Homeless advocates, residents and students are continuing to press the Riverside City Council to reconsider its rejection of $20.1 million for a proposal to turn a motel into homeless housing as time runs out and potential lawsuits loom.
RELATED: Homeless advocates again blast Riverside’s rejection of $20.1 million housing grant
They plan to return to the Tuesday, Feb. 10, council meeting to ask members to revisit the issue and accept the state money to remodel the Quality Inn Motel, at 1590 University Ave., into 114 studio apartments for residents who are homeless, have physical disabilities or have lower incomes.
Dan Hoxworth, a board member of the Inland SoCal Housing Collective, said Monday, Feb. 9, that supporters’ priority remains emphasizing the importance of the project. But he also cited potential court action.
“The fact that they’re facing potential lawsuits, that opens the door to potential reconsideration,” he said.
Advocates are focusing on getting one of the four council members who voted against the project to change their mind and ask for a second vote — though the deadline for the council to do so is Tuesday, Feb. 9.
A turnabout seems unlikely.
Only a council member who voted on the winning side of a proposal can bring it back to the council and all four have indicated that they would not ask for another vote.
Also, under city rules, the last meeting at which a reconsideration could be discussed is Tuesday, according to city officials. A reconsideration would have already had to be announced Friday, Feb. 6, for the item to make it onto Tuesday’s agenda.
A new vote is not on Tuesday’s agenda, though the council is set to discuss in closed session two potential legal actions related to its denial of the grant.
Councilmember Chuck Conder, who was absent from the May meeting that resulted in a split vote on the city’s application for the state funds, last month joined Councilmembers Philip Falcone, Steven Robillard and Sean Mill in opposing the project. In May, Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson cast the tie-breaking vote to send the city’s application for state funds forward. In November 2025, the city learned it won the grant.
In line with their votes last year on whether to initially seek state money for the project, Councilmembers Cervantes, Jim Perry and Steve Hemenway voted last month to accept the money.
Three of the four elected leaders who opposed the project in January said in interviews two weeks ago that they would not move to revisit it. Conder said in a Facebook post that he would not be changing his vote.
Advocates for the project have also discussed opposing the reelection of council members who are on the ballot in June. Conder will face re-election for the Ward 4 seat. Other seats up for election are Cervantes’ Ward 2 seat and Perry’s Ward 6 seat, but both supported the proposal.
Falcone, who represents the ward in which the potential project would rise, has become a target for project advocates.
Supporters have flooded him wit 5,000 text messages and calls, said Hoxworth, who added that students at UC Riverside — which is down the street from the proposed site — have joined the fight.
As for the two potential lawsuits, the city received a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation on Monday, Feb. 2.
The letter from ACLU Senior Staff Attorney Kath Rogers said the council’s vote to reject the money “not only has devastating policy consequences but also raises serious legal questions. ACLU SoCal and partner organizations are investigating this city council vote … We strongly encourage the City to reconsider its vote … ”
The letter raised concerns that denying the grant may conflict with the city’s housing needs and fair housing laws.
The city also received a Feb. 2 email on behalf of the owner of the Quality Inn said the seller is looking into hiring attorneys to initiate a lawsuit.
The project that would have been named University Terrace Homes was proposed to the city by Riverside Housing Development Corp., a nonprofit organization in Riverside.
The organization also asked the council to reconsider its vote on the project and ensure that the city’s “actions are consistent with fair housing obligations, disability rights protections and its own adopted policies,” according to an email to the council from CEO Bruce Kulpa. The organization has an additional $250,000 invested in this project for which it has yet to be reimbursed, Hoxworth said.
The council will meet at 1 p.m. in the council chambers at City Hall, 3900 Main St. While reconsideration of its vote on the project is not on the agenda, there is a time for the public to address the council on issues not on the agenda.
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