Homeless Crisis: Bonin To Address Neighbors On Proposed Shelters

VENICE, CA — Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin will address the rising homeless crisis on the Westside and his motion to add more shelters during a Neighborhood Council meeting Tuesday night.

Residents are invited to listen and provide comments during the discussion at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday with the board of the Neighborhood Council Westchester/Playa meeting.

Bonin has proposed to add more shelters, including "tiny homes" and "safe camping" sites in areas such as Marina del Rey and Pacific Palisades. He submitted a motion last week calling on the city to help eliminate homelessness and sidewalk encampments — a growing safety concern for housed and unhoused Westside residents throughout the pandemic.

"To end homelessness and sidewalk encampments, we need more housing, more shelter, and more services. We need all kinds of solutions — and we need them everywhere we can put them," Bonin said.

Additional shelters, including Bridge housing, have been added to the Westside in Venice near Pacific and Sunset Avenue, along with the VA site in West L.A. and on Mitchell Avenue in Mar Vista. Other sites and interim or seasonal housing have been added in the region. The city has also purchased hotel rooms with plans to convert spaces to housing, including the Ramada Inn on Washington Boulevard in Marina del Rey, which is part of Project Roomkey. The Cadillac Hotel in Venice and 9250 Airport Blvd. in Westchester have also been purchased by the city for Project Roomkey. Several emergency shelters have opened in Venice, West Los Angeles and Westchester.

"We have opened safe parking, safe camping, and emergency shelters," Bonin said. "And there is more supportive housing on the way. But it is not enough. Across the state, the city and the district, homelessness is increasing."

A string of fires connected to homeless encampments, including one the boardwalk in Venice, in alleys and behind homes, at Penmar Golf Course, and most recently at the Ballona Wetlands, has led residents to ask leaders for help.

"The status quo on our streets is unacceptable and I am fighting to put quick, sensible, and cost-effective solutions into place as soon as possible so people can get out of sidewalk encampments and on the pathway to permanent housing," Bonin said.

The proposal also includes Will Rogers Beach, a state beach managed by the County of Los Angeles Department of Beaches and Harbors — the same county agency that gains revenue each year from RV reservations at Dockweiler State Beach. It's unclear what the plan will be at that site.

"We are assessing potential temporary sites for single occupancy "tiny homes" or for "safe camping" at county-owned beach lots at Will Rogers Beach in Pacific Palisades, at Dockweiler Beach in Playa Del Rey, next to Fisherman's Village in Marina Del Rey, and at a vacant and privately owned lot in Del Rey," Bonin said.

"We are also looking a lot owned by Culver City, for a joint Los Angeles-Culver City program," he said. "In addition, we are considering potential "safe camping" programs — which sanction camping with onsite security, sanitation, and services — at parts of Westchester Park and Mar Vista Park. Both locations have a large number of tent campers, and safe camping programs there would earmark a section of the park for the program, returning the rest of the space to general public use."

Permanent supportive housing has been proposed at the following sites:

• 11950 W. Missouri, West Los Angeles
• 2454 S. Barry Ave., West Los Angeles
• 3233 S. Thatcher Ave., Venice
• 8333 Airport Blvd., Westchester
• 720 Rose Ave., Venice
• 2469 Lincoln Blvd., Venice
• Veterans Administration Campus, Brentwood
• Venice Boulevard and Pacific Avenue, Venice
• 12901 Venice Blvd., Mar Vista

Additional supportive housing has also been recently added:

• 11976 Culver Blvd., Del Rey
• 11368 Beach Ave., Del Rey
• 11738 Courtleigh Dr., Del Rey
• 700 Main St., Venice

Patch reached out to Bonin's office for more information about the 700 Main St. location in Venice. It's unclear who owns this property and its current development status.

The proposed plan focuses on helping to eliminate encampments along the boardwalk area and adding more outreach. It also adds additional proposed safe RV parking at a county-owned RV park at Dockweiler Beach, 12001 Vista Del Mary in Playa Del Rey.

Bonin also wants to add more living options for unhoused people near LAX and also near his office.

"I am asking the city to work with Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) to identify and fund an airport-owned site the city can use, pending FAA approval, for safe parking, or tiny homes; to evaluate and identify funding for a temporary shelter for homeless women in vacant space adjacent to my office inside the West LA Municipal Building on Corinth Avenue, and to work with my office and willing potential sellers to purchase more hotels or motels with additional Project Homekey funds that may become available July 1, 2021," he said. "Finally, I'm instructing the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles to work with my office and willing property owners to enter into master lease agreements for hotel rooms or apartment units to be used for homeless housing."

Neighbors have been critical of Bonin and local leaders, sharing fears about walking in the neighborhood at night and throughout the day. A group called Fight Back Venice created a video, sharing scenes from the streets and interviews with neighbors detailing the rise in crime in Dogtown.

To learn more about addressing the council or to participate in the meeting, visit the website. People who want to attend can access the live meeting via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89855522970 or by dialing (669) 900-6833. To join, enter this Webinar ID: 898 5552 2970 and Press #.

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