> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # L.A. may copy Santa Monica’s feeding law - URL: https://www.smdp.com/l-a-may-copy-santa-monicas-feeding-law/ - Published: 2002-11-07T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T00:52:23.000Z - Author: Andrew Fixmer - Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica, #archive-import, Homeless, Homelessness *Opponents fear ordinance may quickly spread nationally* A controversial Santa Monica ordinance regulating outdoor food programs has been introduced at the Los Angeles City Council, and the law’s detractors say more cities across the nation may be considering similar legislation to control outdoor food programs, which officials believe may violate health codes. L.A. City Councilwoman Janice Perry, whose district encompasses Skid Row, introduced a motion asking the City Attorney’s Office to investigate whether a similar law is needed to protect that city’s homeless population from health conditions that may make serving food outdoors unsafe. “I want to make sure we have some control over the number of feedings that take place and that they clean up after themselves,” Perry said. “Right now, the programs are completely unregulated, and it’s a serious health risk.” Perry said homelessness is a regional problem and public officials face similiar problems in Santa Monica and Los Angeles. “There are no walls between us and Santa Monica,” she said. “This is a problem that flows from one city into the next.” > “There are no walls between us and Santa Monica. This is a problem that flows from one city into the next.” — — JANICE PERRY Los Angeles City Councilwoman The Santa Monica City Council enacted an ordinance last month in response to concerns from the city’s business community which advocated for tighter controls on the public food programs commonly held in downtown parks. Charities that run free food distribution programs for the city’s homeless population will have to meet stringent Los Angeles County Health Department standards as well as city laws that limit the size of gatherings of public land. Permits from both the county and the city will be required. If food lines are found to be operating without them, police will shut down the operation. The law was scheduled to take effect Nov. 21, but Santa Monica officials have postponed its implementation until after Jan. 1 so that holiday meal programs will not be affected and meal providers will have more time to find alternative locations for their food lines. Homeless rights activists say the ordinance is unconstitutional and nothing short of a cruel act of taking food away from the hungry. They are currently preparing a lawsuit against the city which will seek a court-ordered injunction of the law until the legal challenge can be heard. Attorneys with the National Lawyers Guild, which is mounting the challenge, said whether or not L.A. moves forward with similar legislation is insignificant to their case. “It doesn’t have any bearing on the legal ramifications,” said Robert Myers, a former Santa Monica City Attorney who is working on the lawsuit with the National Lawyers Guild. “The law is either legal or it’s not legal. It has nothing to do with how many cities adopt it.” Myers said if L.A. was to enact a similar ordinance, the city would not be added to the lawsuit against Santa Monica. The suit could be filed anytime in the next few weeks, he said, and the National Lawyers Guild would challenge similar laws enacted in other municipalities on a case by case basis. But Myers said that when one city passes ground-breaking ordinances, other cities watch closely. Myers — who was fired as city attorney in 1992 for refusing to write an anti-camping in public ordinance — said cities across the country borrow ordinances from other municipalities and enact them locally. “Cities across the country continue to pass anti-homeless measures,” he said. “It’s a progressive city like Santa Monica that passes anti-homeless ordinances that sets the example for less kind cities across the country.” Already, officials in Santa Cruz, Calif. — which share many of the same problems as those found here — say there is interest in examining the ordinances enacted in Santa Monica. “Nobody has officially asked me to look into it,” said Santa Cruz City Attorney John G. Barisone. “(But) we always follow what goes on in Santa Monica with interest.” Santa Monica Mayor Mike Feinstein, who voted against the ordinance regulating outdoor food programs, said he was “horrified” by the idea that Los Angeles and other cities would consider adopting a similar measure. “This is exactly what happens when a community that should be leading abdicates its leadership,” he said. “It gives an excuse to everybody else to drop to the lowest common denominator and feel comfortable there.” Feinstein said he has already called and e-mailed Perry’s council office to explain why he voted against the ordinance in Santa Monica and why he feels it would be a bad idea for Los Angeles as well. “Two wrongs do not make a right,” Feinstein said. “We don’t want to turn this into a pinball region where the homeless are bounced from one area to the next.” Perry said her office has received many calls regarding her proposal, though she didn’t specifically recall hearing from Feinstein. The majority so far have been supportive, she said. “Mostly we have heard from homeless service providers,” Perry said. “Two of them have already volunteered to work on the ordinance if we decide to pursue it.” *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 7, 2002.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/110702.pdf?ref=smdp.com)