Enriched Residential Care Facility, 444 S. Crocker Street
2 Documents in Project
Summary
SCH Number
2024080073
Public Agency
Los Angeles County
Document Title
Enriched Residential Care Facility, 444 S. Crocker Street
Document Type
NOE - Notice of Exemption
Received
Posted
1/16/2025
Document Description
On January 14, 2025, the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS) signed a Work Order Amendment (WOA) indicating a commitment to fund minor construction work to enhance fire safety for the recently renovated 444 S. Crocker Street building that is to be operated as an Enriched Residential Care (ERC) facility. On July 29, 2024 the Los Angeles County Chief Executive Officer (CEO) entered into a lease for the property at 444 S. Crocker Street and on August 29, 2024 DHS entered into an agreement with an operator (JWCH Institute, Inc.) to run an Enriched Residential Care (ERC) facility. The ERC facility is a 15,132-square-foot building that was recently renovated as a 48-bed homeless shelter. The City of Los Angeles issued a Certificate of Occupancy for a shelter August 9, 2024. The County has previously exercised sovereign immunity to transfer jurisdictional authority from the City of Los Angeles to Los Angeles County in order to authorize improvements and operate the ERC. The fire protection requirements for longterm care are more stringent than for a shelter and minor improvements are now needed to complete the ERC: minor demolition, framing, drywall, adjustment of electrical/lighting/other systems if required, at third floor ceiling. The duration of the work will be approximately 5 weeks. The ERC facility has the same physical layout as a shelter, but operates in importantly different ways, including 1) the facility is licensed, 2) residents may stay for an unlimited period of time, 3) residents have complex needs and require 2417 care and supervision. (Shelters and low-barrier navigation centers are not licensed, provide short-term housing only, and their services are focused on moving people into permanent housing rather than focused on providing care and supervision.) The ERC includes user services (intake, security, exam, training, lounge, warming kitchen and dining area for residents), office facilities for visiting and permanent case managers as well as an on-site ERC manager and 24 bedrooms each with two beds. The facility would maintain 13 staff during the day, 10.5 during evenings, 5 during nighttime and 6 on weekends. Surface parking (16 spaces) would be provided at 322 S. Crocker Street about one and a half blocks to the north of the building (as at present). An ERC meets the definition of "Supportive Housing".
Contact Information
Name
Sarah Mahin
Agency Name
Housing for Health, Department of Health Services
Job Title
Director
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency / Project Applicant / Parties Undertaking Project
Phone
Email
Name
Deborah Lever
Agency Name
Housing for Health, Department of Health Services
Job Title
Program/Project Manager
Contact Types
Lead/Public Agency / Project Applicant / Parties Undertaking Project
Phone
Email
Location
Coordinates
Counties
Los Angeles
Regions
Citywide
Cross Streets
Crocker Street and 5th Street
Zip
90013
Total Acres
0.12
Jobs
28
State Highways
US 101, I and SR 110, I-10 |
Railways
Union Station - rail + lht rail
Schools
Para Los Ninos ES, Metroplitan HS, Ramon Cortines HS, Central HS
Waterways
LA River
Other Location Info
444 S. Crocker Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013
Notice of Exemption
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 supportive housing to people in extreme need and would immediately house people who are currently on the streets or are in an interim facility (including shelters and hospitals) awaiting housing and either are in danger of becoming homeless or are taking up space that could be used by homeless people. The ERC would immediately help prevent further emergency for those served by the project and generally help in mitigating the conditions associated with the homelessness emergency and shelter crisis. Thus, the project would be eligible for the emergency project exemption.
Exempt Status
Statutory Exemption
Type, Section or Code
21080.27(d)(3)
Reasons for Exemption
The 444 S. Crocker Enriched Residential Care (ERC) facility would be funded from public funds including partial funding from one of the fourteen sources identified in PRC 21080.27(a)(8) -- a necessary condition for meeting the definition of supportive housing for purposes of this exemption. (The project is anticipated to have at least partial funding from Measure H – sales tax proceeds.) Consistent with PRC 21080.27(d)(3), the project is, “[a]n action to provide financial assistance in furtherance of implementing … a supportive housing project…” and thus exempt from CEQA. Since the project is a public works project. (as it is funded by public funds) the minor construction work would be subject to Chapter 1, Division 2 of the Labor Code as applicable and the requirements of subdivision (e) regarding prevailing wage would not apply. [PRC 21080.27(e)].
County Clerk
Los Angeles
Attachments
Notice of Exemption
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