Orange County board approves purchase agreement to explore Kramer Place as multi‑service shelter after hours of testimony

Orange County's Board of Supervisors on June 2 authorized staff to execute a purchase and sale agreement to begin a 90‑day due diligence period for 1000 North Kramer Place in Anaheim, a 1.87‑acre property staff said includes roughly 24,000 square feet of warehouse and office space and is being considered for uses that could include a year‑round emergency homeless shelter and a multi‑service center. County Executive Office staff described the proposed purchase price as $4.2 million and said the approval does not commit the county to a particular use but allows inspections, appraisal and outreach to begin.

The specially set hearing drew 57 speaker requests; the Board reduced individual time to two minutes to allow broad public participation. Supporters included homeless service providers, faith‑based groups and elected officials from Anaheim and Fullerton, who argued the county urgently needs a year‑round shelter and entry point for coordinated services. "Orange County has been in desperate need of a year‑round shelter and multi‑service center for years," said Jennifer Lee Anderson of the Anaheim Poverty Task Force, who urged supervisors to "vote yes on purchasing the property at Cramer." Mercy House and other nonprofits told the Board the site could be an accessible entry point to treatment and housing programs.

Opponents included nearby business owners and residents who said the site is near homes and commercial properties and raised concerns about traffic, property values and safety. Several speakers asked that any environmental review and final plan clearly address impacts on adjacent neighborhoods and that the Board retain oversight as designs and tenant agreements are negotiated.

Chairman Spitzer said staff will return with a schedule for community meetings — including night sessions — and stronger notification measures. The Board amended the purchase language to require that any substantive, negotiated terms come back to the Board for public review and approved staff directions on due diligence, including obtaining an appraisal and conducting environmental and facility assessments. The motion passed unanimously.

What happens next: staff will complete a 90‑day due diligence process that includes environmental and physical inspections, obtain a formal appraisal and coordinate outreach with adjacent property owners and cities. The Board also directed that any final terms tied to property conveyance or substantive use changes return to the Board in a publicly noticed meeting; construction or tenant decisions would require additional approvals and public comment. The county emphasized that the purchase approval does not itself commit the county to operating a shelter at the site.

Reporting note: quoted speakers and factual details are drawn from Board staff presentations and public testimony delivered during the specially set hearing.