by Mick Rhodes | editor@claremont-courier.com

It was all smiles Wednesday at Larkin Place as the ribbon was cut at the once controversial but now complete and open for business housing facility in Claremont.

(L-R) Jamboree Housing Corporation President and CEO Laura Archuleta receives a certificate of appreciation from U.S. Congresswoman Judy Chu at Wednesday’s private ribbon cutting event for Larkin Place, the new permanent supportive housing facility for formerly homeless people with special needs in Claremont. Courier photo/Peter Weinberger

About 100 invited guests were on hand at the private event, including Claremont Mayor Jennifer Stark, Vice Mayor Ed Reece, and City Council members Jed Leano and Corey Calaycay, and state and county dignitaries.

The event capped more than four years of planning, legal wrangling, and public debate surrounding the 32-unit permanent supportive housing facility for formerly homeless people with special needs.

Opposition from residents focused on possible impacts on property values, increased crime, and the facilities’ location adjacent to a public park, a playground, and El Roble Intermediate School. The majority of Claremont’s City Council was also unreceptive to the idea for these and other reasons, and the City of Claremont spent $140,000 on outside legal counsel from January 2022 to January 2024 in its effort to alter, delay, or deny the “by right” project.

The council’s two yes votes on Larkin Place were Stark and Leano. Both were among the nine key supporters who cut the ribbon Wednesday.