Resource Center seeks funds for new homeless facility

The Laguna Beach City Council is poised to loan the Laguna Relief and Resource Center $100,000 to purchase a property at 2633 Laguna Canyon Road, not too far from the center’s existing site at 3305 Laguna Canyon Road.

The council will consider the loan at its meeting at 6 p.m. tonight, at Laguna Beach City Hall, 505 Forest Ave.

City staff is recommending approval of the loan, which would help create a multi-service center with emergency shelter and other services for homeless and needy people. The multi-service center — including a shelter — was one of the recommendations of the council’s Homeless Task Force.

The Resource Center is in escrow on the 2633 Laguna Canyon Road property, which is about a quarter-mile closer to downtown Laguna Beach than the current site.

The proposed new facility would provide temporary housing for as many as six people, according to a city staff report. The center is expected to apply for a conditional use permit for the facility in September.

The funds are proposed to be obtained from the Housing in Lieu fund.