The City Council Tuesday extended Mayor Karen Bass' declaration of a local housing and homelessness emergency, while also discussing some steps that could result in its termination in the future.
In a 13-1 vote, council members extended the mayor's declaration and approved amendments introduced by Councilman Bob Blumenfield and Councilwoman Nithya Raman. Council members called for reports within 30 days with recommendations to continue operation of interim housing sites on city-owned properties and ensure payment of contracts -- if there was no longer a declared emergency.
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Councilman Tim McOsker opposed the extension and urged his colleagues to do the same. Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez was absent during the vote.
"We have been in this for two-and-a-half years," McOsker said. "The fact that the renewal says that we have not made the right progress is itself an indictment of the emergency and our actions on the emergency."
Upon taking office in December 2022, Mayor Karen Bass declared a local emergency to address the dual housing and homelessness crisis. The City Council votes to extend or terminate the declaration every 90 days.
While a declaration of local emergency is in place, the mayor has the ability to suspend what is known as competitive bidding as well as expedite the procurement of contracts for construction, service providers and other work related to the emergency.
Continuing the state of emergency requires regular evaluation of so- called indicators of progress such as whether the declaration is resulting in a reduction of street encampments; regulatory relief from outside and internal agencies to address the crisis; increased housing placements; increased affordable housing options; and a reduction in homelessness; among other things.
During this year's budget hearings for fiscal year 2025-26, McOsker -- a member of the Budget and Finance Committee -- expressed an interest in ending the emergency declaration and raised points about its effectiveness.
Councilwoman Nithya Raman, chair of the Housing and Homelessness Committee, welcomed McOsker's discussion. She also urged her colleagues to extend the declaration for the time being.
With more than 700 interim beds on property owned by the Department of Recreation and Parks, there is a concern that by ending the declaration it could disrupt these shelter sites. These shelter sites would need approval or consideration by the department's five-member Board of Recreation and Park Commissioners.
"...I would want to ensure that before we are taking a vote to remove the state of emergency that we also have parallel to it all the actions we need to take that will ensure that our shelter sites stay open and that our payments can happen at the same time," Raman said.
"But once again, I really want to underscore that these questions are very welcome," Raman added. I think that we have to move out of a state of emergency response and move into a system response to this issue.
This discussion to end the emergency declaration comes at a time when "so much is up in the air," as Councilwoman Imelda Padilla described.
The City Council established a new bureau in the Housing Department to provide oversight of its homelessness programs and spending. Los Angeles County has planned to withdraw more than $300 million in Measure A funds from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, as well as staff members. They will be allocated to a new homelessness department.
"I think we should all stay alert that we have the option that if in 30 days, or in 60 days, we feel more prepared to say it's time for a change that we can make that happen," Padilla said. "But I think in the next couple of weeks, we'll get more clarity related to how our own changes that we decided on during budget and changes with our other governmental partners play out."
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