By MORNING WOOD
Facing a class-action lawsuit over the comfort of public parks in Santa Monica, local officials agreed Wednesday to pay $57 million to the city’s 2,000-strong homeless population.
The settlement agreement calls for City Hall to issue a $28,500 check to each homeless man, woman and child, and guarantees each transient a new, portable cot. It also forbids jogging, picnicking and other non-homeless park activities before 10 a.m. and after 6 p.m.
Local officials lauded the settlement, saying it was the only way to stop a “slam dunk” case before it went before jurors.
“We were facing one of the biggest lawsuits in the history of the city,” said Santa Monica Mayor Dickey Boom. “With this historic step forward, I think we’ll see less homeless people on our streets.”
The 27-page settlement was hashed out after weeks of intense negotiations. It was met with mixed reviews.
“I was hoping we could get some better food, too,” said Kyle Coinshaker, 37, a regular panhandler on Broadway. “I mean, these church people come to the parks all the time with their brown bag lunches, expecting me to be so grateful — well I don’t eat balogne, man.”
Similar sentiments were echoed by other veteran members of Santa Monica’s homeless population, who said they were reluctant to approve the settlement. In the lawsuit, the homeless group also had demanded downtown hotels and merchants on the Third Street Promenade give 75 percent discounts to all local transients.
“They can afford it,” said Buford Benchwarmer, 59, homeless in Santa Monica for the past 14 years. “I mean, look at all those fancy hotels and all those fancy shops — they’re all so fancy.”
Meanwhile, shots rang out in the Pico neighborhood.
Residents on Wednesday said they were glad the lawsuit finally settled, and grateful they weren’t banned from the park outright.
“I always felt bad jog-ging past those people sleeping so early in the morning,” said Fanny Featherfoot, 29, a marketing executive. “I could hear my feet going ‘pit pat, pit pat’ on the pavement and I knew it must be driving them wild — especially the hungover ones.”
The lawsuit was levied in 2002, when the City Council outlawed sleeping in doorways downtown. Homeless advocates argued the ordinance drove the transient population to spend more time in Santa Monica’s parks, where they quickly realized they were being subjected to conditions that were uncomfortable, sometimes even unhealthy.
“It’s not just about civil rights,” said Carrie Somuch, a local lawyer who worked on the lawsuit for a 30 percent contingency fee. “It’s about holding City Hall accountable.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 1, 2004. Read the original PDF.