Redding staff respond to concerns about interim housing programs

Programs run by two nonprofits, No Boundaries and New Life Discovery Center, have attracted the attention of city leaders — but not in a good way.

At a Redding Council meeting this week Community Development Manager Nicole Smith said the city is responding to concerns that community members, including parolees, are being served by programs that provides interim housing in hotels.

The issue has prompted inter-departmental staff meetings. Smith said it’s occurring largely as a result of relatively new forms of funding available through California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM), which is administered by Partnership Health Plan of California.

She explained that No Boundaries and New Life Discovery Center are both using these funds to provide assistance to individuals who qualify for housing and other holistic services. About 270 individuals are currently housed in hotels through these programs, Smith said.

Of those, about 30 rooms are being used by No Boundaries, which provides interim housing for parolees as well as both registered sex offenders and convicted arsonists, two groups that have raised concerns for potential safety issues to local residents. New Life doesn’t allow either registered sex offenders or those convicted of arson into their programs. 

Staff from No Boundaries did not attend the council meeting or respond to questions from a reporter after the meeting. But new Life Director Timothy Wetherald spoke to the council during public comment, explaining that his organization provides interim housing at five local motels under master leases of the facilities, which he believes ensures better care of the facility and clients. Wetherald claimed that programs run by New Life increase the city’s safety, saying his clients have replaced “drug dealers and prostitution” at the motels.

“We take care of our properties,” Wetherald said. “We take care of the people in them. We have 24-hour supervision and security and we work closely with RPD to make sure that people are in compliance and that they aren’t causing trouble.”

Motels being used for interim housing programs, the city said, include Abode, GuestPlace Inn & Suites, Shasta Lodge, Travel Inn, Stardust Motel, Deluxe Inn and Sundial Lodge. The last five are located within an area of Redding covered under the Downtown Specific Plan, which has specific zoning laws intended to facilitate revitalization.

While providing housing in hotels on a semi-permanent or permanent basis can be legal, it’s often restricted by municipal codes. Smith noted for the council that in Redding’s Downtown Specific Plan area, residential use of hotels is not listed, meaning such use would be prohibited. City code defines residential hotels as establishments offering rooms for rent on a weekly or monthly basis.

Even in parts of the city outside the Downtown Specific Plan area, City Attorney Curtis Christian added, an approved use permit is required for hotels to provide residential housing. That means hotels outside the bounds of downtown that wish to continue operating housing programs would need to seek approval from the city for that specific use.

Smith asked council members to weigh in on whether they’d like to consider amending city code to make room for homeless projects utilizing hotels in the Downtown Specific Plan area or if the council would prefer for the city to begin enforcing against these kinds of projects. 

The council asked city staff to enforce against hotels that are serving as interim housing in violation of code, a decision which could lead to the displacement of the hundreds of people currently sheltered in those programs. The direction from council prompted one member of the public to shout out from the floor, “Where are 240 people going to go?” 

Interim City Manager Steve Bade reminded the council that the city has faced a similar challenge once before, after abruptly ending its contract with No Boundaries last year. In that case, the city worked with those enrolled under that program to move them into different hotel housing under new case management. Bade said something similar could occur this time, to ensure people are not abruptly displaced onto the streets.

“We work with them as they transition out, because we don’t want 240 people on the street,” Bade said, referring to the programs and clients that would be affected by code enforcement action. “We know that they’re operating a good program. It’s just not the correct location for that use.”

He recommended the council delay enforcement to allow the city time to address housing issues, something members were amenable to. Staff agreed to work on notifying and enforcing against hotels with code violations, which may require inter-departmental efforts to ensure housing needs of current clients are met where possible.

The council also asked staff to notify hotels outside the Downtown Specific Plan of their need to apply for use permits if they wish to allow housing programs on site. The council additionally requested for staff to look for a way to update city code to restrict hotels from simultaneously providing interim housing and tourist stays.

As Community Development Manager Smith briefly mentioned during this week’s presentation to the council, the city itself has been funding interim housing at several local hotels. The housing was initially provided through the city’s contract with No Boundaries at the Sundial Lodge. When that contract was terminated last year, the city contracted with new service providers at different hotel sites. Smith said those contracts will end later this month.

The city has is also funding the conversion of a downtown hotel, Market Street Manor, into studio apartments for interim housing. Similar hotel conversions have occurred in the past in Redding. Over the decades, both the Redding Hotel and the Lorenzo Hotel have been converted into permanent senior housing, providing almost 100 new units for that population.

12.5.2025 9:45: We have updated the story to provide more clarity on which program provides interim housing for registered sex offenders.

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