West Covina city staff next week will present a Pathway Home homeless housing project being proposed for a city motel.
On the agenda for the July 2 city council meeting, the proposed project is likely to face considerable opposition from the community and council members after a tense public comment period at the last meeting.
At the June 18 meeting, more than a dozen people spoke during public comment, nearly all criticizing city council and Los Angeles County for putting a homeless housing project at the Five Star Inn in West Covina and claiming to have done so without informing the public.
“This is going to affect every business, every resident, every homeowner in the city of West Covina,” resident Sue Augino said.
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The motel, located on Garvey Avenue facing the 10 Freeway, is sandwiched between Crestview Cadillac and Days Inn. Employees from both businesses vehemently opposed the inn becoming the site of homeless housing. They said the motel currently poses a problem to their business. Employees told stories of police being called to the property and feeling like their colleagues and customers are not safe.
Ted Hwang, general manager at Crestview Cadillac, told the council his dealership is one of the most successful in California and generates significant tax revenue for the city.
“How can you let this kind of thing happen?,” Hwang asked.
Hwang’s comments as well as every other speaker’s were met with applause from those in attendance.
City Manager Paulina Morales voiced confusion about where residents had heard that an agreement had been finalized for the project.
“There was a lot of information stated tonight that I’m not sure where that information was obtained or who was given that information,” Morales said.
She said a full presentation would be provided at the July 2 meeting and that no formal agreement had been made.
Mayor Brian Calderon Tabatabai reiterated that misinformation had been spread by members of the public and defended the project as exactly what the city had in mind for addressing homelessness in the city.
He said the housing would serve the homeless in West Covina and would not be shelter or voucher program.
“When we talk about the best type of support to solve this issue,” Tabatabai said. “This is that.”
On a recent Friday around 11:30 a.m., the street and sidewalk in front of the motel was quiet. Next door at Crestview Cadillac customers and employees milled around outside. A short wall and large bushes separates the motel from the dealership.
Nearby the McIntyre Square and an In-N-Out Burger sit on either end of Garvey at Barranca and Citrus streets respectively. Residents and council members brought up Mesa Elementary School as being a reason not to use Five Star Inn as the project location. The school is a three minute drive from the motel.
Pathway Home connects with people living in encampments and offers services and interim housing. Five Star Inn would serve as an interim housing site. Once housed, participants receive three meals a day and support services. The goal is to transition them to permanent housing.
Tabatabai mentioned Monrovia, Duarte and Pomona as cities that had opened a Pathway Home project in their city.
The Five Star Inn site would include 74 rooms. The motel is under renovation with the completion expected in July, according to a city staff report. The project would take 30 percent of the unsheltered individuals in West Covina.
Measure H would fund the project.
Mayor Pro Tem Tony Wu and Council member Letty Lopez-Viado both brought up concerns they had about the project. Lopez-Viado said she would support a project like this if the the county provided clear answers to her recurring questions.
Wu said the county should have been present at the June 18 meeting to address the community’s concerns.
“We just don’t want to be another guinea pig that they try and it fails,” Wu said. “Then all the surrounding business will suffer.”
Morales said two county representatives would be present at Tuesday’s city council meeting to answer questions.
The City Council meeting begins at 7 p.m. at 1444 W. Garvey Ave. To watch online, visit the city’s YouTube channel.
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