homeless Cabin Community

Councilmember Bob Blumenfield is proposing to build a homeless "cabin community" (aka "pallet shelter") in Reseda. As homeowners, we have questions and concerns about the lack of information provided to the residents of our neighborhood.

BACKGROUND

In response to the ongoing homelessness crisis in Los Angeles and the federal lawsuit, L.A. Alliance for Human Rights v. City of Los Angeles, overseen by U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter, all Los Angeles City Councilmembers are rushing to build dozens of temporary homeless shelters throughout the city.

The locations for the temporary housing facilities were often met with intense opposition, but Government Code Section 8698.4 authorizes municipalities to establish “emergency housing” where the City at large has declared a shelter crisis. During the shelter crisis, the Department of Housing and Community Development will review the City’s plans to create these shelters, which are not subject to any housing, health, habitability, planning and zoning, or safety standards (though they must meet “minimum” public health and safety standards). This Section of the Government Code expires January 1, 2021, though it is likely it will be extended further in light of the ongoing pandemic and the general sentiment towards homelessness carried by the State. Additionally, Assembly Bill 1197 was passed as an emergency order and amended the Public Resources Code to facilitate the building of these shelters by exempting them from certain California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements.

The language of Government Code Section 8698.4 and Assembly Bill 1197 legally permitted the Councilmembers to make decisions about alleviating homelessness in their districts without needing to perform community impact studies, inform the public, or receive feedback from the surrounding neighborhoods.

Councilmember Bob Blumenfield of District 3 is tasked with building these shelters in the West Valley communities of Canoga Park, Reseda, Tarzana, Winnetka, and Woodland Hills.

As of November 2020, the only notice that the residents in our area have received about the project was a letter from Councilmember Blumenfield's office (dated October 20, 2020), which was mailed to those who live in the immediate vicinity of the proposed site to notify them of the plans to build this cabin community. Construction has not yet started, with the anticipated completion to be Spring 2021.

Additional information can be found on Councilmember Blumenfield's website:

In response, we created the following video to help spread the word throughout the neighborhood and to try and get more information from the city council:

Reseda Homeless Cabin Community

Councilmember Blumenfield's office has released an extended Q&A with answers to some of the most commonly asked questions they received about the Cabin Communities. Please read, as this webpage provides much more info than they were able to cover during the virtual town hall: http://blumenfield.lacity.org/cabincommunityq_a

TV Segment airs on CBS 2 & KCAL 9

Thanks to those who were able to attend the interview with the CBS reporter!

The TV segment was aired on Monday, November 23, 2020, at 4:00PM on KCAL 9 and at 5:00PM on CBS 2.

Here is the link to the TV segment and full article:

Blumenfield Pushes Back Against Criticism For Planned Homeless Cabin Community In Reseda

Please watch the full video, and leave a comment on their post!

Please contact the councilmember's office directly to voice your opinions: