Grover Beach plans to turn vacant lot into homeless housing. ‘A 10-year vision come to life’
Southern San Luis Obispo County currently has no permanent shelters for unhoused people, but that all could change soon in Grover Beach.
The city is in the works to establish not one, but two, projects that would help to house the region’s homeless residents.
One of those, a pallet house community at 286 South 16th St., is expected to be up and running this spring.
And on Monday, the City Council made moves to advance a second project that would transform a vacant lot at the city’s edge into a homeless housing facility using funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
During its meeting, the City Council allocated $425,000 of its ARPA funds to purchase a roughly half-acre lot at 955 South 4th St. through the Five Cities Homeless Coalition.
5 Cities Homeless Coalition Chair Ken Dalebout applauded the city’s decision Wednesday, saying shelter solutions in the South County have been a long time coming.
“For 10 years, the 5 Cities Homeless Coalition has been looking for the opportunity to develop a permanent location for housing for those who are currently unhoused,” Dalebout said. “We’ve probably evaluated over the past 10 years close to 100 different properties, so to find a property that the city of Grover Beach is willing to partner with the coalition on, and a property that can be developed into something that will be a permanent housing solution for the homeless in our South County, is a 10-year vision that’s come to life.”
The city previously attempted to partner with local homeless services organizations on a housing project at the Hillside Church, but a property dispute waylaid the development.
According to the coalition, the Fourth Street site could be used to create “non-congregate temporary housing that could serve as bridge housing or an emergency shelter,” though exactly how it will be used is still up for debate.
Janna Nichols, executive director of the 5 Cities Homeless Coalition, said the organization has not yet met with its partners to determine exactly what shape the project on 4th Street might take.
“It could be an emergency shelter. Tt could be transitional housing,” she said Wednesday. “We don’t know.”
Dalebout added: “That decision hasn’t been fully made yet because we need to work with our partners to find out what the best fit is and what the greatest need is for the city, for the community, for the homeless individuals in this community.”
The project will likely be very different from congregate living shelters like Prado 40 in San Luis Obispo, and instead would focus on non-congregate housing like the pallet home project in another part of the city, Grover Beach Mayor Jeff Lee told The Tribune on Tuesday.
The coalition will operate the site, and would offer a number of its services to residents. The organization would also be in charge of choosing who would be housed at the facility.
No matter its final format, Dalebout said, the project will finally give the South County a permanent, flagship housing location, which will aid in the region’s future efforts at alleviating homelessness.
“With a permanent location, we can now think long-term,” Dalebout said. “It’s no longer a plan by the seat of our pants — how do we take care of people today? We now have an opportunity to think long-term in South County.”
%20Cropped.jpg)