A. Subject to the availability of funding and at the discretion of the City, the Department shall establish a program to place Unhoused Individuals or Families in vacant hotel Guest Rooms, at Hotels that voluntarily participate in this program. Elements of the program shall include the following:
1. The Department shall develop a registry that allows for Hotels that choose to participate in this Voluntary Housing Program to pre-register with the City fulfilling contracting and negotiated per-room rates. Participation shall be purely voluntary and at the sole discretion of the hotel.
2. The Department shall develop a program for paying no more than a Fair Market Rate, or such other rate as the Department may negotiate with a participating Hotel, for vacant hotel Guest Rooms on behalf of Unhoused Individuals or Families. The payment system may utilize government or philanthropic sources, or another means by which the City or its designee pays for lodging on behalf of Unhoused Individuals or Families.
3. The Department shall, on an ongoing basis, identify Hotels registered to participate in this voluntary program with vacant Guest Rooms, refer Unhoused Families or Individuals to such Hotels, and provide payment for such families’ and individuals’ lodging.
4. The Department shall seek and accept bids to contract with one or more bona fide non-profit organizations with a demonstrated record of working with unhoused populations to assist in administering the program. If the Department opts to have such nonprofit organization(s) pay for lodging under the program on the Department’s behalf, it shall establish a program to provide grants to the nonprofit organization(s) for use in making such payments, and shall not rely solely on a program of reimbursing the non-profit organization(s) for lodging payments made under this section that have been advanced by the nonprofit organization(s).
5. This article is not intended to replace or preclude any additional programs of the City to arrange or pay for the lodging of Unhoused Individuals or Families in Hotels.