Judge will oversee efforts to eliminate camps near freeways
LOS ANGELES — The federal judge who ordered that homeless encampments adjacent to Los Angeles freeways be immediately cleared in light of coronavirus threats has directed city and county officials to agree on a plan to disperse the camps by September.
After city and county attorneys urged Carter to drop or delay the order that was supposed to go into effect May 22, the judge indicated he would oversee the clearance in stages, starting with a June 12 status report.
The unusual ruling came as part of settlement talks in a lawsuit filed in March by the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights, a coalition of Skid Row-area business owners, formerly homeless and disabled city dwellers, which accuses the city and county of Los Angeles of not doing enough to address the homeless problem downtown, especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A federal court hearing was scrapped last week after city and county attorneys could not agree on who would fund an alternative plan expected to cost up to $130 million to house those who were going to be displaced.
Ridley-Thomas said that in the last few weeks, more than 2,500 homeless people were moved off the streets and into 29 hotels through the Project Roomkey project, a collaborative effort by the state, county and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, with more hotels being contracted each week.
