b'While there were a number ofcommercially zoned land or property,housing sites were, they still required other projects in the pipeline forwith less than 30 beds, unless a con- significant time to build. Even when development, the sad reality was thatditional use permit was obtained. Theit was expedited, inception to com-once again the city would not be ableprocess of obtaining a conditional usepletion took well over 12 months. to build enough permanent housingpermit required a public hearing andWe needed a faster response to the fast enough. Meanwhile, homeless- notification to local neighbors, whichescalating humanitarian crisis of ness continued to increase by doublewas a costly endeavor and normallyhomelessness in Los Angeles. digits year over year.met with fervent resistance.In April 2018, LA Mayor EricIn partnership with the city, HopeMaking it possible Garcetti and the City Councilof the Valley Rescue Mission immedi- L ike many others, I had been Photos courtesy of Hope of the Valley Rescue Missiondeclared an emergency shelter crisisately began looking for propertiesintrigued by the prospect of and took advantage of a new state lawthat met the new criteria. We leasedconstructing tiny homes that that enables cities to construct bridgea 15,000-square-foot warehousewould be affordable, flexible, and housingfaster than ever beforeonwherein partnership with the city scalable. Prior to my introduction any land owned or leased by the city.we opened an 85-bed, congregant,to Pallet Shelter, I was working with Additionally, it allowed homelessindividual-cubicle-style shelter inthe architectural, engineering, and services providers to build sheltersNorth Hollywood. Thirty days later wedesign department at the University in expanded zoning around the city.opened a similar 100-bed, congregantof Southern California (USC), trying Historically, service providersshelter in Van Nuys.to come up with a tiny home concept could only build a shelter onAs good as the congregant bridgethat could be rapidly deployed. 22 WWW.CITYGATENETWORK.ORG JULY/AUGUST 2021'