University Terrace / Project Home Key

Church board president announced the ACLU's civil rights complaint filed that morning and urged the council to reconsider, noting adults over 50 are the fastest-growing homeless demographic.

Cited cost figures showing housing people is far cheaper than leaving them on the street, and called the council's rejection NIMBY-driven by wealthy business owners.

Continued Hawksworth's statement, warning of legal liability from the rejection and citing a state HCD letter questioning the city's housing element compliance.

An attorney with the Public Interest Law Project said the council can take new action despite the expired reconsideration window and cited specific anti-discrimination statutes the city may be violating.

Read ASUCR's formal resolution supporting the University Terrace project on behalf of over 22,000 undergraduate students.

Urged the council to re-agendize the project, citing international examples where mixed housing eliminated homelessness.

A UCR student said the council's safety justification rings hollow, citing Redlands' 31% drop in unsheltered homelessness after accepting its Home Key grant.

A UCR student urged passage of the project funding, saying she wants to live in a city that provides housing to the most vulnerable.

Defended city staff's community outreach record, described work with the ACLU and legal groups on the complaint, and said just one 'no' vote is needed to bring the project back as a new item.

A UCR student described housing instability among students and asked the council to prioritize affordable housing over business interests.

A UCR student said the council's decisions have failed the values it claimed to uphold and accused members of losing empathy.

Submitted a petition with over 250 UCR student signatures supporting the project, and sharply criticized the rejection as morally reprehensible.

A UCR alum and University Neighborhood Association co-chair urged the council to bring the project back as a new agenda item.

A UCR student asked where unhoused people rank among the council's priorities, saying four members sided with business owners over constituents.

A first-year UCR student urged the four 'no' voters to reconsider, citing Redlands' results and criticizing the influence of donors.

A UCR student welcomed the transparency about talks to redirect the funds but pressed the council on what denying housing means for the community and campus.

A phone caller defended the council's no vote, saying the project was always intended for chronically homeless individuals with mental illness and addiction, and thanked Falcone, Conder, Robillard, and one other for voting no.

A UCR student leader said the council is rejecting state money that doesn't touch the city budget and warned members will be voted out.

A Hesperia councilmember and healthcare manager urged the city not to leave homeless services money on the table, noting unhoused people travel across the Inland Empire following resources.

A Ward 6 healthcare worker explained how housing stability is medically essential for HIV patients and asked whether one 'no' voter could bring the project back.

Argued housing is cheaper and more effective than punitive measures and told the council to stop wasting Riverside's time and money.

Said any councilmember can bring a new item forward, cited HCD's finding that zero very-low-income permits have been issued since 2021, and noted wards 2, 4, and 6 are on the ballot in five weeks.

A senior citizen and military veteran who once experienced homelessness asked the council to show compassion so others can become employable and productive.

Said she talked to nearby small business owners who wanted the tenants' spending, dismissed the UCR safety argument as a straw man, and urged the council to ask the city manager to find a path to bring the project back.

Said the optics of the council's unwavering stance are terrible and warned that constituents will hold members accountable at the ballot box.

A UCR student and Young Democrats of America co-chair, whose parents experienced homelessness, urged the council to serve people over moneyed interests.