City-county impasse on homeless issue
Hearing is canceled as officials can’t agree on plan to move people living near freeways.
A hearing about the moving of homeless people living near freeways was canceled Wednesday after the city and county of Los Angeles couldn’t agree on a plan for how to comply with a federal judge’s order.
Last week, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter ordered the relocation of up to 7,000 people living near overpasses, offramps and onramps, saying they face severe health risks from tailpipe emissions and car crashes. He directed the city and county to submit a plan for how to make that happen.
Talks between the two sides broke down Tuesday night after a dispute over who would pay tens of millions of dollars for the services at shelters and other sites that would house homeless people who were moved, according to court documents.
County officials proposed a “shared funding arrangement” but did not cite a specific breakdown of who would pay what. City officials said they could not agree to a plan without those specifics.
“The City would not agree to a shared funding arrangement as proposed by the County for operational costs (such as food, laundry, security, etc.) associated with City’s pilot programs,” according to a brief filed jointly by the county and homeless advocates who have intervened in the case.
In a statement Wednesday, Rob Wilcox, a spokesman with the city attorney’s office, said in a statement that the city “is not comfortable finalizing an agreement committing itself to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on the development of shelter opportunities before resolving the funding of those needed services.”
County spokeswoman Sarah Ardalani said in a statement that Los Angeles County’s budget has been hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis and that a revised budget would come in June.
“It is premature to discuss funding for any specific programs at this time,” she said.
County lawyers said they would continue to try to work with the city. However, they pointed out that Los Angeles “is a major recipient of state and federal funds for homeless services, unlike other cities in the county.”
L.A. County received $1.57 billion in the first round of federal aid passed by Congress during the coronavirus outbreak while the city received $700 million. City lawyers said that “shared financial responsibility” is essential for executing their plan and that they would continue to work with the county.
Carter canceled the hearing after the two parties submitted separate plans relating to addressing the people near freeways. Both the city and county focused, with varying degrees of specificity, on measures such as constructing more shelters and creating safe parking to help people living on the streets during a pandemic.
Carter’s order to find a safer space for these people goes into effect Friday.
It came as part of an ongoing legal battle initiated by a group of downtown business owners and residents who allege that the city and county have failed to protect the public and provide adequate shelter for people living on the streets.