Los Angeles officials will meet today to discuss a controversial interim housing facility proposed at a City-owned parking lot on 2377 Midvale Avenue in West Los Angeles.
The City Council Housing and Homelessness Committee, chaired by District 4 Councilmember Nithya Raman, will be meeting on Wednesday, October 5 at 2:30 p.m. to review funding allocation, construction, and operation of the Midvale center. The meeting's agenda will include a report from the Bureau of Engineering as well as from Matthew W. Szabo, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) for the city. According to a September 29 newsletter from Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky's office, the CAO's report is:
"...the mechanism by which the City will consider approving the project construction. Specifically, it provides information on the funding sources that will be used to procure the prefabricated housing units for the site, and pay for site costs associated with constructing and installing the units. It also provides other authorities and approvals necessary to implement this project."
Assuming it is approved by the Housing and Homelessness Committee, Yaroslavsky, who will not be taking part in Wednesday's meeting, expects the item to come before the full City Council for a vote as soon as next Friday.
Aside from Raman, the committee will also include Vice Chair Bob Blumenfield (CD3), Marqueece Harris-Dawson (CD8), Monica Rodriguez (CD7) and John Lee (CD12).
In July, Yaroslavsky introduced plans for a new interim housing project for the homeless on L.A.’s Westside, which is slated for construction on what the councilmember calls an "underutilized city-owned parking lot." The project is intended to "add desperately needed interim beds to the Fifth Council District’s homeless housing supply."
The parking lot in question was procured for the City in 1990 using eminent domain by the councilmember's father-in-law and former District 3 County Supervisor, Zev Yarolslavsky.
Past meetings on the project have been chaotic.
At an August meeting, Yaroslavsky was heckled shortly after taking the microphone at an in-person "Information Session" for a proposed West LA Interim Housing Project on Pico Blvd. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was at the meeting and called for it to end after both women were met with boos and demands of a recall by members of the crowd.
Members of the public wishing to comment on the Midvale project or other proposed housing projects under the purview of the committee today are required to attend in-person. There will be no public comment by telephone.
Details are below:
Wednesday, October 4, 2023, 2:30 PM
John Ferraro Council Chamber
Room 340, Los Angeles City Hall
200 North Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90012
The audio for Committee meetings is broadcast live on the internet at https://clerk.lacity.gov/calendar. The live audio can also be accessed at: (213) 621-2489 (Metro), (818) 904-9450 (Valley), (310) 471-2489 (Westside) and (310) 547-2489 (San Pedro Area).
Westside Current, Special to the Daily Press
