On June 28, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision regarding the city of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson, finding that cities may enforce rules on homeless encampments and the regulation of public spaces.

On Tuesday, the L.A. City Council approved a motion requesting the city attorney to report back with an analysis of the United States Supreme Court decision, and the impact of the city’s existing rules relative to sleeping, lying, and storage of property in the public right of way and other public settings.

The city council also requested that the city attorney provide a confidential analysis regarding the ruling’s impact on any existing litigation against the city related to homelessness. This includes the L.A. Alliance Settlement, which came in September 2023 when a federal court approved Los Angeles County’s settlement with the LA Alliance for Human Rights that gave an additional $1.24 billion in funding to provide 3,000 beds for people with mental health and substance use disorders experiencing homelessness, while also expanding street-based outreach and wraparound services.

The council also instructed the chief legislative analyst and the city administrative officer to report to the council on current laws in the 87 other cities within Los Angeles County that restrict sleeping in the public right of way that will impact the City of Los Angeles.

Section 41.18 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code specifies the particular times and locations where it shall be unlawful for a person to sit, lie, sleep, or store, use, maintain, or place personal property in the public right-of-way.

Section 56.11 of the Los Angeles Municipal Code specifies No person shall obstruct a street, sidewalk, or other public rights-of-way by sitting, lying, or sleeping, or by storing, using, maintaining, or placing personal property, in a manner that impedes passage, as provided by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

LAMC 63.44 regulates the storage of property on the City’s public Parks and Beach Parks. The Ordinance’s Declaration of Legislative Intent states, in part, that the unauthorized use of Parks and Beach Parks for the storage of personal property interferes with the rights of other members of the public to use Parks and Beach Parks for their intended recreational uses.

In a Community Impact Statement to the L.A. City Council last month, the North Westwood Neighborhood Council (NWNC) members urged the city to take a new approach towards L.A.M.C. 41.18, one that was founded on services, housing, and listening to the needs of the unhoused. The NWNC also expressed the need for support for city staff to use trained, unarmed crisis response as the first point of contact for those experiencing homelessness.

“For the same reasons, we oppose any study of, implementation following, or ordinances following the Grants Pass decision unless there is a commitment not to expand 41.18 and especially not to do so city-wide,” the statement read. “41.18 implementation has failed our community and our unhoused neighbors. According to a report by the Legislative Analyst, only two people have been permanently housed through placements after 41.18 enforcement. “

The NWNC went on to add, “Available beds and social services lag far behind the number of people who need them. Too many of those who are placed into interim housing are unable to transition to permanent options that are in short supply. Yet 41.18 criminalizes people with no other place to go, for merely seeking shelter within a wide radius of hundreds of locations. It does nothing to solve homelessness, merely forcibly pushing people. It wastes millions of dollars while accomplishing little. Legal scholars have argued that such ordinances violate basic human rights.”

But in support of the city council motion, the Bel Air-Beverly Crest Neighborhood Council submitted a contrary Community Impact Statement saying “Anti-camping laws do not violate the 8th Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment – on the City’s ability to regulate encampments in public spaces in Los Angeles.”

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash.com