12135 Victory Boulevard Low Barrier Navigation Center
Summary
SCH Number
2024070942
Public Agency
Los Angeles County
Document Title
12135 Victory Boulevard Low Barrier Navigation Center
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
7/24/2024
Document Description
On July 23rd, 2024, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, acting on behalf of the County of Los Angeles, authorized the purchase of the property at 12135 Victory Boulevard and authorized the Chief Executive Officer or her designee to 1) execute a Sale and Purchase Agreement; and, 2) enter into a lease agreement with LAFHBuilds, Inc. (LAFHB) to allow for renovation and repurposing of the property and 3) subsequently enter in to a lease with Los Angeles Housing Family Housing Corporation (LAFHC) to operate the facility. The project consists of the renovation, adaptive reuse and operation of a 14,200-square-foot, two-story, commercial building in to a 30-bed shelter in North Hollywood on a 8,699.8-square foot site. The ground floor and first floor would include a total of 30 individual rooms for single adults experiencing homelessness. There would also be case management offices, individual restroom and shower facilities, dining area and a community room. The project would include outdoor programming to likely include minor landscaping at the entry from the parking lot and in the easement along the eastern area of the building with facilities for sitting, and a pet area; there would also be low-level security and facility lighting on the exterior. The shelter would be considered a low-barrier navigation center as it would 1) offer services to connect people to permanent housing, 2) be linked to a system that coordinates participant intake, assessment and referrals, 3) comply with applicable codes, 4) have a system for entering client information, and 5) implement best practices to reduce barriers to entry (presence of partners, pets, storage of possessions, privacy). The facility would operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Outdoor areas and a pet area generally would be used 7 am to 11 pm daily. Renovation would take approximately 18 months. Parking for the building is available in co-owned areas that have unrestricted access; parking is first-come basis in the lot to the rear of the building and an approximately 650-space structure 400 feet to the northwest of the site; in these areas no specific spaces area allocated but they are reasonably expected to provide at least 10 to 20 spaces to the shelter.
Contact Information
Name
Deborah Lever
Agency Name
Housing for Health, Los Angeles County Department of Health Services
Job Title
CIIP Capital Projects Program Project Manager
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Email
Name
Wendy Lockwood
Agency Name
Sirius Environmental
Job Title
Principal
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency
Phone
Location
Coordinates
Cities
Los Angeles
Counties
Los Angeles
Regions
Citywide
Cross Streets
Victory Boulevard and Laurel Canyon Boulerad
Zip
91606
Total Acres
0.2
Jobs
14
State Highways
SR 170
Railways
Metro B Line, Metrolink
Airports
Burban Airport
Schools
Roy Romer Middle , Bellingham E, Fair Ave El, Coldwater Cyn El,
Waterways
Tujunga Wash
Other Location Info
12135 Victory Boulevard
Notice of Exemption
Exempt Status
Categorical Exemption
Type, Section or Code
Class 32
Reasons for Exemption
The project is consistent with applicable general plan designation and zoning. The project site is within the City of Los Angeles, is less than 5 acres and is surrounded by urban uses. There is no habitat on the site. The project would not have the potential to significantly impact traffic, noise, air quality or water quality based on proposed site improvements and anticipated changes in occupancy. Typical construction techniques for building rehabilitation would be used that would be required to comply with applicable regulations including Low Impact Development (LID) and the Noise Ordinance. The site is located in an urban area well-served by utilities and public services.
None of the exceptions to exemptions, found at Section 15300.2 of the State CEQA Guidelines would apply to invalidate the Class 32 categorical exemption. Based on the record, the County has determined the following: (a) the site is not located in a sensitive environment; (b) the project would not create significant cumulative impacts by contributing to impacts of successive projects of the same type in the same place; (c) there is no potential for the project to result in a significant effect on the environment due to unusual circumstances; (d) the project would not result in damage to a scenic resource; (e) the site is not on a list compiled pursuant to Section 65962.5 of the Government Code; (f) the project would include changes to a building constructed in 1951, but the building is not significant, and therefore the project would not change the significance of any historical resource.
Exempt Status
Emergency Project
Type, Section or Code
Sec. 21080(b)(4); 15269(b)(c)
Reasons for Exemption
Homelessness in the City and County of Los Angeles experienced a large increase from 2016 to 2023. According to the 2023 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, the County of Los Angeles had at the time of the count (January 2023) approximately 75,518 people experiencing homelessness countywide (a 9% increase from the previous year), including approximately 46,260 in the City of Los Angeles (a 10% increase from the previous year). The County of Los Angeles represents approximately 25 percent of the State of California’s population, but over 40 percent of the state’s unhoused population. The City of Los Angeles represents 9.6 percent of the State of California’s population, but nearly 25 percent of the state’s unhoused population. On December 12, 2022, the City of Los Angeles declared a state of emergency on homelessness and activated the city’s Emergency Operations Center. On January 10, 2023, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to proclaim a local emergency for homelessness in the County of Los Angeles. Previously, on April 17, 2018, Mayor Eric Garcetti declared a shelter crisis to provide emergency housing for the unsheltered homeless people in the City of Los Angeles. On October 30, 2018, the LA County Board of Supervisors declared a shelter crisis to address homelessness in unincorporated LA County. This project would provide emergency temporary housing that would help prevent further emergency for those served by the project and generally help in mitigating the emergency conditions associated with the homelessness emergency and shelter crisis, and thus, the project would be exempt.
Exempt Status
Other
Type, Section or Code
Public Resources Code [PRC], California Environmental Quality Act [CEQA] Section 21080.27(d)(3) and (c)(2), (3) and (5)
Reasons for Exemption
The project would meet the Government Code Section 65560 definition of low barrier navigation center (by providing for partners, pets, possessions, and privacy), would be undertaken by an eligible public agency (Los Angeles County) and would be partially funded from one of the eight sources identified in PRC 21080.27(a)(6) -- partial funding from Measure H – sales tax proceeds. Thus, the project would meet the definition of low barrier navigation center for purposes of this exemption. Consistent with PRC 21080.27(d)(3), the project would be in the City of Los Angeles and, “[a]n action to provide financial assistance in furtherance of implementing … a low barrier navigation center...” and thus exempt from CEQA. The project would be either a public work for purposes of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1720) of Part 7 of Division 2 of the Labor Code, or the County would certify that any portions of the project that are not public work, will comply with prevailing wage and associated requirements [PRC 21080.27(e)].
Once the project is owned by the County of Los Angeles, for subsequent actions 21080.27(c)(2),(3)and (5) would apply –action to lease a low barrier navigation center, action to facilitate a lease, and action to provide financial assistance to a low barrier navigation center.
County Clerk
Los Angeles
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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