Controversial cabin village approved by SLO County supervisors. ‘We need these beds’

A transitional housing project intended to help move unhoused residents from encampments lining the Bob Jones Trail in San Luis Obispo won approval from the county’s Board of Supervisors on Tuesday afternoon.

At the at-times contentious meeting, the board voted 3-1 to approve the Welcome Home Village project, which will add 80 cabin-style housing units for homeless individuals on the San Luis Obispo County Health Agency parking lot on Johnson Avenue. Supervisor Debbie Arnold cast the lone dissenting vote while Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg recused herself because she lives near the project site.

Over the past month, the Welcome Home Village proposal has been the subject of pushback from neighbors, many of whom appeared at Tuesday’s meeting to express opposition to the project in their neighborhood.

Supervisor Bruce Gibson said that while the board understood the neighbors’ reservations and concerns about the safety of the project, the village represents an important step forward in resolving some of the city’s longest-standing encampments.

“What I heard in public comment from a number of speakers was apprehension,” Gibson said. “That’s a natural piece of human nature. I don’t discount that, but I will ask that these apprehensions are held up against the light of experience.”

Project is ‘missing link’ in housing pathway

Originally proposed on the county Department of Social Services lot at the corner of South Higuera Street and Prado Road in March 2024, the project was delayed and eventually relocated due to an issue with city building codes that led to it being moved to Johnson Avenue and Bishop Street.

San Francisco-based developer DignityMoves already has a pair of similar projects active in San Luis Obispo County through two partnerships with the 5Cities Homeless Coalition in Grover Beach: the existing 26-unit Cabins for Change program installed in late 2022 and a second 30-unit project that opened earlier this month.

Incoming site manager Good Samaritan Shelter — which operates several non-congregate shelters in Santa Barbara County, including one built by DignityMoves — will provide oversight on the property around the clock, and will work with residents to help move them toward permanent housing.

Homeless Services Division program manager Jeff Al-Mashat said the project fills in critical gaps in the types of housing most needed by the homeless population, providing 34 interim beds that will house clients for 90 days while they stabilize and exit an encampment and 46 beds of permanent supportive housing with kitchenettes and restrooms that can provide long-term services to clients in need.

“The missing link that has always been out there is we have the shelters — places where we can bring people in and house them for 90 days — but we haven’t had that interim step of that permanent housing,” Al-Mashat said during the meeting.

These units are modular and transferable to other locations should the village fulfill its purpose and finish working with residents of the Bob Jones Trail encampments.

Funded by a $13.4 million Encampment Resolution Fund grant accepted by the board in June 2023, the Welcome Home Village will cost around $1.84 million each year after it opens, Al-Mashat said.

“We need these beds,” Al-Mashat said. “We have people who really want to get into this type of facility and get the services that are offered there.”

Neighbors continue to oppose project

The majority of residents who attended and spoke at the meeting said they did not want the project in their neighborhood, with many reiterating concerns they first voiced at a May 2 community meeting on the project.

Homeowner Don Gaede said he was concerned that site residents would use drugs or cause safety concerns when they’re not spending time on the site.

“I think it’s great that you’re listening to the homeless people and are concerned about their safety — and I think you need to listen to us a little bit more,” Gaede said. “You haven’t listened long enough to our safety concerns, and I think there needs to be a little more due diligence and a little bit more consideration of alternatives for you to go through.”

Multiple individuals who work at Bishop Medical Center — including endodontist Dr. Gilman Carr — said they supported the project’s goal, but had concerns about its proximity to their offices and clients.

“Several patients have voiced their anxieties about potential changes and indicated that they would seek alternative health care providers,” Carr said. “The exodus would not only disrupt their continuity of care, but also place. An additional strain on the already limited healthcare resources in San Luis Obispo.”

However, several individuals said their own encounters with homelessness and substance abuses showed a need for a project like the Welcome Home Village.

San Luis Obispo resident Babs Furia said her son became homeless as a result of 20-year-long struggle with substance abuse disorder, and only was able to get out of homelessness after enrolling in a program that offered housing and wraparound support services similar to what the village would provide.

Furia said people like her son — who has since recovered and works in culinary arts — do not have the mental knowledge while struggling with an addiction to seep help even if they want it, making outreach and support services critical to these projects.

“I want to reiterate that the individuals that are using are not ready to change — nothing we do or say can they change that, as much as I would like it to — believe you me,” Furia said. “But the ones that need that step up, that need the help, they’re the ones we’re talking about.”

During discussion, Supervisor John Peschong said going into the meeting he originally intended to vote against the project due to the failure of the Oklahoma Avenue Safe Parking program, but ultimately opted to vote in favor of it to help individuals struggling with substance abuse disorders.

“I just pray that this works because I believe that this community cannot turn our backs on people with addiction or mental health services, and this is a step in the right direction,” Peschong said.

What’s next for Welcome Home Village?

Outreach to individuals who will participate in the program will start this summer in the Bob Jones Trail encampments, Al-Mashat said.

The project will break ground in fall 2024, with the goal of moving clients into the village in 2025.