A proposal by two Los Angeles city councilmen to set up temporary camps or “tiny homes” for homeless people in beach parking lots is drawing opposition.
The motion asks the city administrative officer to evaluate and identify funding for temporary sites for “single-occupancy tiny homes or safe camping” at Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades, Dockweiler Beach in Playa del Rey and Fisherman’s Village in Marina del Rey. Dockweiler would include “safe parking” sites.
Los Angeles Councilman Mike Bonin’s plan also envisions similar camps at a half-dozen non-beach sites including parks, and land owned by Los Angeles International Airport, but the proposed beach sites have drawn the most attention.
In the motion, Bonin said his region has already made efforts to house homeless residents including permanent supportive housing, bridge housing, hotel rooms through Project Roomkey, safe parking locations and safe camping sites. However, he said more must be done.
“Despite those projects, homelessness across Southern California, Los Angeles, and the 11th District continues to increase, and much more must be done,” he said. “Different interventions must be tried, and more locations must be identified.”
A motion from a councilmember must be submitted to the Homelessness and Poverty Committee and is heard at the discretion of the committee chair. If heard and approved by the committee it would then move to the full council at a time of the Council President’s choosing. If Bonin’s report is approved, specific plans for each location would have individual hearings inside City Hall.
However, the initial proposal is already triggering strong resistance from residents.
Judi Jensen, a 50 year resident of the Santa Monica Canyon, said her neighborhood has mounted successful grassroots efforts to reduce homelessness but Bonin’s proposal has caused uproar.
“The name Bonin has become a dirty word in our neighborhood,” she said. “We all think he has lost his mind, we know there are better ways to solve the homeless problem than putting them in the parking lot at the beach.”
An online change.org petition opposing use of the Pacific Palisades parking lot had more than 6,000 signatures as of Tuesday morning.
The petition asserts that the proposed camp is not a solution to homelessness and would bring the problems of drugs, mental illness, crime and danger to the community.
“Supervisor Kuehl and Councilman Bonin — My family and I do not feel protected by our local representatives,” said Jan Stanton in a written response to the proposal. “I grew up in Brentwood and have lived in the area for over 50 years. This is the first time I feel that it is unsafe for me and my family due to the homeless situation. My daughter lives in Venice and recently a homeless person climbed over her fence and stole her electric bike in broad daylight. My stepdaughter just sold her house in Venice because the homeless were living in her alley and she no longer felt safe.
Every day I read about someone being chased or knifed or attacked — and this week murdered. Something must be done. Based on everything that I have seen and read, bringing the homeless to Will Rogers State Beach will only contribute to the problem.”
However, Bonin said the scale of the homelessness crisis requires new approaches.
“We need all kinds of solutions — and we need them everywhere we can put them,” Bonin wrote on his website after submitting the plan in a City Council motion also signed by Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas.
Editor@smdp.com
