Lee Seeks Public Feedback On Homeless Hotel Proposal
CHATSWORTH, CA — Twelfth District Councilmember John Lee is seeking public feedback on a proposal to turn a Chatsworth Travelodge into temporary housing for the homeless.
In June, U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter approved an agreement in which the city and county of Los Angeles would provide housing for the almost 7,000 homeless people living near freeways, and homeless people over 65 or vulnerable to COVID-19.
The city must provide 6,000 new beds by April 2021, and another 700 beds by Dec. 2021. The county will need to spend $300 million over five years to fund services for the homeless, according to a joint statement from the offices of county Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and City Council President Nury Martinez.
Lee is hosting a virtual community meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 6 p.m. to discuss how the district can fulfill this mandate. Lee is suggesting turning a Travelodge on 21603 Devonshire Street into a Project Homekey site, a California Dept. of Housing and Community Development initiative providing $600 million in grants to local entities to purchase and rehabilitate housing for homeless people vulnerable to COVID-19.
The ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed against the city in March by the LA Alliance for Human Rights, charging that officials in greater Los Angeles failed to address the growing homelessness crisis. Judge Carter initially ruled that the city must relocate homeless people living within 500 feet of freeways by Sept. 1, arguing that they faced a health emergency, but dropped the injunction after an agreement was made.
Lee will answer questions about the Project Homekey proposal, and a Project Homekey representative will answer more questions about the project. To submit a question, email Councilmember.Lee@lacity.org by Monday.
Register here for the webinar.
This article originally appeared on the Northridge-Chatsworth Patch
