Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan is calling her colleagues in for a special meeting on Election Day to reverse course on buying land for a homeless shelter she approved less than two weeks ago.
The last-minute meeting, hours ahead of the polls closing, comes after years of debate on where a homeless shelter could go in town or whether they should have one at all.
The council voted 4-1 last month to approve purchasing two buildings in the Irvine Business Complex for $20 million. The buildings are slated to become the first homeless shelter in the city.
[Read: Irvine Officials Approve Plans to Develop Homeless Shelter]
Councilmember Mike Carroll was the sole vote against the purchase last month, emphasizing that there wasn’t enough community feedback or commission oversight for him to support the purchase.
“You should not casually put your vote down on $20 million on a facility that could bring a lot of difficulty to our city if it isn’t fully fleshed out,” Carroll said at the council’s Oct. 22 meeting.
Khan voted in favor of the shelter, but raised a series of questions that weren’t discussed at the council’s last meeting in a memo to City Manager Oliver Chi on Monday morning.
“It has come to our attention that outreach which prior to the council action to purchase 17572 and 17622 Armstrong Avenue was not done,” Khan wrote. “I understand petitions have been signed, meetings have been held, and various representations have been made.”
The special meeting starts at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Election Day.
Khan, who terms out shortly after Election Day, did not return requests for comment.
Councilmembers Tammy Kim and Kathleen Treseder both said the special meeting came as a surprise to them given the council’s recent vote, with Treseder asking why it needed to happen so soon.
“I’m not sure based on the memo why we can’t have it at our regular meeting next week,” Treseder said in a Monday phone interview. “I’m not sure why she’s bringing this up.”
Kim agreed, saying she found out about the meeting when the public did.
“I’ve not spoken to my city manager yet,” Kim said in a Monday phone interview. “I think there’s probably something fishy going on here with the timing of this on Election Day. Whether this was intentional or not I’m not sure.”
However, Kim sent out an email to residents promising it would not become a homeless shelter despite voting to purchase it and make it a homeless shelter just weeks earlier.
“After some consideration, I would agree that this is not the best place,” Kim said in an email to residents on Oct. 30. “If elected Mayor, I will work to make sure the new shelter is not built near your residence.”
In a follow up phone interview after this article was published, Kim said that she still supported buying the property, noting that even if it didn’t become a shelter, the city could find other uses.
“We have the opportunity to purchase property, a good size property, below market,” Kim said. “Whether it becomes a cultural center, a library, a performing arts center, housing, whatever, I don’t know. But I support the acquisition of below market value property.”
Councilmembers Larry Agran and Mike Carroll did not return requests for comment.
An unsigned letter from Irvine residents emphasized that the decision was rushed and not enough public input was taken into consideration — especially from residents that live near the Irvine Business Complex.
“While we understand the importance of addressing homelessness in our community, we feel that the lack of public input and commission review fails to honor the principles of transparency, due process, and thoughtful consideration of community impact,” reads the letter, dated Oct. 29.
“Furthermore, the decision affects neighborhoods populated by many young families and children who are understandably concerned about the impact of this project on safety, property values, and community resources.”
There’s also a website and series of social media pages calling for the council to reconsider that went up over the last week.
During the meeting on Oct. 22, staff emphasized it was important to move quickly.
Chi said the city was required to put down a $1 million deposit two days after the item was approved in order to acquire the property.
The building is owned by John Saunders, who owns properties throughout Orange County and has faced controversy over rent spikes at the Rancho La Paz senior mobile home park that sits in both Anaheim and Fullerton.
It caused Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva (D-Fullerton) to spearhead a law that curbed some rent hikes for Rancho La Paz seniors.
Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @NBiesiada.
Angelina Hicks is a Voice of OC Tracy Wood Reporting Fellow. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13