. Before we wrap up our public comment, I think it it behooves us to maybe hear from the Department of Health or Department of Corrections. And then I also want to make sure we give Michelle an opportunity to rebuttal some of the the comments you've heard. Miss Erica did some a pretty good job at that already.

But Okay.

Thank you.

I'm Can state your Maria Funk from the Department of Mental Health working for the county. And thank you for asking me to speak today. And so we are the funder of the interim housing that the chances for change is funding that they have for their program. Last November, we did release a solicitation, and we wanted to fund interim housing for people that were homeless that had a mental illness across the county. And you might be aware that most of the interim housing in the county is in Metro Los Angeles and in South Los Angeles.

Yet we know that with over 70,000 people that are homeless on any given night in Los Angeles County, that homelessness is a county wide issue. And so we wanted to make sure that we had interim housing available for people in in all of the county. And the county is broken up into eight different service areas or service planning areas. This is service planning area seven. And so one of our goals in our solicitation was to get interim housing in all parts of the county, especially the parts of the county where there is very little.

So that is how chances for change was awarded. And to clarify a couple of issues, and it was already clarified, we just want to make sure that although their website, some of their other funding is to serve people that are justice involved, our funding is not targeting that population. Our funding is to target people with mental illness. And one of the questions that came up here was, did we contact the city of Montebello? And we didn't.

This was a competitive solicitation. And based on the awards were based on the scoring and that they met other requirements, we did require that they had the appropriate zoning, that the housing was in the purpose area that was zoned appropriately, and that they had a permit. And we, you know, we did believe we we've all heard about the confusion around the 15 beds and the permit, and so we believe that they did have the appropriate permit for the site. When we learned that it was not correctly that they didn't have the conditional use permit that they needed for 15 beds, We immediately came the next day. We we reserved one of the county vans, and we moved nine people out of the site.

So we were and we called the city actually and talked to Grace to confirm, like, what was allowable, and that we did learn that six beds was an allowable use by right. And so we did move the other people, and we made sure that from there then on that we they only had six people living there. We do refer the people that are there. And our goal, of course, is to help people that are unhoused move inside and help them reclaim their lives. You've heard from the staff about the work that they do to try to help people that were that are current that were unhoused when they moved in and to help them get jobs.

And our ultimate goal really is to help them move into permanent housing so they're not on the streets, they can have their lives stabilized. And through our interim housing, it is a very service enriched type of interim housing and there are services on-site. You heard about the services, employment services, clinical services. Again, because our people have mental illness, we want to make sure that they have the services that they need. We do intend, all of our interim housing providers, to make sure that they are good neighbors and that they have appropriate secure security and are working with their residents to make sure that they're good neighbors.

That is very important. I did appreciate that Michelle said that when there were issues that she immediately addressed the issue of the mashing and the lockers. They were immediately removed. That she gave the neighbors her phone number in case there were issues that they wanted to make make her aware of and the other staff so they could address them. So I do appreciate the fact that you all had this hearing and you allowed people to make public comment.

I do appreciate hearing the public comment from the neighbors and their concerns. But our absolute our goal, of course, is to move people that are already on the streets. And it was I I didn't know about what was one of the staff said about the people that they already lived in Montebello. They had a connection in Montebello, and that's why it's so important that we have interim housing across the county because people don't typically wanna leave their neighborhoods when they're unhoused. They wanna stay and and having a place where people could come inside and get the services that they need to help them again move into permanent housing. That's our ultimate goal. So thank you very much. I appreciate your consideration for the CUP for this site.

Thank you.

Michelle? I just wanted to address the pictures. The the property management is selling the property, so they did come out and take pictures of the house to put it back on Zillow and Redfin. So they were out there with the appraisal team. They they were that what that was about. It didn't have nothing to do with the residents, but they were out there taking pictures to put it back on the market.

Understood. Thank you. Okay. I'm gonna go ahead and close public comment and bring the discussion back to the the commission. Actually, before I do that, I do wanna state for the record that we do have and I think staff already did this. We do have 16 emails in opposition to this project and one in in favor of the project. So commissioners, any thoughts?

I'm gonna be the first one. Well well, thank you. I appreciate that. Well, first of all, wanna say, miss Johnson, you know, this is not an easy job for you, not an easy undertaking. And it's the humanitarian effort, you know, needs to be acknowledged.

Thank you. You know, I think we all agree, even the speakers that were in opposition and even the the emails we received, everybody is supportive of the effort. I don't think that any of us would think that, you know, it's a bad thing for us as a community to do. It's the right thing. A concern that I have is that it was mentioned by several of the speakers and even several of my colleagues that a transitional housing setup like this may not be in the right location.

For me, when I think of transitional housing or transitional living, I think of where a hotel would be allowed. And that's typically not allowed in a community where mostly one and two family dwellings are situated. It's usually located in a more commercialized area where it allows for foot traffic that is intended for that kind of facility where people come and go. And I see the concerns that some of the residents have that people come and go. Nobody was against the efforts that are being made by whether it's a business or a nonprofit.

I'm not I wasn't sure as far as how that's set up. I think we're all in agreement that it's the right thing to do. But we as commissioners get appointed by elected officials that represent the communities that we serve. And if we ignore the concerns from our constituents, we're not serving them accordingly and appropriately. And those are some of my concerns.

I'll let some of my colleagues kinda, you know, speak and see what they think. But at the moment, I'm just feeling concerned. And maybe there's more information that I'm gonna be hearing from my fellow commissioners that will persuade me to change my mind. But at the moment, my position is of concern. Thank you.

Thank you, Victor. Any other comments, commissioners?

I just wanna add. Yes. Absolutely. We care about, you know, this vision. We care about our community.

We care about our society and the good for all. And it's it's this vision is it's beautiful what we wanna do for for the people, for the participants. But I believe also as a Montebello resident and being raised here in Montebello and this area, it does concern. It does concern, especially, I'm looking at pedestrians. I'm thinking about high school students who are walking down these main streets, transportation as well.

So it does leave me thinking, you know, what are the feelings of the residents around there? I believe that this zone or or this type of project should be maybe in a different area of the city of Montebello. Of course, we're open to it. We want the good for for our community. So maybe this could be a consideration for another area and not this this zone.

Because I do think about, you know, if I if I'm there, you know, and hearing the residents, my children, right, or or or those who are, you know, in I heard about a 19 year old, you know, being home alone and stuff. We need to take into consideration these concerns. So maybe this is a type of project for another zone in our city.

Thanks. Thank you, commissioner Morales. Any other comments?

No. I have a comment. Just to state the same thing, everything you guys are doing is, you know, very admirable, and I believe, you know, very just. Unfortunately, it does come down to the area in which it's in. I think a lot of the unfortunates come from misunderstandings and miscommunications.

That's not on anyone's fault. Had this been somewhere else where it had been allowed, I think those miscommunications and misinterpretations would have been handled better and might lead to a possible CUP permit. However, I think here, I just don't think it's possible for the community. I think in the best interest of the people who live here who who have been living here that they protect their community and welfare first.

Thank you, commissioner. Appreciate it. Comments? Final thoughts? No?

Yeah. I'll just go ahead and speak just because there were so many people here tonight, both in support and in opposition of this CUP. I just wanted to say that I can I think we can all agree that there was some miscommunication and some lack thereof knowledge as to, you know, first and foremost, the lease that you got into? Maybe your realtor, homeowner could have had a little bit better knowledge or communication when it comes to given that you did have intention and you did have your project, your organization clearly states what you were looking for. And prior to you entering this lease, I think your realtor could have done a bit of a better job when it comes to, you know, the rules and regulations with the city of Montebello.

Because I do understand that there is funding that goes into these projects. I understand that there's time, and there is, you know, a lot of things that were put into into what you guys are doing. And so I completely understand your guys' point of view. I see the vision as well, and I fully support what you guys are trying to do. But I do see and I do think that there was a lack thereof better knowledge as to where this organization was going to be, you know, situated.

So as I do hear the residents as well, I understand because I am a Montebello resident, and I have been here for a lifelong lifelong time. I actually worked across the street at Center twenty one for about three years. I would take my lunch breaks sometimes at this park. And I do understand that there's been a homeless issue prior to you guys even occupying this home, so I completely understand that as well. Transients, they don't they don't respect.

They just go. They're looking for somewhere to stay, so I also understand that they don't have anywhere to go. So sometimes they're just traveling through. But I do wanna say that I understand both points of view, and I think it was just you know, it's just all I wanted to share. Thank you.

Thank you so much, commissioner Lomeli. I do have some final thoughts. And not to drive this this issue, not to beat a dead horse, but in echoing the sentiments of arguably everybody in this room, I also empathize with the services you're providing in chances for change. 100%. And I think that we as a community hold some responsibility to that as well.

Like, we as a community have a a responsibility to help reintegrate people that are in need or that that are less unfortunate or that are in need. I'm I'm just gonna say that. So I I also agree that we have a responsibility. However, I I I also recognize that one of the biggest benefits of living in that I've felt in living in Montebello is is the ability to build a community. And you build a community by knowing your neighbor, getting to know your neighbor.

And I think that it's very challenging for our communities, our community that's in opposition to get to know you as a neighbor when the concept of of when the the the concept of this housing is transitional in nature. Right? The idea is that you're gonna have 15 people here. You may have a completely different 15 people next month. I think that alone is very challenging for people here, for community members here, to get to know their neighbor, to get to know, to get to trust their neighbor.

So I think there's a fine balance. I think that's why the the the code regulates it six and below. And then any more than six, it's sort of a a different story. I think that those numbers are there for a reason. And I think we need to, as as a committee here, respect those.

So with that, I think I don't know. Can we entertain a motion? Nope. Go ahead, please.

My last comment, I know that you're not hearing a positive outcome of your request tonight, and I apologize for that. But, you know, this if you wanna see, you know, the the bright side of, you know, this opportunity is that this could lead to something in the future. You know, if the situation had been different where you started off with the six patients that legally you're allowed by law, And you developed, I think Armando said it, a, you know, a sense of community as a an organization, as a nonprofit, again, business, whatever. And you built that trust from your neighbors, and the comfort level was there. Building up to a higher number of beds, participants, patients, however you you wanna to call these individuals that would be housed here, maybe we would have been looking at a different situation where people would feel more comfortable.

So far from your staff, from the county and others that provide supportive services, they are speaking highly of your track record and your efforts. But it started off shaky. And we heard from the community members, and I think you even acknowledged a little bit of, you know, for lack of a better word, fault. But maybe this can be turned around, and you can start with the by right process and see where this leads. Thank you.

Thank you, commissioner Cuevas. Again, one one final thought. I I I don't think this is Michelle, I I don't think the the the misunderstanding is I'm I'm not finding the right word for it, but it's not necessarily your fault alone. I think that the Department of Health really stands to change their policies in the way they review these type of permits to make sure that that they don't that you don't that other applicants that are responding to the RFP don't run to the same situation. I hope this is a good lesson for the department to have a better system that vets these type of permits so that we don't necessarily run into situations.

Thank you. So with that, can can I get a motion? Let's see. I would like to motion to this is gonna be little bit weird of a read because it's to deny, rather, the conditional use. I like to

Adopt the resolution.

I like to motion to adopt the resolution for the conditional use permit case number PC2025Dash0006DashCUP for the proposed operation of an interim housing facility within an existing multifamily residential property located at 2645 West Via Corona, Montebello, California 90640 project site. With the recommendation to adopt resolution number 10Dash25 to deny the conditional use permit requested to allow the operation of an interim housing facility with an existing multifamily residential property located at 2635 West Via Corona Montebello, California. Bay based on staff's findings that the project site that the project site's close proximity to sensitive land uses include, but not limited to, an existing public park and playground causing purpose proposed interim housing facility to be incompatible with adjacent sensitive land uses, which does not support the city's objectives for maintaining neighborhood quality of life, public safety, and the protection of community services community serving recreational spaces. And it's inconsistent with the goals and policies of the Montebello general plan and that the that determine and find that the project is statutorily exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act, CEQA, pursuant to CEQA guide guidelines section one five two seven zero, projects which are disapproved.

I'll I'll second.

Can we get a roll call, please?

Commissioner Lopez? Aye. Commissioner Cuevas?

Aye.

Commissioner Morales? Aye. Vice chairperson Lomelli? Aye. Chairperson Medina?

Aye. And motion passes.

Thank you. Alright. Next item item of business is any planning commission orals? Hearing none.

Can I ask can I ask you guys a question? Do I have to move?

You know well yeah. Yeah. Staff will if you'd like to wait till after the meeting, we can we can speak to you.

Alright. Thank you. Next item is to adjourn the meeting. Did I skip a line when

I was reading this?