Irvine to Put Homeless at Site of Canyon Animal Shelter

Despite widespread opposition, the Irvine City Council early Wednesday voted to locate housing for homeless families on a 20-acre site that includes an animal shelter.

But the council postponed a decision on whether to convert one of two kennels at the Irvine Animal Care Center into living quarters for homeless. Instead, the council said it will meet Nov. 24 to decide what type of shelter or “transitional housing” should be built at the site on Sand Canyon Avenue on the city’s relatively undeveloped east side.

City officials hope to open a central homeless facility with 50 beds by July 1. The facility would be operated by the nonprofit Irvine Temporary Housing, which estimates that up to 30 families a day may be homeless in Irvine, one of the nation’s most renowned and imitated planned communities.

Vote for Sand Canyon Site

Proclaiming that the city must do its “fair share” to help house Orange County’s estimated 5,000 homeless, Irvine Mayor Larry Agran, along with Councilmen Ray Catalano and Ed Dornan, voted for the Sand Canyon Avenue site. In the minority on the 3-2 vote were council members Sally Miller and Dave Baker.

To answer critics--many of whom voiced opposition during a noisy eight-hour meeting that ended shortly before 2 a.m. Wednesday--the council also agreed to form a citywide task force to help determine what type of shelter would be built on the site and whether alternative sites for such a facility are available.

Opponents of the council’s plan said that it is inappropriate to house people and animals in such close proximity and that the Irvine Animal Care Center is too noisy for human habitation because of jet overflights from nearby El Toro Marine Base.

Critics also argued that the facility would become a magnet for derelicts and street people.

Despite those concerns, Agran left little doubt that he believes the site--between Irvine Center Drive and Interstate 5--is the best one.

“Absent some specific alternative that is superior, this is where I believe the project will go,” Agran said.

The type of shelter, Agran said, is less certain.

Kennels Opened in ’84

The kennels were opened in 1984. Because city officials built the facilities with an eye toward future growth, one of the two buildings has yet to be used.

City officials have described the buildings--which include heating, air conditioning and skylights--as state-of-the-art animal shelters.

The most widely discussed option is spending $320,000 to transform one of the two stainless-steel kennels into small apartments with separate sleeping quarters and bath facilities and common living and kitchen areas.

“It would take a major renovation, but it could be done,” said Assistant City Manager Paul Brady, who added that new flooring, removal of the steel bars, a new ceiling and sinks and toilets would be needed to make the buildings liveable.

Brady said the city and Irvine Temporary Housing have applied for $249,000 in federal money for a new homeless shelter in Irvine.

Besides the kennel conversion plan, the city is also looking at moving modular units, like mobile homes or abandoned houses, onto vacant land at the Animal Care Center. Those options, city officials estimate, would cost $300,000 to $400,000.

Echoing concerns of many of the 180 people who jammed City Hall on Tuesday night, Councilwoman Miller said she favors expanded services for the homeless but opposes putting a shelter on the Sand Canyon Avenue site. She has called the plan “ludicrous” Wednesday and added:

“The people in this community are very upset. We care about those who are less fortunate. . . . But we also care about preserving their dignity. Housing them on that site does not show a great deal of sensitivity.”

Elinor Kniffin, an Irvine resident who lives less than half a mile from the Animal Care Center, agreed that locating a shelter on that site is poor planning.

“Irvine is known around the country for its quality programs--housing, education and government,” Kniffin said. “But this proposal is hardly quality.”

Miller and others support expanding a program that places homeless families for 90 days in apartments scattered around the city. Applicants are screened, and the program is run by Irvine Temporary Housing.