LA City Council Votes To Ban Homeless Encampments Near Schools

A hearing to reconsider an ordinance banning homeless encampments within 500 feet of schools and daycare centers is set for July 27 after the Los Angeles City Council failed to give the proposal its unanimous approval.

The council voted 10-1 in favor of the ordinance, with Councilman Mike Bonin dissenting. Since the vote was not unanimous, the matter will return to the council for a second vote following the summer recess.

The vote on June 1 came during a sometimes-raucous meeting that was repeatedly interrupted by shouting from the audience.

The ordinance is an amendment to the city’s sweeping law regulating the location of homeless encampments. Municipal Code 41.18 prohibits sitting, sleeping, lying or otherwise obstructing the public right of way in several areas of the city.

Those areas include within 2 feet of any fire hydrant or fire plug; within 5 feet of any operational or utilizable entrance or exit; within 10 feet of a loading dock or driveway; in a manner that interferes with any activity for which the city has issued a permit or restricts accessible passage as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act; or anywhere within a street, including bike paths.

The law already protects the public right of way within 500 feet of “sensitive” facilities such as schools, day care facilities, parks and libraries—but only if each specific location is designated by the council for enforcement.

The amendment given tentative approval on July 1, and approved last week by the council’s Homelessness and Poverty Committee, is a blanket ban on encampments within 500 feet of all schools.

Councilmen Mitch O’Farrell and Paul Krekorian spoke in favor of the ordinance, dismissing allegations by opponents that the council is only trying to cover up the homelessness issue rather than address it through housing and services.

Multiple opponents of the measure began shouting from the audience as the councilmen spoke, bringing the meeting to a halt while Council President Nury Martinez issued warnings then ordered at least three people to be ejected from the council chamber. O’Farrell and Krekorian, both visibly angered, said the conduct exemplified the “bullying” tactics of some organizations. O’Farrell accused them of spreading “disinformation.”

“You can protest all you want, but it doesn’t change the truth,” O’Farrell said. “The truth is the city is engaged in housing people. It is our focus.”

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/la-city-council-votes-ban-homeless-encampments-near-schools