This is the Marina del Rey parking lot selected for the homeless by Councilman Mike Bonin.
Most Pacific Palisades and Council District 11 residents were relieved when the August 10 CAO feasibility study from Matthew Szabo was released and stated that several City beaches and parks are not good locations for proposed homeless villages.
In the report’s discussion, it states that Will Rogers and Dockweiler state beaches lack infrastructure capacity and fire hydrants.
In earlier documents uncovered through the California Records Act by Pacific Palisades Community Council Secretary Chris Spitz, the infrastructure, sewer and electricity had already been mapped out.
So, why did the CAO report say the proposal by Councilmen Mike Bonin and Mark Ridley-Thomas was infeasible?
Circling the News posed this question to a Palisades resident, who is in tune with the workings downtown, and he did some research. “The number one response was that ‘powers that be’ down at City Hall and in City Council are fed up with Mike Bonin, his haranguing, and his ill-conceived ideas. Following close behind was [the belief] that the same ‘powers’ didn’t want to give Joe Buscaino a hot, viable campaign issue.”
Buscaino, who has announced he is running for Mayor in 2022, was the sole vote against the feasibility study, saying “I’ll save time — these sites are not feasible.”
City-owned Westchester and Mar Vista parks were also discarded as possible locations, the report noting that these “sites are not underutilized” and that “data from both parks show that on average more than 6,000 youth participants attend and utilize the parks and facilities.”
The City-owned West L.A. Municipal Building was also rejected because “The municipal building is zoned as public facilities and thus, not feasible for shelter use.”
The report also noted that even if zoning were to change, the space was too small, because an interim housing facility should be a minimum of 13,000 square feet to provide up to 70 beds, offices, hygiene facilities and storage.
WHAT IS STILL UNDER CONSIDERATION?
A Marina del Rey site, at 13477 Fiji Way, called an “underutilized parking lot owned by the County adjacent to a boat launch and commercial buildings.”
According to a July 23 letter (from Marina del Rey Lessees Association) and sent to Supervisor Janice Hahn, the site is used for launching boats for law enforcement and fire personnel. It is the only public site to launch a boat between Ventura and Redondo Beach.
A resident wrote CTN, “That lot is directly across Admiralty Way from Rick Caruso’s Waterside shopping center, and I can hardly see Caruso wanting the homeless to come over during the day to sit at his tables and use his fountains. Maybe someone down at City Hall has his/her own beef with Mr. Caruso.”
Also still on the block is the RV lot at Dockweiler, and the Los Angeles World Airport land. Both have issues, and CTN will post a story tomorrow about the Dockweiler RV lot, which we feel should also be rejected.
And as Los Angeles continues its expansive airport renovation/improvements in order to put a good face forward to the world for the 2028 L.A. Olympics, surrounding the airport with homeless might not have the look and appeal the City would want to project.
That leaves a parking lot, which is in L.A. but owned by Culver City. According to the report, “Culver City is not interested in leasing the site to the City. Instead, Culver City plans to develop the site as a homeless intervention and is open to collaborating with Council Districts 5 and 11 regarding the utilization of the intervention.”
To read the report visit: https://clkrep.lacity.org/onlinedocs/2021/21-0350_misc_08-10-21.pdf.
GOOD INFO, SUE. THANK YOU