Though a proposal to turn a Riverside motel into homeless housing is dead, that didn’t stop supporters of the project.

Homeless advocates, residents and students continued their fight Tuesday, Feb. 10, against the Riverside City Council’s rejection of $20.1 million to remodel the Quality Inn Motel on University Avenue.

RELATED: Supporters of Riverside homeless project continue pressuring council to reconsider

A reconsideration of the council’s January vote would have needed to be placed by Friday, Feb. 6, onto the Tuesday agenda to comply with the state’s open-meeting law.

It was not, meaning the project is officially dead. Tuesday was the deadline to reconsider the vote.

“This item is over,” Councilmember Sean Mill said Tuesday morning in a text message. “There will be no reconsideration.”

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Riverside City Council members listen Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026, to speakers urging them to reconsider a vote against converting the Quality Inn Motel into homeless housing. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)

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Still, advocates for the project refused to back down.

Nearly 30 spoke to the council at Tuesday afternoon’s meeting, lambasting its decision against accepting the state money to remodel the Quality Inn Motel, at 1590 University Ave., into 114 studio apartments for residents who are homeless.

“I support the project irrevocably, and so should you,” resident Patricia Verwiel said at the meeting. “Remember: It’s OK to change your mind — especially when you find out the truth.”

Because the issue was not on the agenda, council members could not directly respond to the speakers.

Only a council member who voted on the winning side of a proposal could have brought it back to the council Tuesday, which did not occur.

Councilmember Chuck Conder, who was absent from the May meeting that resulted in a split vote on the city’s application for the state funds, last month voted along with Councilmembers Philip Falcone, Steven Robillard and Mill to oppose the project. In May, Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson cast the tie-breaking vote to apply for the state dollars.

Councilmembers Clarissa Cervantes, Jim Perry and Steve Hemenway voted last month to accept the money, as they did last year in voting to seek the grant.

Mill said that his opposition to the project comes from his belief that the “housing first” model to address homelessness has failed. “Housing first” is a method to reduce homelessness by providing permanent housing without prerequisites — including treatment for potential substance abuse — on those needing a place to live.

All four who opposed the project in January have made it clear they would not change their minds.

Also on Tuesday, the council discussed in closed session two potential legal actions related to its denial of the grant, but no action was announced afterward.

The city received a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation on Monday, Feb. 2. The letter said the council’s vote to reject the money raised legal questions and that it and other groups were investigating. It also urged the council to revisit its decision and raised concerns that denying the grant may conflict with the city’s housing needs and fair housing laws.

The city also got a Feb. 2 email on behalf of the owner of the Quality Inn that said the seller may hire attorneys to sue due to “interference” with the transaction now that the motel will not be purchased and transformed into the project.

The University Terrace Homes project was proposed to the city by Riverside Housing Development Corp., a Riverside-based nonprofit organization.

Despite the deadline for reconsideration having passed, speakers at Tuesday’s meeting still asked for a change.

UC Riverside student Sammie Burgess told the council that it was “fruitless” to hope for their minds to change, but Burgess still hoped members would reconsider.

“Nearly every student I told about the rejection of this funding was at least confused, if not appalled, by this decision,” Burgess said after the meeting, adding that due to the session’s time, students who wanted to speak had to skip class to attend.

Another UCR student, Urban Cross, told the council: “I just want to remind you that it’s OK to change your mind, and I urge you to do so.”

Rachel Williams, a 67-year-old Riverside resident, had a question for the council.

“Do you all sleep in a bed with a pillow under your head each night?” Williams asked.  “Shame on you for leaving some of our neighbors on concrete each night.”

Joe La Croix said he was at a loss as to what to tell council members.

“Because obviously everybody’s appealed to your heart, your kindness, your sense of whatever … There’s absolutely nothing that moves you on this thing.”


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