A proposal by two Los Angeles city councilmen to set up temporary camps or “tiny homes” for homeless people in beach parking lots is drawing opposition.
“We need all kinds of solutions — and we need them everywhere we can put them,” Los Angeles Councilman Mike Bonin wrote on his website after submitting the plan in a City Council motion also signed by Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas.
The motion asks the city administrative officer to evaluate and identify funding for temporary sites for “single-occupancy tiny homes or safe camping” at Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades, Dockweiler Beach in Playa del Rey and Fisherman’s Village in Marina del Rey. Dockweiler would include “safe parking” sites.
Bonin’s plan also envisions similar camps at a half-dozen non-beach sites including parks, and land owned by Los Angeles International Airport, but the proposed beach sites have drawn the most attention.
An online change.org petition opposing use of the Pacific Palisades parking lot had more than 6,000 signatures as of Tuesday morning.
The petition asserts that the proposed camp is not a solution to homelessness and would bring the problems of drugs, mental illness, crime and danger to the community.
A Pacific Palisades Community Council meeting to discuss the plan will be held Thursday at 6 p.m. and can be viewed at the following Zoom link.