A city in the Los Angeles area is taking an aggressive stance toward its homelessness crisis by banning encampments.
Culver City’s local council last week passed and enacted the ban, which doesn’t allow people to camp anywhere on the public right-of-way, council member Dan O’Brien said in a Sunday interview with KNBC.
“Where they are living right now in these encampments is an unsafe and inhumane place to be,” the council member said.
While homeless Californians are still allowed to sleep on the street, Culver City joins Santa Monica in preventing them from setting up a tent or any other kind of shelter structure within city limits.
Los Angeles County — the nation’s most populous county with nearly 10 million residents — grants its 88 cities local control over certain issues. The result is a patchwork of ordinances that can change from block to block in some places.
Mr. O’Brien said the city’s staff told the council that there should be enough shelter beds and openings at a designated campsite coming online shortly. Once the housing options become available, police can begin enforcing the ban, according to USA Today.
Those who refuse to accept the city’s housing services are at risk of receiving a citation.
“I am very disappointed,” Council member Yasmin-Imani McMorrin told NBC News, who voted against the camping ban. “I feel this is an incredibly harmful policy that doesn’t add anything other than punitive measures.”
Culver City is a wealthy enclave of about 40,000 residents near the Los Angeles International Airport. The L.A. City Council banned encampments within 500 feet of schools and day care centers last August.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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