A council meeting in San Francisco devolved into outright chaos in an affluent Bay area town as hundreds of angry residents protested and booed plans to house homeless people in a nearby hotel.

(Video Credit: NBC News)

“Rowdy” residents in Millbrae packed the community hall where the meeting was held last week to protest “Project Homekey” which plans to house approximately 100 homeless people at the La Quinta hotel on El Camino Real. They brandished signs, yelled, and made a variety of gestures at officials over the proposal, according to the Daily Mail.

The community hall was packed to its 300-person capacity with hundreds more standing outside to hear the proposals being covered by San Mateo County Executive Mike Callagy. The tiny leftist town is located 15 miles south of San Francisco where the average home price is $1.9 million.

Callagy’s speech was being drowned out before it ever began as he was booed by the audience according to Jordan Grimes, who is the leftist leader of a grassroots campaign group for affordable housing.

Video footage shows the crowd getting angrier and angrier as Callagy tried to justify the move. It was an absolute powder keg.

Good evening, Twitter! I’m spending my Friday night in the affluent Bay Area suburb of Millbrae, where the county is presenting a plan to turn a hotel into ~100 homes for unhoused residents.

It appears that the entire city is here, and they are *pissed*. pic.twitter.com/f94hHQbr6l

— Jordan Grimes (@cafedujord) August 19, 2023

The crowd is rowdy and angry, booing the County Exec until he’s drowned out completely. Multiple times. pic.twitter.com/UKO1lYeabH

— Jordan Grimes (@cafedujord) August 19, 2023

“The crowd is rowdy and angry, booing the County Exec until he’s drowned out completely. Multiple times,” Grimes reported on X from the overflow area outside the hall.

He noted that residents were “pissed” and that things started to spiral fully out of control when county staff hosted a Q&A session. It was overrun by “people having their own conversations” and “yelling.”

Among the criticisms were some in the crowd calling out that it’s an unfair burden placed on Millbrae compared to other wealthier cities in the county.

Signs were brandished stating “Don’t Bully MIllbrae,” “Protect Us,” and “Safety for Millbrae.” Residents aired their grievances over public safety and the hotel being near a number of schools.

I’m heartened to see the citizens of Millbrae get exactly what they voted for, good and hard

— Will Chamberlain (@willchamberlain) August 19, 2023

“We’re concerned,” Millbrae resident Patricia Lam told NBC Bay Area. “We’re concerned about this project. The reason why is because it’s right in the heart of Millbrae.”

She held a sign saying, “Keep our children and seniors safe.”

Ho Yeung, who is also a resident, asserted, “It’s very close to children, and it’s a block from three schools, so we don’t want to see that.”

Callagy begged the residents to “give the project a chance.”

“Look, we’ve got these facilities all over the county,” he told the incensed mob. “They’re worried about crime, they’re worried about assaults, they’re worried about drugs and mental health impacting the neighborhoods. That has just not been our experience.”

San Mateo Council meeting in affluent #SanFrancisco neighborhood descends into chaos as residents protest turning La Quinta hotel into homes for 100 #homeless people
Hundreds of Millbrae residents packed out a meeting to protest the plans pic.twitter.com/K4GnRLYzJL

— Hans Solo (@thandojo) August 22, 2023

Funding for the project has yet to be approved. If it is given the green light, the $33 million project will be overseen by the local Episcopal Community Services (ECS).

Beth Stokes, a spokesperson for the service, commented that the homeless people would be “essentially living in an apartment” with support staff available to help them 24 hours a day.

“In terms of safety, ECS will have 24/7 staffing on site,” she told NBC Bay Area in an interview. “We also will have case management staffing and that’s what supportive housing is. It’s services.”

That is likely to be cold comfort to residents experiencing skyrocketing crime rates and zombie drug addicts with a growing appetite for fentanyl in the San Francisco area.

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