E mail us at :
VoteNoVR@gmail.com
Vista Ridge Permanent Supportive Housing Project
Vista Ridge is a proposed Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) community located at 3331 N Texas Street in Fairfield, CA, the current site of the Sure Stay Hotel, next door to Texas Roadhouse. The project proposes converting 100 guest rooms into 50 permanent one-bedroom homes designed to support individuals transitioning out of homelessness. There will be 50 primary occupants and they can have up to 2 family members or a roommate. They may also have guests for up to 7 days at a time. Permanent Housing is not temporary, the occupants receive a lease for life. They do not have to transition out to other housing if they do not wish to or are unable due to their mental illness or addiction. This is a Homekey project funded by the state of California and that falls under SB1380 which allows the residents to refuse services to treat their afflictions and mandates that they may continue to use illegal drugs and alcohol as that is part of their lifestyle. The hope is that once in permanent housing they will choose to follow a sober path.
Why we are opposed to this project :
The location is poorly chosen and planned, next to thriving retail businesses and children’s dentistry offices
The target population consists of drug addicts and severely mentally ill who will be problematic to the neighborhood
Level 1 and level 2 sex offenders could be in this population of addicts and SMI.
Vista Ridge is a HOMEKEY project and is NOT RECOVERY BASED! Treatment and recovery are OPTIONAL and NO CERTIFIED TREATMENT STAFF will be on site. The case workers on site have 4 years of volunteer service to these types of people. Residents must be taken downtown for qualified services that they need, and only if they wish to.
The presence of this population will cause safety issues in the area due to behavioral problems and will tax the emergency services to the detriment of the rest of the residents in the district
The funding from the US Government and the state of California is not confirmed at this point in time due to US budget, and CA programs that support the services for addicts and mentally ill are not assured for the 55 year agreement with Homekey - TRUMP CUT FUNDING TO PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING NOVEMBER 26. LIMITS TO 30% OF THE STATE BUDGET. CALIFORNIA SPENDS 90% OF THE MONEY FOR HOMELESS ON PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING!!!!
Each of the 50 residents may have a roommate, or up to 2 family members live there as well. And they may have guests stay up to 7 days at a time. That is a lot of people that will be in the North Texas area.
Please attend the April 21 City Council meeting at 6 PM in the council chamber!
A presentation will be made by the housing manager explaining WHY the appraisals on the project are disparate, and the city is spending $26 million in total, ($23 million in tax dollars) on a project with an end value of $7.2 million when completed and filled with residents. Wow!
This presentation will be made at the beginning of the meeting. We have many questions about the long term cost of this project.
Questions :
Why did council agree to spend $26 million on this project when staff NEVER brought up the value of the building and business?
How is the city going to fund the project for 55 years as the contract says when we know that the federal government cut the funding for permanent supportive housing from 87% to 30% and the vouchers depend on that funding? It has not been confirmed! The taxpayers will foot the bill.
The Trump White House has targeted Project Homekey Plus as a waste of tax money and has threatened to cut all funding as it does not work and costs billions.
Why would the council choose to continue this project given the new information about the appraisal and the actions of the federal government?
Please sign our online petition to STOP VISTA RIDGE!
https://form.jotform.com/261035339125148
The petition is online, and you may click on the link above to submit. We will send to the Mayor Tuesday before the meeting and ask the council to vote again now that they have updated information. The project can still be STOPPED!
Request for Reconsideration Vote of the Vista Ridge Project
Petition to Fairfield City Council for April 21, 2026 meeting
The Citizens Against Vista Ridge, residents and business owners of Fairfield are requesting Fairfield City Council to reconsider their vote of November 18, 2025 to approve the Vista Ridge project due to the following reasons :
A new appraisal provided in February 2026 from the Banc of California states that the project will have a value of only $7.2 million after completion in 2027, while the public is spending $26 million for the property and remodel. Clearly this is a waste of taxpayer money. (Appraisal at link #2)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cEU8b58ZSdARIjcK1ruZvVIruMXnMOtP/view
The US Attorney has stated that Project Homekey Plus has wasted billions of taxpayer dollars since inception and they are actively investigating the real estate holders, developers and politicians involved. https://thetownhall.news/california-news/californias-3-75-billion-homeless-hustle-how-project-homekey-became-a-fraud-factory-on-the-taxpayers-dime/
The White House is specifically investigating California projects including Project Homekey Plus and the fraud involved. They are threatening to cut the funding for permanent supportive housing, which will affect the vouchers Fairfield is counting on to support the project for 55 years. If this happens the taxpayers of Fairfield will be forced to foot the bill.
Given the new information above that was NOT provided to city council or the residents of Fairfield prior to the Nov 18, 2025 vote, we request that the Mayor and council reconsider their vote to move forward with the Vista Ridge supportive housing project. Halt all construction. We demand an independent audit on the project to determine if there is fraud and where it was initiated. We must hold those people accountable.
If an audit finds the project a waste of tax dollars, then a suitable use of the property should be explored and implemented that will enhance the North Texas Street area and add to the community instead of detract from the property values and risk public safety. Recover the tax dollars and return to the state before it is too late.
the petition will ask for your name and street address in Fairfield. (only our group manager and the council will see your names. )
The program does not allow multiple submissions from the same person or IP address.
California’s $3.75 Billion Homeless Hustle: How Project Homekey Became a Fraud Factory on the Taxpayer’s Dime
The Promise vs. The Reality
When Governor Gavin Newsom launched Project Homekey in 2020, the pitch was bold and emotionally compelling: purchase motels, hotels, and vacant properties across California and rapidly convert them into housing for the homeless. No lengthy construction timelines. No bureaucratic red tape. Just fast, smart government action solving one of America’s most visible crises.
Six years and $3.75 billion in taxpayer funds later, the program has produced something far less inspiring — a sprawling fraud investigation, federal criminal charges, vacant buildings sitting in disrepair, and a cost-per-unit that would make a Manhattan real estate developer blush.
This is not a story about a well-meaning program that stumbled. It is a story about a government that moved fast, threw staggering sums of money at a problem, and when warned that something was deeply wrong, looked the other way. Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said it plainly: the fraud cases already charged are “only the tip of the iceberg.”
Californians deserve to understand what that iceberg looks like.
The Beverly Hills Fraudster and the Thousand Oaks Ghost Town
Start with Cody Holmes, 31, the former CFO of developer Shangri-La Industries. Federal prosecutors allege Holmes fabricated $160 million in fake bank statements to secure a $26 million Homekey grant for a housing site in Thousand Oaks. The site never opened. Not a single unhoused person was housed. What the money did fund, according to prosecutors, was Holmes’s personal American Express bills at luxury retailers — billed from a Beverly Hills mansion costing $46,000 a month.
Holmes was arrested, pleaded not guilty, and is awaiting trial. But his case is merely one chapter in a longer Shangri-La story. In total, that single developer was awarded $117 million in Homekey grants across seven projects. Only two were ever completed — producing 174 housing units at a jaw-dropping cost of $672,000 per unit. The California Department of Housing and Community Development filed a civil fraud action against Shangri-La in January 2024. The question that demands an answer: who approved $117 million in grants without noticing five projects were going nowhere?
The $16 Million Flip Nobody Was Supposed to Know About
The second federal case may be even more brazen. Real estate developer Steven Taylor, 44, of Brentwood, faces nine felony counts of bank fraud and money laundering. The allegation: Taylor used falsified loan records to purchase a 76-unit senior living facility in the Cheviot Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles — 3340 Shelby Drive — for $11.2 million. Months later, with no improvements made, he sold it to the nonprofit Weingart Center Association for $27.3 million. That’s a $16.1 million markup on a property he never touched.
The Weingart Center used California Homekey grant funds to make the purchase. A contract clause reportedly ensured Taylor’s involvement would be deliberately concealed from the state’s application process. The Weingart Center’s own grant application did not disclose the pending flip. Taylor is currently free on a $3.6 million bond.
The Weingart Center placed its CEO, Kevin Murray, on leave after it emerged that a July 2025 audit failed to disclose over $50 million in federally funded Homekey grants. The building — purchased with public money years ago — is not expected to open until next year, despite a grant agreement requiring full occupancy by February 2025.
70% Vacant: The Numbers Behind the Narrative
These criminal cases do not exist in a vacuum. Investigative reporters at Westside Current spent two years physically visiting all 38 Los Angeles County Homekey sites. In September 2024, they published a damning conclusion: over 70% of LA County’s Project Homekey rooms were vacant after the county spent $550 million.
Officials called the reporting “inaccurate” and “highly misleading.” Westside Current stood by every word. The state’s own HCD deputy director essentially confirmed the vacancies in writing, acknowledging that “a majority of conversions across the state are fully vacated before construction commences” — and that the state was “aware when projects are vacant.” The state knew. And kept funding the program anyway.
Meanwhile, the nonprofit Urban Alchemy was awarded $2.3 million for 88 designated tent spaces in a parking lot. City inspectors found only 44 bare wooden platforms on site. Half the promised capacity. One hundred percent of the funding collected.
A Government That Won’t Hold Itself Accountable
The conservative case against Project Homekey is not simply that fraud occurred. Fraud can occur in any large program. The deeper indictment is of a government philosophy that believes the solution to every problem is more money, spent faster, with less accountability — and treats any call for oversight as an obstacle to compassion.
Governor Newsom vetoed legislation that would have required annual independent evaluations of California’s homeless programs. He did this while publicly championing Homekey as a national model. He did this while his administration was already fielding civil fraud complaints against Shangri-La. He did this while reporters were documenting vacant building after vacant building across Los Angeles.
California has spent an estimated $24 billion on homelessness-related programs since 2019, per a 2024 state audit. The homeless population has not meaningfully declined — California still houses roughly 28% of the nation’s entire homeless population while representing just 12% of the U.S. population. When a program costs this much and delivers this little, it is not a compassionate failure. It is a systemic one. And Newsom’s answer is Homekey+, a new expansion backed by a $6.4 billion Behavioral Health Bond.
The Conservative Principle at Stake
Limited government is not a talking point. It is a safeguard. When agencies hand out hundreds of millions under emergency conditions — without competitive bidding, minimal vetting, and sparse audits — they don’t just risk inefficiency. They create an open invitation to fraud. Project Homekey was born as a COVID-era emergency measure built on the premise that speed mattered more than safeguards. That premise has now cost taxpayers dearly.
Fiscal accountability is not heartless. It is the only responsible path. Every dollar siphoned into a Beverly Hills mansion is a dollar that never reached a shelter bed, a mental health counselor, or a recovery program. Real compassion demands hard questions before the check clears — not after federal indictments arrive.
Personal responsibility must extend upward — to the officials who approved these grants, ignored two years of warnings from the press and public, and vetoed accountability legislation. The men arrested will face justice in court. Whether the officials who enabled them will face any accountability at all remains an open question.
What Comes Next
The federal investigation is ongoing. Essayli’s task force has signaled more charges are coming. Fourteen neighborhood councils in Los Angeles have formally demanded federal and state investigations. Representative Young Kim has called on Newsom to account for $1.3 billion in Medicaid-related discrepancies. The scrutiny is widening, and rightly so.
For California taxpayers, the lesson is as old as government itself: without transparency, accountability, and genuine oversight, even the most well-branded program can become a vehicle for the very exploitation it claimed to solve.
Call to Action
The fraud in Project Homekey didn’t happen in the dark — it happened in plain sight, while officials dismissed the warnings. Don’t let that story go untold.
Sources: U.S. Department of Justice (USAO-CDCA), Westside Current, RealClearInvestigations, California Department of Housing and Community Development, California State Auditor (2024), CalMatters, LAist, Los Angeles Times.
Author
As an investigative reporter focusing on municipal governance and fiscal accountability in Hayward and the greater Bay Area, I delve into the stories that matter, holding officials accountable and shedding light on issues that impact our community. Candidate for Hayward Mayor in 2026.
https://www.vallejosun.com/vallejo-supportive-housing-project-delayed-again-as-costs-escalate/
More about Vallejo Bailout of Homekey
https://www.vallejosun.com/audit-finds-grant-challenges-limited-experience-led-to-6m-bailout-of-vallejo-supportive-housing-project/
VALLEJO PROJECT HOMEKEY ONE YEAR BEHIND, $6 MILLION CITY BAILOUT AND COSTS $18K PER WEEK IN CARRYING COSTS!
The TLDR: the City received a Project Homekey grant in May of 2022, plus additional funding from a number of sources for a 47 unit new construction building for unhoused people on the “housing first” model. The Developer is Firm Foundation and the facility operator would be Shelter, Inc. Interesting, in spite of this being new construction (and not renovation of a 36 year old motel), the per unit costs were projected at approximately the same as the Vista Ridge Project.
Broke ground in Sept 2022. A city publication in Dec 2022 has the following comment in a short article about the project: "The City looks forward to the completion of the construction and successful opening in 2023”. Significant delays in construction followed. The Oct 29, 2025 Vallejo Sun article quotes the Assistant to the City Manager saying they hope to have the building occupied by the end of this year.
Every Dollar that Vista Ridge goes over Danco’s budget will be paid by Fairfield taxpayers!
Danco’s budget is posted on the city website under housing. They have $10.2 million for the build. $1.8 million in profit for Danco. $1.1 million in contingency funds. Due to the recent inspection ordered by Mayor Moy, we are expecting to find huge issues with sewer lines to the main, roof, toxic contamination and perhaps environmental contamination that will require remediation. We are also told by a contractor who specializes in building elevators that the structure may need reinforcing. We are also told that the building itself is 40 years old and was not built to last 100 years. The city is committing for 55 years!
Danco has allocated every cent of the grant money in the build plan AND plans on taking out a $3 million interest only loan. They plan to pay over $300k annually in interest for those 55 years according to what is posted online. This makes no sense. The interest is paid out of the $400k profit Danco shows on annual operating income. Many questions should be asked.
The city, as oversight and 50% partner in the limited partnership, should engage a forensic accountant to vet Danco’s budget. Spend the few thousand now and save us potentially millions out of the general fund.
If there are hidden construction and site contamination issues not called out in the appraisal, Danco will have to fix them and if they cannot come up with the cash, then the city must choose to pay for the overages or return the $21.5 million grant to the state. Let us NOT become another Vallejo! Think how much $5 million or more will take out of our general fund and how that will affect police, fire, streets, parks and rec. We heard everything they would cut at the budget meeting in May. It is not acceptable to sacrifice the quality of life in Fairfield for Vista Ridge!
K Patrice Williams ‘splains to us citizens that our tax dollars are FREE MONEY - Nov 30 on Nextdoor
Then she continues that she believes the vast majority of 120,000 residents want Vista Ridge. You cannot make this up!
Please watch this community meeting on YouTube. Held at City Hall Oct 22, 2025. You will see what citizens think about the project.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyaVgZCOlMA&t=3s
Hear our firefighters at 1:25 much more from the Mayor and City Manager - a must watch!
Pacific Research Institute Report on Homekey in California since 2020
https://www.pacificresearch.org/flawed-project-homekey-now-immersed-in-scandal/
Q : Why does the city keep saying that veterans will be at this project and maybe sex offenders?
A : The designated criteria for getting on the list to move into Vista Ridge is that the person must have a drug addiction or be severely mentally ill. If that person happens to have a past history of being in the military or convicted of sex offenses then they would be included in the population. The violent sex offenders who are registered are excluded, but you could have been registered and removed from the list. Mayor Moy explains it in the video below. Everyone wants to help veterans and it sounds like a good thing, but these would be SMI, severely mentally ill or drug addicted people, and as documented by Homekey Plus there are ZERO funds allocated to that group and ZERO services. Same with sex offenders. Residents care about blocking residents with a past history of sex offenses of any kind. The city manager has repeatedly answered that yes, there will be some veterans as they are looking for them specifically and there could be sex offenders.