LA City Council votes to impose anti-camping law in Westside

The Los Angeles City Council voted to impose its anti-camping law in the Westside Wednesday, banning sitting, sleeping and storing property within 500 feet of several parks, recreation centers and other facilities.

The decision is a shift that came with the election of Traci Park as the new council member for the 11th District. Park’s predecessor, Mike Bonin, refused to enforce the 41.18 ordinance, which was amended last year to expand to areas around schools and day-care centers.

“We will not do enforcement until every individual living on the street has the opportunity to come inside,” Park said.

Park said her office “has the beds” for those who will be impacted by the law.

“I am well aware of our legal obligation to lead with offers of services and housing,” Park said. “It is also our moral obligation, and it is what we will do in my district.”

Bonin had repeatedly voted against the ordinance and its expansion, joining critics in claiming that the law “criminalizes” homelessness, forces unhoused people to move from block to block and disconnects them from services.

During her campaign, Park said she would not only enforce the 41.18 ordinance, but seek to expand it to apply to high fire-risk areas such as canyons and hillsides, and environmentally sensitive habitat areas such as the Ballona Wetlands. She stressed that the ordinance is “not a solution to homelessness” but rather a “matter of public safety.”

Since taking office, Park has worked with Mayor Karen Bass on the mayor’s Inside Safe program to move residents of encampments indoors. Several Inside Safe initiatives have launched in the Westside in recent weeks.

The council also approved five 41.18 zones in the North Hollywood area, represented by Council President Paul Krekorian. Krekorian said there is capacity in the facilities in his district to accommodate anyone who might be impacted.

The public comment period in the council chamber on Wednesday was dominated by supporters of the anti-camping law, with Westside residents complaining about the number of encampments around them.

The council voted 9-4 in favor of both expansions of the 41.18 ordinance, with Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky joining colleagues Nithya Raman, Marqueece Harris-Dawson and Hugo Soto-Martinez in dissent. Raman and Harris- Dawson have regularly opposed the ordinance, and Soto-Martinez campaigned against it.

Yaroslavsky, a more moderate council member, said she needed more information on how the city was enforcing the law.

“It’s not clear that we’re making credible offers of housing and services as we apply it across our 15 districts,” Yaroslavsky said. “It needs to be part of a coordinated engagement strategy.”

Yaroslavsy introduced a motion Wednesday calling for reports on the effectiveness of the ordinance across the city, including a list and map of all locations where it is being enforced, how much it is costing the city and the number of people provided with housing through 41.18-driven engagement who remain housed.

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