Generation Housing CEO Transformed the Palms Inn Into Roach & Mold-Infested Homeless Housing Abundant With Dead Bodies

Akash Kalia and Jen Klose are the founding members of Functional Zero Partners who transformed The Palms Inn, a budget hotel in Santa Rosa, California, into permanent 'supportive' housing

Former Santa Rosa City Schools Board President and Attorney Jenni Klose launched Generation Housing (Gen H), a leftist dark money-funded housing advocacy group following her 2019 termination as a trustee.

Gen H is a 'project' of the Tides Center, a 'legal' money laundering group for the Democratic Party. Tides Center’s primary function besides aiding left-leaning groups is “fiscal sponsorship.” This means using its nonprofit status as a legal umbrella for left-wing groups that have not or cannot apply for tax-exempt status with the IRS. The Tides Center does not directly fund these infant groups; instead, it operates as a feeder, accepting outside donations and redirecting them towards its numerous “projects” to develop them into standalone organizations.

In January 2022, Gen H published a State of Housing in Sonoma County report. Ms. Klose’s bio stated the following:

Jen worked as a real estate attorney and civil litigator for 15 years prior to the launch of Generation Housing, during which time she facilitated the conversion of the Palms Inn into permanent supportive housing for homeless veterans and vulnerable civilians. Jen served two terms on the Santa Rosa School Board including three years as its board president. Her service included joining the City of Santa Rosa in revising impact fees to spur development in Downtown Santa Rosa. Jen earned a B.S. in Biochemistry from UCLA and her JD from Indiana University, Bloomington.

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On December 20, 2015, The Press Democrat published the following article:

An experiment is underway at a motel on a downtrodden stretch of Santa Rosa Avenue just outside the city limits.

If successful, supporters say it could provide permanent lodging for Sonoma County’s most imperiled homeless people and save taxpayers thousands of dollars per year by steering residents away from emergency rooms, jails and other high-cost treatment facilities.

Akash Kalia, a 24-year-old college dropout who left school in 2012 to purchase his parents’ floundering motel, is converting all 104 rooms at The Palms Inn into single-room-occupancy housing for homeless people and military veterans.

“Being where we are on the south side of Santa Rosa, I see the need for this on a daily basis - there’s a lot of people in this area who can’t afford housing, especially now in this market,” Kalia said. “I’ve had people stay at the hotel who can’t find anywhere, and it’s a mother, father and two kids and they’re working three jobs and they still can’t qualify for an apartment.”

Kalia said he moved back to Santa Rosa from Oregon to help his parents, who were struggling financially. He originally planned to run his motel, catering to construction and trade workers in town on temporary jobs. He changed his mind when he was approached by his attorney, Jenni Klose, a Santa Rosa City Schools trustee. She’d worked on a similar project in San Francisco, where a substandard, largely vacant building located at 250 Kearny St. was transformed into single-room-occupancy housing for homeless veterans.

“It was known as the ‘house of horrors,’” Klose said, referring to the San Francisco single-room-occupancy hotel that had a bad reputation due to its filth and squalor. “My clients purchased it and made the deal with the city ... I saw it when they signed the lease ... that’s where I got the idea.”

Per his LinkedIn profile, Mr. Kalia indicated that he has been a Partner to Functional Zero Partners since October 2017.

Per the most recently filed Statement of information submitted to the California Secretary of State, Mr. Kalia was shown as the CFO for Functional Zero Partners, Inc.

Rocket Reach provided the following description regarding Functional Zero Partners:

Akash Kalia and Jen Klose are the founding members of Functional Zero Partners. Jen is an attorney with experience in real estate and government affairs, and Akash, a hotel owner and entrepreneur. Jen and Akash came together to transform the Palms Inn, a budget hotel in Santa Rosa, California, into a permanent supportive housing community for 120 previously homeless veterans and vulnerable individuals. Akash Kalia studied business with a focus on Entrepreneurship at the University of Oregon before returning home to save his family business. While still in high school and in college, Akash started a number of small businesses in the technology sector. After college, Akash bought and overhauled his familys hotel; nearly doubling the profits within a year while paying each employee a living wage. Akash saw the innovative value of leveraging existing housing vouchers to convert his Palms Inn into permanent supportive housing. Akash was very hands-on in the conversion, particularly with the collaborative efforts to build a sustainable community and in fostering positive respectful relationships between the residents and staff during the transition. Aptly named a social entrepreneur by the India West newspaper, Akash is focused on creating sustainable opportunities for business owners to serve their communities while maintaining business viability.

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Ms. Klose has served as a Board Member for the Renewal Enterprise District Housing Fund for the past several years. She is required to annually report her financial interests to the Fair Political Practices Commission.

As of 2023, Functional Zero Partners was still listed as a source of income on her Form 700 submitted to the Fair Political Practices Commission. The City of Hayward was itemized as a client which generated over $10k in revenue for the year.

On August 11, 2022, I sent the following email to Mr. Dustin Claussen, Assistant City Manager at the City of Hayward.

Greetings,

Could you please confirm why the attached agreement with Functional Zero Partners was authorized being that this organization is suspended with the California Secretary of State?

This same organization supposedly provides housing for the homeless at the Palms Inn, Santa Rosa, CA. This is interesting being that this location is being used for a prostitution ring.

On August 16, 2022, Mr. Claussen responded as follows:

Good Morning Adina-

The City previously entered into an agreement with functional zero to explore the feasibility of doing a hotel conversion project. This agreement was in two phases:

Phase one was site research/feasibility and logistics, community engagement, and drafting an operating budget support if a site was identified

Phase two was implementation coordination, with timeline and cost TBD

Functional Zero completed the research and feasibility portion of phase one of the agreement prior to May 2021 and though the contract was extended through June 30, 2022, the City has not used their services subsequently and is not planning to renew with them.

Please let me know if you have any additional questions.

Thanks,

Dustin

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On May 5, 2022, The Press Democrat published the following article:

William Woodard had just checked out of the hospital after an asthma attack left him gasping for breath.

Back at his room at the Palms Inn, a converted motel that now provides housing for formerly homeless people, Woodard pointed toward splotches of dark mold on his ceiling and around his doorway. After moving in six months ago, his breathing problems got worse, Woodard said, and he feared mold spores were the cause.

“I ventilate this place as well as I can, and then I have cockroaches I’ve got to spray for, and mice — It’s ridiculous,” Woodard said.

“They should demolish it and redo it, and put us in proper housing,” he said.

Woodard lives in one of the 94 occupied rooms at the 104-unit Palms, a permanent housing facility with wraparound social services just south of Santa Rosa.

At its inception six years ago, the Palms was celebrated as a pivotal step toward solving homelessness in Sonoma County.

But a two-month investigation by The Press Democrat found that despite receiving millions of dollars in public subsidies over the past six years, at least two dozen of the units became virtually unlivable. On multiple visits, reporters found apartments infested with mold and insects — issues confirmed in public inspection records. Reporters also spoke with 14 residents, some of whom fear for their safety and say thieves and drug dealers have been allowed free rein on the campus.

Last year, four people died of overdoses on the property. On at least two occasions, bodies went undiscovered for days, according to law enforcement reports and interviews with residents. One of those bodies was discovered by a neighbor who noticed a strong odor emanating from his friend’s door.

The problems at the property at 3345 Santa Rosa Ave. became so widespread that in March, the Sonoma County Housing Authority paused approving new leases for housing vouchers at the Palms until the agency’s habitability concerns are resolved.

“We don't want to put people into an environment that may be unsafe,” said Housing Authority manager Martha Cheever.

During recent room inspections, the Housing Authority found cockroaches, moisture issues and plumbing problems across 22 units. Two other local agencies found many similar issues.

At the same time, Burbank Housing, the county’s largest affordable housing provider, pulled out of its contract to run the Palms in March, accusing the site’s private owner of failing to make necessary investments in the property.

The owner, Santa Rosa-based Akash Kalia, disputes the characterizations and said he fired Burbank for allowing issues at the Palms to fester under its watch. Kalia said he is committed to fixing all inspection issues and violations — some of which public officials said were recently corrected — while also increasing site security.

“We're going to continue to do what we're doing to address these issues,” Kalia told The Press Democrat. “We are trending in the right direction.”…

Oddly, Mr. Larry Florin, CEO & President of Burbank Housing, is one of the founding board members of Gen H.

As Mr. Kalia, a BIPOC man, took the fall for the Palms Inn, his Caucasian oppressor, Ms. Klose was not mentioned in the media. Ms. Klose’s parents are former Press Democrat reporters. The Press Democrat has shared an office building with Gen H for several years.

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On September 7, 2022, I reported Ms. Klose to the FPPC for potential reportable financial omissions. For example, she listed zero sources of income on her 2018 Form 700.

On December 22, 2023, I received the following response letter from the FPPC:

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Why did Ms. Jenni Klose become the CEO of a housing corporation for her former client, Mr. Akash Kalia?

As Gen H bribes folks with racist commercials promoting free tacos to support development fee waivers, what are their true motives? Is Ms. Klose possibly middle-manning housing deals amongst interested financial parties?

Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” -Luke 12:15

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