Last week, Urbanize LA reported that City Council Member Paul Koretz filed a motion to nominate a property at 7951 Beverly Boulevard as a possible site for a temporary homeless shelter in Council District 5. But according to Koretz’s Communication’s Director, Alison Simard, the nomination is mostly a formality and the site is not likely to work out, for a variety or reasons.
“We have to file a motion,” explained Simard, “but there will be a lot of addresses that don’t add up to anything.”
The motion instructs “the City Council instruct the City Administrative Officer, with the assistance of the Chief Legislative Analyst, the Bureau of Engineering, the Department of Building and Safety, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, and any other affected City stakeholders, to evaluate the property at 7951 Beverly Boulevard to determine if the property is suitable and could be available for use as emergency shelter as part of the “A Bridge Home” program.”
Koretz’s motion goes on to say:
“I FURTHER MOVE that if the property is determined to be suitable and available for this use, the City Council instruct the City Administrative Officer to coordinate with the appropriate City departments to coordinate with Council District 5 to identify the procedures and funding sources needed to proceed.”
According to Simard, however, all 15 city council members are being asked to identify three different types of sites in their districts. First, sites that could be developed for new supportive housing projects using measure HHH funds. Second, sites where an emergency shelter can be sit up as part of the “Bridge to Home” program recently announced by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. (Those sites would house people for three to six months while they are waiting for a match to permanent housing.) And lastly, the city is looking for safe parking lots where people who live in their cars can park for a night and be safe. Faith-based groups, like churches and temples, and other private property owners are being asked to consider providing a parking lot that is not used at night.
Efforts to create one of these mandated shelters in CD10’s Koreatown have divided that neighborhood recently, with a large protest shutting down the Wilshire/Vermont intersection for a time on Thursday after a city council committee voted on Tuesday to move the project forward to the full City Council.
Simard said that if a property seems like it could serve as a temporary shelter in CD5, her office will work with the community to get everyone on board.
Potential sites for a temporary shelter and bridge housing facility in CD 4 have not yet been announced by City Council Member David Ryu.
