City expected to sign on with state homeless bills
CITY HALL — Frustrated with the lack of support from neighboring cities on the issue of homelessness, the City Council is expected tonight to back state legislation that will force others to get involved.
The law, part of a package of bills addressing chronic homelessness and prevention, would require cities and counties to identify sites in their land-use plans where emergency homeless shelters and residential service providers can be located. Once identified and adopted, the local governing body couldn’t change the plan.
This is known as “Fair Share Zoning,” which attempts to distribute the burden of caring for the homeless, meaning all must get involved, including those cities where there is a small homeless population.
“For me, this reinforces the idea that homelessness is a regional problem and not just one for individual cities to deal with on their own,” said Councilman Bobby Shriver. “We can’t just continue to send people to downtown or to Santa Monica. Other cities need to do their fair share, and if necessary, be required to do so.”
The legislation, SB 1322, was recently introduced by State Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, in part to respond to reports that cities, law enforcement agencies and hospitals in the Southland are taking homeless in their care and “dumping” them in downtown’s Skid Row or in Santa Monica, where there is a concentration of services set up to help the less fortunate get back on their feet.
Dumping, as it has been called by advocates for the homeless, became the leading news story last week when a camera located outside the Los Angeles Union Mission in Skid Row captured a taxi dropping off an elderly woman and then drove away. She was dressed only in a hospital gown and was delirious, it was reported.
It was later discovered that the woman, Carol Ann Reyes, 63, of Gardena, was taken from a Kaiser Permanente hospital in Bellflower last Monday to Skid Row, authorities said.
Cedillo’s legislative package, which includes nine bills dealing with homelessness, would not only create stiff penalties for dumping, including a $10,000 fine for each offense, but also increase penalties for dealing drugs within 1,000 feet of drug treatment centers and homeless shelters across the state. Law enforcement agencies would also be required to identify those in their custody who are homeless and move them to a “stabilization center” for the last 10 days of their jail sentence so that they may make a smooth transition once released. Inmates who do not have access to transportation after their discharge would be transported by the Sheriff’s Department to a Sheriff’s substation or detention facility that is clos-est to the point of arrest or to the person’s residence, according to Cedillo’s staff.
There is also a bill — SB 1288 — that would increase benefits contained in Medi-Cal for youth substance abuse treatment. Youth would have access to a continuum of care in treating their substance abuse disorder. Another bill — SB 1289 — would extend foster care, on a voluntary basis, for youth up until the age 21 to help them transition into independence.
The City Council is looking to support the majority of the nine bills authored by Cedillo.
City Hall staff has asked the council to support SB 1322, or Fair Share Zoning, but with an amendment that would exempt Santa Monica in recognition of the city’s efforts so far.
City Hall staff is asking the council to remain neutral on SB 1320, which would prohibit those on probation for selling drugs from living in or visiting Skid Row, unless ordered by the court to enroll in mental health or drug rehab located in that area. This may result in an increased demand on Santa Monica and other regions in the county, city staff said.
“Without increased funding for the development of additional services and housing in those areas outside of Skid Row, the effectiveness of this bill may be diluted,” a staff report said. “Also there may be an issue as to the constitutionality of mandated ‘stay-away’ orders.”
There is no doubt that many of Cedillo’s bills will face strong opposition in the Legislature, particularly the fair share zoning law, which is already opposed by the California League of Cities. Political analysts said Cedillo will also have a tough time passing measures that call for more money to be spent, such as expanding foster care and Medi-Cal.
“I understand the concerns, but I think we have to work really hard as a collaborative of communities around the region to make sure that there are solutions to this problem,” said Councilman Richard Bloom, who accompanied Cedillo on a trip to New York City where they studied the city’s efforts to deal with homelessness. Many of the bills sponsored by Cedillo came as a result of that trip, his aides said.
“The council’s efforts to support these bills is the first step in getting every community to understand this needs to be a collaborative effort,” Bloom added.
With a resolution supporting Cedillo, the council is expected to also direct its lobbyists in Sacramento to push for the amendment recommended by staff, and report back to elected officials here on the progress of each bill. Staff could also be called to testify on the council’s behalf in support of the bills. Individual council members could also use their contacts in Sacramento to push for passage, Shriver said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 28, 2006. Read the original PDF.