LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A hearing in a lawsuit brought by the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights demanding the city of Los Angeles pay a nearly $6.4 million fine for its alleged lack of transparency and failure to reduce homeless encampments within deadlines set in the settlement is scheduled to resume Friday in downtown Los Angeles.
A judge heard arguments Thursday but made no ruling on a motion brought by the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights. The motion alleges that the city has violated a 2022 settlement agreement between the association and the city calling for the housing of a minimum of 60% of people living on the streets in each of the city's 15 council districts.
U.S. District Judge David Carter, who is presiding over the lawsuit, ordered that the hearing resume Friday with testimony from City Controller Kenneth Mejia to discuss whether the controller's office can audit the Inside Safe program. Mayor Karen Bass' signature initiative allocates $250 million for outreach and motel rentals to clean up encampments.
At Thursday's hearing, the L.A. Alliance argued that the city did not live up to its agreement to create a total of 5,190 beds by the end of 2023. The association of downtown business and property owners alleges the city has created only 2,810 beds -- falling 2,380 short.
"The Alliance is in no way convinced that the city will do what it promised," attorney Elizabeth Mitchell, who represents the group, told the court. "These beds have to be produced, people have to be protected."
In the past 14 months, she said, 2,000 unhoused persons have died on the streets of Los Angeles. Mitchell suggested that the city should be fined $100,000 per week until it met its deadlines.
In his response, Chief Assistant City Attorney Scott Marcus told the court that while the city faced a "delay" in complying with part of the settlement, it did not blow any deadlines.
"Yes, it took the city longer than it should have," Marcus said. "We are sorry."
Within the last 10 months, 26 homeless encampments have been "resolved" and 1,600 people have been brought inside, he said.
"We are not yet in breach of this agreement," Marcus said. "The city is fully transparent about what it's doing. And fully transparent about (saying), `We're not there yet."'
Carter indicated that more monitoring is necessary to make sure the city is living up to its goals. He also said he is "uncomfortable" with the proposed $6.4 million sanction against the city.
Carter suggested there is too much waste in the millions of dollars put towards the homeless problem in Los Angeles.
"Our ultimate goal isn't handing out peanut butter," he said from the bench. "Our ultimate goal is shelter and housing."
According to the L.A. Alliance's motion for compliance, the city has "willfully and intentionally violated the settlement agreement in this case and failed to meet the milestones it set for itself" for more than a year.
L.A. Alliance attorneys say the city "obstructed efforts to establish critical encampment milestones and created far fewer beds than it promised to."
Bass said the motion for sanctions comes after more than 21,000 Angelenos came inside last year, thousands more than the previous year, "thanks to urgent action locking arms with the City Council."
In the settlement agreement, the city set a milestone of 3,700 new beds for the unhoused in the last fiscal year -- but created only 1,748 beds in that period, the L.A. Alliance contends. The group also alleges that while the city committed to create a total of 5,190 beds by the end of 2023, it has created only 2,810 -- falling 2,380 short.
For 14 months, L.A. Alliance lawyers maintain, the city "has stalled, made excuses and waffled in committing to encampment resolution metrics."
In a written response, City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto said the city "was in full compliance with its obligations under the Settlement Agreement and that the L.A. Alliance has suffered no actual damages as a result of any delay. On that basis alone, the motion should be summarily denied."
Soto said the lawsuit "unnecessarily distracts from the city's efforts to address the homelessness crisis in Los Angeles. As our response in court makes clear, the city is in full compliance with the Alliance agreement and is on track to continue to shelter an unprecedented number of unhoused individuals."
The L.A. Alliance motion singles out downtown's Skid Row area and two locations in Highland Park as requiring urgent action.
In March 2020, the L.A. Alliance sued the city and county of Los Angeles to compel elected officials to rapidly address the homelessness crisis, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The plaintiffs demanded the immediate creation of shelter and housing to get people off the streets, services and treatment to keep the unhoused in shelter, and regulation of public spaces to make streets, sidewalks and parks safe and clean.
In the settlement, it was agreed that the city would reduce encampments, establish deadlines and goals to document its progress, and return public spaces to their intended uses.
The county's settlement agreement would create 3,000 treatment beds for unsheltered people with mental illnesses and addictions, subsidize 450 "Board and Care" beds, and establish deadlines and targets to document its efforts.
According to the L.A. Alliance, the settlements will result in 3,500 mental health and treatment beds and 19,700 beds for people experiencing homelessness, including 6,700 beds focused on helping those living near freeways and underpasses.
Although the lawsuit originally seemed to target the Skid Row area specifically, both agreements are for all of Los Angeles and are not limited to Skid Row and downtown.
Carter approved the settlements on the condition that he closely oversee the city and county's progress in meeting their deadlines and goals.