LA residents revolt over shanty town plans: Thousands in Venice and Brentwood sign petition to STOP plan to house homeless in tents and cabins at popular beaches
Thousands of Los Angeles residents are in revolt over plans to house the homeless in tents and temporary cabins near popular beaches and parks throughout the city.
Councilmember Mike Bonin summitted a motion to add more shelters in areas such as the Los Angeles International Airport, Marina del Rey and Pacific Palisades.
Bonin, who represents affluent communities including Venice, Westchester and Brentwood, argues that the 'temporary solutions' will 'get people off the streets and into homes'.
But more than 19,000 people have signed a petition to stop the plans.
The petition asserts that the proposed camps are not a solution to homelessness and would bring the problems of drugs, mental illness, crime and danger into the communities where the tent cities would rise.
A motion to add more temporary housing as proposed by Bonin was passed by the city council's Homelessness & Poverty Committee Thursday, Patch.com reports. That means it will now be assessed for feasibility and funding.
Thousands of Los Angeles residents are in revolt over plans to house the homeless in tents and temporary cabins near popular beaches and parks throughout the city. Homeless encampments line the bike path on Venice Beach
A motion to add more temporary housing as proposed by Bonin was passed by the city council's Homelessness & Poverty Committee Thursday, Patch.com reports. That means it will now be assessed for feasibility and funding. Pictured is what Bonin says his plans will look like
Bonin submitted his motion in March. On Wednesday, facing opposition, he said: 'These are not encampments. 'They are an emergency response—an alternative—to encampments, and they are temporary solutions meant to get people off the streets and into homes'
Bonin had submitted his motion at the end of March.
On Wednesday, facing opposition, he had said: 'These are not encampments.
'They are an emergency response—an alternative—to encampments, and they are temporary solutions meant to get people off the streets and into homes.'
In an email to constituents he wrote: 'Some are claiming I have proposed that the city allow homeless encampments at our parks and beaches. That rumor is not true.'
But more than 19,000 people have signed a petition to stop the plans
Bonin added: 'On the contrary, what I have proposed is designed to reduce encampments, so that our public spaces can return to full public use.
'What I am proposing is this: While we step up efforts to house people, the city should conduct a feasibility analysis of whether a number of different locations, including LAX land and three beach parking lots, could be used for different types of temporary emergency shelter.
Councilmember Mike Bonin summitted a motion to add more shelters in areas such as Los Angeles International Airport, Marina del Rey and Pacific Palisades
'I have also asked that the feasibility analysis consider whether two local parks with existing encampments could restore the bulk of recreational space to public use by designating a certain area for existing unhoused residents.
'In all cases, the proposed solutions would provide security, sanitation and services, and focus on getting people into housing.'
Proposed locations include: Will Rogers State Beach's parking lot, Dockweiler Beach's parking lot and Fisherman's Village's parking lot.
Westchester resident Erik Laykin said the proposals 'permit the homeless to camp in L.A.’s parks where children go'. The Brentwood Community Council also opposes the use of beach and park lots for the camps.
Its chair Michelle Bisnoff said Thursday: 'We again recognize our neighbors in Venice and the issues that they have had with regard to safety, cleanliness, crime, including an extraordinary level of arson.'
Homelessness in Los Angeles was already on the rise before the coronavirus pandemic
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority says homelessness was up 13 per cent from January 2019 to January 2020, reaching 66,000 in the greater L.A. area.
This year's homeless census was canceled because of the pandemic, but tent cities in places such as Skid Row, Hollywood and Venice Beach appear to have grown during the health crisis.
Residents of Venice Beach in Los Angeles say soaring crime rates and the exploding homeless population have made life in the elite beachside community unbearable.
A 'catastrophic' increase in homelessness in Los Angeles has seen hundreds of tents line the beach's famous boardwalk.
Business owners say they are being forced to close their doors and longterm residents are afraid to leave their homes after dark after being subjected to violent attacks and intimidation.
Homelessness in Los Angeles was already on the rise before the coronavirus pandemic The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority says homelessness was up 13 per cent from January 2019 to January 2020, reaching 66,000 in the greater L.A. area
Homeless encampments line the bike path, as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) disease pandemic continues, on Venice Beach in Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 13
Recent incidents - including a shooting on April 28 and an explosion at a homeless encampment - have left residents and business owners shaken.
Fed-up locals have written to city and county officials pleading for them to intervene.
According to figures from the Los Angeles Police Department provided to the Venice Neighborhood Council, the violent robberies in the neighborhood are up 177 per cent from last year.
The same period has also seen a 162 per cent increase in cases of assault with a deadly weapon involving a homeless person.
Videos depicting fires, fights, and harassment are a common sight on social media.
In downtown Los Angeles, efforts are continuing to rehouse some 5000 homeless people who live in a permanent encampment known as Skid Row.
In April, federal Judge David Carter told LA officials they must offer shelter to the more than 4,600 people living on the streets in Skid Row, by October 18.
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