Laguna Hills Inn selected as new Project Roomkey housing site for homeless (Brief)

The Ayres Hotel in Laguna Hills (Christian Aguilar-Garcia)

It took a series of protests from the concerned senior population of Laguna Woods Village to effectively shelve plans made by the County of Orange and Gov. Newsom's 'Project Roomkey' initiative.

The initiative known as Project Roomkey established FEMA funding to repurpose upwards of 15000 vacant hotel rooms across the state in a effort to help contain the spread of COVID-19 while acting as a buffer for nearby hospitals.

Due to heavy criticism of the decision to use the Ayres Hotel, the plan was abandoned and for a moment, the senior population of Laguna Woods celebrated their newfound victory.

However, given that the necessity for securing housing for the homeless during the COVID-19 pandemic still exists, an alternative site for Project Roomkey has been announced, much to the displeasure of Laguna Hills officials.

Currently, Laguna Hills officials are considering legal actions in an effort to prevent further development.