An article posted early this morning from the L.A. Times stated that Los Angeles city lawmakers are blocking the momentum of creating homeless housing projects, though it is unclear if the block is intentional or unintentional. The project needs to receive funding but before this can happen, city council members must send in a “letter of acknowledgment” to the housing department. So far, no such letter has been received. This news is frustrating on several layers. Los Angeles has worked hard in the past years to pass certain rules and regulations that would allow for the improvement of street life for their homeless population. Housing proposals have been submitted to the city’s department of housing but will be rejected until these letters get sent in. Homeless advocates say that this “letter-blocking” is a political move, while council members argue that they simply are waiting for the proposal that looks “right”.

Once L.A. gets its act together, however, the proposed housing projects would fit in well with the community. From my observations, the projects look like nice apartment buildings that you would see in any city. It is hard to imagine that people would have a NIMBY approach to these proposed buildings, but then again, it is hard to really understand neighborhoods that would want to push out the homeless in the first place. Regardless of the issue, I am hopeful that developers and city councilors will get on the same page to get these projects moving. The longer they wait, the longer their homeless population is living on the streets and not properly housed.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-council-power-20180312-story.html