News of Venice, CA and Marina del Rey CA
Note: Shawn Stern has said he would give daily photos of the site. So this is Monday, 18 November.
By Shawn Stern
This is the MTA site today. Also the LADOT was out today adding/replacing the NO STOPPING OR PARKING TOW AWAY between 8am-8pm signs on Pacfic Ave with new signs that limit the no stopping between 8am-10am and 3pm-7pm. That means people can now park on Pacific between 10am-3pm.
They are delivering the “temporary housing” to the lot today (Friday, 15 November.) Both photos are at Pacific looking east with Sunset Ave on the left.
There is a lawsuit pending regarding CEQA and that is to be held 11 December.
This morning Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff indicated that he had drafted a tentative ruling that would throw out the City of Los Angeles’ environmental review of the Bridge Housing project proposed for the former MTA bus lot in Venice.
Beckloff told the parties that under his tentative ruling, the city would be denied a categorical exemption and would have to conduct further environmental studies. In particular, he noted that the city’s review of noise impacts of the project on surrounding residents was inadequate.
Note: Assembly Bill 1197 was passed in September of this year and exempts supportive housing and shelters in Los Angeles from the normally required California Environmental Quality Act provisions.
The judge held up issuing his ruling to allow time for the city, MTA and the VSA to prepare briefings on the implications of recently passed AB 1197, which removed environmental review requirements in the future for projects similar to the Venice project. AB 1197 was not retroactive, though the judge conjectured that it might have some implications for the Venice Bridge Housing project and asked for written presentations by all sides.
A new hearing is scheduled in the case on December 11th.
Edward Ring’s story of the homeless housing proposed for Venice so echoes the thoughts and feelings of Venice residents. His story got national recognition 10 October when it was discussed by Tucker Carlson on Fox News. Ring writes for the California Policy Center.
There are 40K residents and 1K homeless in Venice and Venice gets torn apart using prime pieces of property to house those homeless Venetians know as 90 percent transient and 75 percent addicted. Ring touched on the fact that if the politicians really cared about the homeless they would sell the lands and provide for so many more homeless in other areas. Now the plan to is build better homeless housing than the surrounding residents have who live in area.
One of the things Ring did not touch on was how much of the CD11 homeless housing was being dumped in Venice, not to mention how much already exists in Venice. A per square mile figure would be great. Brentwood and Pacific Palisades have none. Another thing he did not mention was the Thatcher Yard 98-unit project, the 32-units on Rose for PSH, and the proposed 40 units on Lincoln for youth. He only mentioned the Venice Median and the Bridge Housing.
Following is a video showing why the housing costs so much. Start at 33 min. Even LA City Controller Ron Galperin questions the costs of the units.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/poverty-politics-and-profit/
Land Use and Planning Committee (LUPC) tabled two motions Thursday night to a packed room at the Oakwood Recreation Center. The one motion, regarding the rezoning of the venice Median from open space to neighborhood commercial, was tabled until 31 January 2020 at which time the project would be available to come before the neighborhood council to discuss both the project and the rezoning. The other motion regarding what neighbors have asked regarding operation criteria for the Bridge Housing project was tabled until a later date.
Venetians are starting to get acquainted with the facility that will be on the MTA site on Sunset between Main and Pacific.
A coffee get together was held last week with members of PATH and SPY, the newly appointed Venice Deputy for Bridge Housing Allison Wilhite, and about 10 members of the community. Ten community members are all that are allowed.
Two stories have been written about the first meeting. The one with the most site peculiar facts is McGregor’s story. The other story gives Frequently asked Questions. So the facts revealed in the two stories and these following are the only facts in writing at this point. At the first meeting Venice Update posed 5 questions. The five questions and answers are:
1. What are the house rules for occupants?
PATH operates under a low-barrier harm-reduction approach—we have four basic program rules:
No acts or threats of violence
No drugs or alcohol on site
No theft or destruction of property
No possession or use of weapons.
2. What is the criteria for selection? Please consider the fact that Venice is so transient. According to a former pacific division police captain and Regina Weller, 90 percent of Venice homeless are transient.
The list for prospective guests is compiled by the assigned outreach teams in the Venice area. Guests are drawn from the defined outreach catchment area, which is limited to the Venice neighborhood. This is the same area from which additional guests will be drawn as people move through the Bridge Home. In addition to living on the streets within the area, people are prioritized based on an evaluation score which determines the level of need or urgency for the individual.
3. How about those that will not go to the bridge home; they want to live on the streets? Will they be allowed to continue living as they are on the streets? Will sanitation and police discourage their presence on the streets of Venice.
As we know, in Martin v. City of Boise, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals says that it is cruel and unusual punishment for any city to prohibit sleeping on public property unless shelter is available. A priority for the City is to provide the services and attention to connect people experiencing homelessness with alternatives to living on the street as quickly as possible.
The City’s CARE+ team, comprised of sanitation workers, outreach specialists, and local police, will conduct weekly comprehensive, posted cleanups at the encampments with the greatest need while providing mobile hygiene services. Additionally, the District’s CARE team, comprised of sanitation workers and outreach specialists, will deliver regular trash removal and cleaning services four days a week. These teams will work to mitigate the negative impacts of encampments on the neighborhood while abiding by the law as it stands. Each individual is unique and the pathway to housing will vary on his or her circumstances, which is why services like the Bridge Home and targeted outreach are so necessary.
4. At closing, when the 3 years are up, what will you do with the people who remain within the bridge home?
Prior to closing, the site operators will wind down intake services on site and prepare for the transition. The plan is to move everyone into permanent housing before the closing of the site.
5. Will you establish a neighborhood committee, group to represent those in close proximity so that their complaints regarding operation of the bridge home can be heard and solved?
In collaboration with the Council District, PATH will host a quarterly neighborhood advisory council to share information and data as it relates to the Bridge Home site.
SPY (Safe Place for Youth) and PATH (People Assisting the Homeless) met with a small group, approximately 10, of Venetians to answer questions regarding the “Bridge Home” proposed on the MTA site at Sunset between Main and Pacific.
Allison Wilhite, Venice deputy for the Bridge Home, conducted the meeting. These one-hour group sessions will be held each week until November. If you are interested, contact http://bit.ly/coffee-abh. The groups have been limited to 10 people per session.
Everyone had questions but only parts of the main questions were answered. One question was were they going to follow the rules established by LAHSA and the answer in general was No. PATH had its own rules. One question was what are the house rules. Answer was no alcohol or drugs on the premises and 11 pm curfew were answered. . To be more definitive on the questions/answers go to Angela McGregor’s story on the event.
There didn’t seem to be time to get a complete answer to a question so Update has given Allison Wilhite five questions to start with to answer for readers interested in the MTA project. The answers will be printed in the Update when received. A “frequently asked questions” fact sheet prepared by SPY, PATH and the council office is provided.
1. What are the house rules for occupants?
2. What is the criteria for selection? Please consider the fact that Venice is so transient. According to a former pacific division police captain and Regina Weller, 90 percent of Venice homeless are transient.
3. How about those that will not go to the bridge home; they want to continue living on the streets? Will they be allowed to continue living as they are on the streets? Will sanitation and police discourage their presence on the streets of Venice. Will areas be blocked off or unaccessible to homeless?
4. At closing, when the 3 years are up, what will you do with the people who remain within the bridge home?
5. Will you establish a neighborhood committee, group to represent those in close proximity so that their complaints regarding operation of the bridge home can be heard and solved?
Five representatives of the City, SPY and PATH met with eleven Venice residents to discuss the Bridge Housing Project at the MTA Lot at Sunset between Main and Pacific. This is the first of a series of weekly meetings that will go until November. Among the facts learned:
• Construction on the facility began in mid-July, and it is expected to open around the end of this year.
• In advance of the opening, an extensive outreach process focused exclusively on the Venice area will take place to identify the first 154 residents. No walk-ins to the facility are permitted; homeless seeking shelter there must first make contact with an outreach worker who will then interview them and sponsor their intake into bridge housing and the Coordinated Entry System. The facility itself will have an intake station with 30 staff members who will provide an introduction to the site for the new arrivals. St. Joseph’s and SPY are already working to identify local homeless who wish to enter the facility; however, they are awaiting a hard and fast facility completion date prior to compiling a final list.
• No drugs or alcohol are permitted in the site. While animal companions are allowed and will be housed there, human visitors are not. The site will have only one entrance, which will be secured by guards 24/7.
• The City has promised increased security and sanitation within a four block radius of the facility.
• Residents of the facility must first sign a “good neighbor” agreement prior to being admitted. Violence, drug abuse and other disruptive behaviors will not be tolerated at the facility.
Among the Venice residents at the meeting were three who live within a block of the MTA lot who were seeking answers to questions about the quality of live impacts of the facility, in particular noise from the HVAC units that will be installed and intense light from the giant klieg lamps that are already posing a problem. Allison Wilhite, the Venice bridge housing community liaison, stated that she would look into those issues and get back to them.
The hour went by quickly, and the need for more meetings was evident from the number of questions left unanswered by a lack of time. According to their outreach materials, SPY, PATH and the city plan to make these meetings a regular, weekly occurrence. To RSVP for the next meeting, visit bit.ly/coffee-abh. Allison Wilhite can be reached at: allison.wilhite@lacity.org.
Get your Bridge Housing questions answered by representatives from PATH and SPY 27 September at 9 am. It does not state where the meeting will be but one has to RSVP to bit.ly/coffee-abh. An email has been sent to determine where the meet will be held.
There will be several meets when you RSVP, pick the one of your choice.
Note: Shawn Stern who lives near the old bus yard, the MTA site, answers that question perfectly. The lot is scheduled to be operable by October, maybe November. It is involved with a lawsuit by members of the community and that is scheduled for October.
Thought you might like to see some photos of the current construction going on at the MTA bus yard for the planned “bridge housing.”
They’ve been working here all summer, first cleaning up the debris left when they closed the yard and dug up the concrete to remove the underground tanks. Then they cut trenches into the concrete to lay in plumbing and sewer lines.
This has been going on for over three months and while it’s a good bit of work, there are days when there are only a handful of people working, and they often start before 7 am and are gone well before mid afternoon. Seems to me this is moving extremely slow.
Today the DWP is here digging up the street, probably to give them access to sewer and/or water lines. Since I have a very good view I wanted to share it with you and your readers.