LA Alliance for Human Rights v. City of Los Angeles

District Court, C.D. California·Decided May 22, 2020·No. 2:20-cv-02291·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

CIVIL MINUTES – GENERAL

Case No. LA CV 20-02291-DOC-KES Date: May 22, 2020

Title: LA ALLIANCE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ET AL. v. CITY OF LOS ANGELES ET AL.

PRESENT:

THE HONORABLE DAVID O. CARTER, JUDGE

Kelly Davis Not Present Courtroom Clerk Court Reporter

ATTORNEYS PRESENT FOR ATTORNEYS PRESENT FOR PLAINTIFF: DEFENDANT: None Present None Present

PROCEEDINGS (IN CHAMBERS): PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

I. Background In response to the Court’s Order re: Preliminary Injunction (Dkt. 108), at 6:58 p.m. on May 19, 2020, the Court was advised that a tentative agreement had been “signed off on by all parties and intervenors” and would be submitted to the Court momentarily. However, approximately thirty minutes later, the parties informed the Court that they were in fact unable to reach an agreement, and that the parties would be filing separate reports with the Court.1

In its Status Report (Dkt. 115) (“County Report”), filed jointly with Intervenors on May 20, 2020, the County of Los Angeles represents as follows:

Following the issuance of the Court’s injunction on May 15, 2020, the parties spent the last several days trying to reach an agreement regarding a joint filing. Regrettably, at approximately 7:30 p.m. the

1 The Report (Dkt. 114) filed by the City of Los Angeles and Status Report (Dkt. 115) filed by the County of Los Angeles are attached to this Order as Exhibits A and B, respectively. CIVIL MINUTES – GENERAL

Case No. LA CV 20-02291-DOC-KES Date: May 22, 2020

Page 2

day the filing was due, the City declined to participate in a joint filing, stating that it could not agree out of a concern over the payment for “services” at City-owned interim shelters and similar sites. The County offered to develop a package of mainstream services for persons experiencing homelessness and residing in shelters within the City. These services would include health and behavioral health outreach, disability benefit advocacy services, and connections to social services benefits. The City rejected the County’s offer.

The City would not agree to a shared funding arrangement as proposed by the County for operational costs (such as food, laundry, security, etc.) associated with the City’s pilot programs. The City made a similar request for all City shelters proposed under the City’s plan to address homelessness near freeways and for individuals currently occupying COVID-19 emergency beds in the City. These demands are inconsistent with past practice. In general, with the exception of Measure H funding administered by the County, the City funds operational costs for interim shelter sites in the City. The City is a major recipient of state and federal funds for homeless services, unlike other cities in the County (with the partial exception of Long Beach).

In an effort to move the parties forward, the County suggested a joint funding strategy with the City for certain pilot programs, leaving the issue of broader operational costs for another time (perhaps with the intervention of a mediator). The City rejected that offer too. The City has requested that the County dedicate additional Measure H or other County funds to the City. However, Measure H funds are disproportionately spent in the City. In addition, Measure H funds are already appropriated to support the City as well as other jurisdictions in the region addressing homelessness. Despite these developments, the County will continue to pursue partnerships with the City.

County Report at 10-11. CIVIL MINUTES – GENERAL

Case No. LA CV 20-02291-DOC-KES Date: May 22, 2020

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For its part, the City of Los Angeles, in its Report (Dkt. 114) (“City Report”), filed May 19, 2020, states:

The City stands ready to provide the capital costs (subject to approval of the City Council) needed to implement a mix of shelter and housing solutions to serve a diverse homeless population, in partnership with the County of Los Angeles (County) and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) to ensure those solutions include the services necessary to keep people off the streets.

. . .

In all, the City commits to creating 6,100 new shelter opportunities in the next 10 months.2 The City’s plan is contingent upon each shelter location receiving the appropriate levels of necessary County-funded support and operating services. Under the voter approved tax initiative Measure H, the County funds operating services for homeless facilities called for in the County Homeless Strategy. Operating services include specially trained staff dedicated to manage these facilities; case managers who work with clients in the facilities to access housing and other benefits; security services; and program enrollments/exits. These operating services are in addition to the “mainstream” systems of care (mental health, healthcare, substance abuse, etc.) provided by the County, which are also necessary—but not sufficient—to successfully operate the shelter opportunities the City is committed to creating.

City Report at 2-3.

These submissions to the Court, combined with the last-minute collapse of the signed tentative agreement, lead the Court to conclude that there are relatively few unresolved issues, and that the remaining issues are tied to the longstanding conflict between the City and County as to which entity is financially responsible for which

2 On this record, the Court understands that this total of 6,100 shelter opportunities includes the approximately 2,200 hotel and motel rooms contracted under Project Roomkey and the approximately 1,000 shelter beds in recreational centers, and thus represents an increase of approximately 2,900 shelter opportunities. CIVIL MINUTES – GENERAL

Case No. LA CV 20-02291-DOC-KES Date: May 22, 2020

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homeless services. The Court reminds the City and County that these funds are not the property of the City and County, but have been allocated by the local taxpayers, the State of California, and the federal government as funds to provide shelter and services to persons experiencing homelessness. Moreover, the disagreement between the City and County over the relatively minor costs of this pilot program does not bode well for the future as the program is scaled up across the City and County. It is regrettable that this ongoing endeavor to develop humane and sustainable responses to the challenges of homelessness is beleaguered by a legacy of bureaucratic entanglement and gridlock.

The Court commends the efforts that have been undertaken to shelter vulnerable residents of the City and County of Los Angeles during the COVID-19 pandemic. Efforts to comply with the Court’s preliminary injunction should broaden—not replace—these emergency public health efforts, and the two should run alongside each other, rather than sequentially. The City of Los Angeles and County of Los Angeles have the capacity and resources to comply with the injunction while maintaining their unprecedented efforts to protect vulnerable residents from COVID-19.

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