Homeless plan draws ire in Manhattan Beach, but inspires conversation on issue

 

 

Some residents worried Manhattan Beach would become like Santa Monica, a beacon attracting the homeless. One resident was angry she’d not heard about the plan sooner and suggested a lot more than 200 people —  the number of people who showed up at a meeting discussing homelessness at the Joslyn Center last month — would be involved if they knew. There was a lengthy discussion on the problem of excrement.

Such was the introduction of the City of Manhattan Beach’s “Three Year Plan to End Homelessness” draft proposal at City Council Tuesday night. The initiative, headed by city management analyst Kendra Davis, is an outgrowth of Measure H, the $355 million sales tax measure passed by LA County voters last year intended to address homelessness. Manhattan Beach is one of 47 cities in the county engaged in drafting plans to address the county’s burgeoning homeless problem.  A count conducted last year tallied 58,000 homeless, although that same count found only six homeless in in Manhattan Beach.

Davis organized two meetings in March, one among the business community and one for residents. The outlines of the city’s proposed plan to address homelessness emerged from the concerns and priorities expressed in those two meetings, she told council. The city, which received $30,000 in county funds to begin such work, also employed consultants who are working with surrounding cities to arrive at a plan.

“I will say the community is very passionate about this,” said Davis. “…If nothing else, community engagement and conversation is beneficial.”

But councilmembers reported receiving a lot of “blowback” regarding the draft report, which many residents apparently read as a completed document, recommending services that would make Manhattan Beach more attractive as a destination for homeless people.

“I don’t think we can be a magnet for the homeless,” said resident Lee Phillips. “Who wouldn’t want to live in a parking lot on the beach and then surf in the mornings?”

The draft plan outlined 10 policy goals, including the establishment of a local task force, compilation of a “resource card” listing contacts for organizations who work with homeless issues; working with other cities in coordinating policy; providing support and training for city staff in working with homeless residents; increasing the availability of a county mental health clinician who currently works one day a week in Manhattan Beach; identifying how much the city currently spends addressing homeless concerns and leverage those funds to obtain county funding; addressing hygiene and public health concerns; identifying properties in the city that may be appropriate for housing for those at risk of homelessness; and to find ways to identify residents in danger of becoming homeless and provide assistance.

Council appeared skeptical. Councilperson Steve Napolitano said residents already have available resources simply by calling “211” to engage county services dedicated to homelessness and questioned the need for a task force that would itself be larger than the local homeless population. And Napolitano, who worked as a deputy for former LA County Supervisor Don Knabe, said he’s seen many plans to end homelessness come and go; he suggested changing the title the proposal from “ending” to “addressing” homelessness.

“It’s obvious we have a homeless population in Manhattan Beach and that there’s going to be some folks we can reach and some folks we can’t,” Napolitano said. “What we are not doing is increasing homelessness in Manhattan Beach. We are trying to address it, without saying we are going to end it.”

Mayor Amy Howorth praised the plan, which she said has begun a meaningful conversation despite the alarm some residents had expressed.

“Heads are exploding, but think about it,” Howorth said. “I want to say something at a higher level….We have to accept [homelessness] happens in the state, and other places. Part of the [plan’s] goals talk about seniors and people with disabilities, and we have very few places for senior housing so those are people that could be at risk… That could be us. That is how close this is. So, we are like, ‘Ugh, we are not putting homeless housing here.’ But let’s understand the scope of it, the range of it, and the potential of it. Let’s understand the problem.”

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