The Hemet City Council will send a letter to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors requesting they change the location of a planned homeless navigation center in the area.
The council unanimously approved the letter at its meeting this week, citing concerns on the future location for the center, which would provide temporary housing for those who are homeless, due to its potential impact on neighborhoods and residents.
The center would be built at 45359 Florida Ave., in Valle Vista, an unincorporated area east of Hemet, according to a city report. The area is within what will likely be future boundaries for the city, the report says.
“It is only a letter requesting the supervisors to reconsider and I think it’s a good request,” Councilmember Linda Krupa said at the Tuesday, Dec. 10 meeting.
Krupa said the location was not good and people out there are not necessarily aware of the project happening. The center would be near established neighborhoods and in the eastern corner of the San Jacinto Valley, which is somewhat isolated, according to the city report.
“We recognize and appreciate the County of Riverside’s leadership in securing critical State Encampment Resolution Funding, and we fully understand the important role that this center will play in addressing homelessness in our community,” Councilmember Joe Males wrote in the letter. “However, we respectfully urge the board to consider alternative locations that may better serve both individuals experiencing homelessness and the surrounding residents.”
The letter was sent by mail after it was approved Tuesday, Males said Friday, Dec. 13.
Riverside County received $12.06 million in State Encampment Resolution Funding in October 2023.
The money will be used to relocate those who are homeless near the San Jacinto River. The county plans to build the navigation center near Hemet.
The county has also used funds to help people living in homeless encampments along Murrieta Creek Trail and the Santa Ana and San Jacinto riverbeds. They also opened a navigation center in Palm Springs earlier this year, according to a county news release.
The push to build temporary housing for homeless people follows a June Supreme Court decision, City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, which allows local governments to arrest people camping on public property, even when there are no shelter spaces available for them.
Local governments have moved forward, especially following an executive order issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom in July 25, encouraging state agencies to adopt policies that outlaw encampments.
Riverside County is focusing its efforts on relocating people living in encampments near the San Jacinto and Santa Ana rivers.
The county has found housing for 150 residents who were living in the Santa Ana Riverbed and 28 more in the San Jacinto Riverbed, according to a September county news release.
