Los Angeles city leaders voted Tuesday to draft an expansion of the city’s anti-camping ordinance that would ban homeless encampments within 500 feet of daycares or schools. The City Council’s vote was 13-2, with District 11 Councilmember Mike Bonin and District 4 Councilmember Nithya Raman dissenting.
The council cast its vote after impassioned comments from local parents and Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho. He described disturbing incidents involving students and people who live at encampments outside their schools. Carvalho said he had “seen elementary schools with conditions that none of us as parents would find acceptable for our children,” including people roaming naked near students and shouting profanities.
Carvalho was once homeless himself at the age of 18.
Council President Nury Martinez introduced the item with Kevin de León, Curren Price, Paul Krekorian and Joe Buscaino.
“I just don't believe that any preschooler or any students walking to school or walking home should have to deal with these large encampments in and around their schools," Martinez said.
Councilmember Raman — one of the two "No" votes — said there weren’t enough resources for the homeless yet in place.
"We don't have a system in place right now where we have adequate numbers of shelter beds, we don't have our street (outreach) strategy actually fully resourced, we don't have outreach workers that go out with our CARE+ to make sure that people are noticed and adequately informed about cleanups," Raman said. "None of the other structures that we need to have in place in order to make this city's response to homelessness an effective response to homelessness are currently in place right now. And the results of that are sadly too visible on our streets."
The City Attorney will begin drafting language that will come before the City Council for a vote.