Daxon: What to expect in Brea in 2024

In a few days we’ll be celebrating a new year: 2024. What can we expect in Brea for the coming year?

For one, the Brea Police Department’s Integrated Crime Center will be taking shape, thanks to a nearly $6 million grant they received from California’s Board of State and Community Corrections.

At the City Council’s Dec. 19 meeting, which lasted only seven minutes, the City Council approved spending $1,995,008 in the current fiscal year for software and hardware for the ICC. That purchase will include an Avigilon Control Center, drone software, fixed video cameras, license place readers and a Command Central Aware system. The city will cut a check for the $1.9 million and then be reimbursed in full from the BSCC grant.

Brea Police Chief Adam Hawley can’t just pull funds from the grant for purchasing equipment for the ICC, but must first have council approval. The city will continue to be reimbursed by the BSCC for additional costs to be incurred through December 2026. So the PD has until then to fund more equipment, hiring personnel and other expenses to get the ICC up and running. We’ll be hearing more about it in 2024.

Something else we can expect to hear about in 2024 is permanent supportive housing for Brea. You may have read about in the city manager’s October memo where he noted that the city was awarded a $6.03 million grant from CalOptima Health for the construction of a permanent supportive housing project in Brea at 323 N. Brea Blvd. That property is city owned.

Before we get all NIMBYish about it, here are a few facts about what permanent supportive housing really is and is not. Jason Killebrew, Brea’s community development director, is really the city’s expert on housing types and the laws governing them and explained the differences to me.

For one, permanent supportive housing is NOT a homeless, emergency or temporary, shelter. It is affordable permanent housing for the working poor whose income qualifies them to live and pay lower rent in a particular development.

Brea adopted the Inclusionary Affordable Housing Ordinance in 1993. It requires developers of new residential projects, including apartments, condominiums and single-family houses to reserve 20 or more units, or a minimum of 10% of the units as affordable, or pay in-lieu fees that go into the city’s housing funds. According the Killebrew, the city can use those funds to help private development of affordable housing projects.

The Bonterra Apartments in the Blackstone neighborhood and the Birch Hills Apartments on Kramer Boulevard are examples of affordable housing. I drove through both complexes recently and noticed that they are well maintained and look like many other Brea apartment communities.

Like those affordable apartments, permanent supportive housing has no limits on length of stay, and provides services by an onsite manager to make sure the tenant is maximizing their ability to live and work in the community. They are required to pay rent like their neighbors.

Killebrew said the main difference between the affordable apartments and permanent supportive housing is the area median income. Permanent supportive housing tenants’ income is in the lower bracket, and that could possibly be as low 0% to 30% of the area median income.  It is yet to be determined.

The proposed permanent supportive housing project for North Brea Boulevard would be only 40 units and construction would not get under way until the city secures 100% of the funding, or a development/lease agreement is approved by the City Council. That could be many months from now.

Remember the tenants will be working people, maybe who work in local shops and restaurants we all frequent. They deserve a safe, permanent place to live in the new year.

Terri Daxon is a freelance writer and the owner of Daxon Marketing Communications. She gives her perspective on Brea issues twice a month. Contact her at  daxoncomm@gmail.com.