OXNARD : City May Seek Help With Shelter Search

Oxnard housing officials have recommended that the City Council pay a consultant $10,000 to identify nine potential locations for a homeless shelter within the city.

The recommendation will be considered by the council Tuesday.

The locations identified by the consultant are to be considered as future sites for the Zoe Christian Center, the county’s only year-round homeless shelter.

City officials have said the center cannot remain at its South Rose Avenue site because of its proximity to a fertilizer plant where toxic chemicals are stored.

In a memo to the council, Housing Director Sal Gonzalez said the consultant will be chosen through a bid proposal process and will be paid with federal grant money.

The task will be coordinated with the city of Ventura, which will also identify potential sites within that city, the memo said.

The cooperative effort has been endorsed by the Assn. of Ventura County Cities, which has agreed to support development of a shelter operated under a joint powers agreement among all the cities, according to the memo.

Once all the sites have been identified, they will be reviewed by city officials in Oxnard and Ventura for final approval, Gonzalez said.

The new shelter should be about 10,550 square feet and should serve 180 to 200 people, according to a city report.