A federal judge Thursday signed off on the settlement of a closely watched lawsuit dealing with local government's response to a perceived lack of services for the thousands of homeless people on the streets of Los Angeles.
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U.S. District Judge David Carter rejected earlier efforts to settle, denying a previous joint stipulation to dismiss the case brought by Los Angeles County and plaintiffs the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights -- a coalition of housed and unhoused residents of downtown -- saying he wanted the county to provide both additional homeless services and hand the court more "oversight and enforcement powers."
In the settlement, which Carter signed after a brief hearing in Los Angeles federal court, the county agreed to provide an additional 3,000 beds for mental health and substance abuse treatment by the end of 2026. A previous settlement attempt provided for 1,000 additional beds.
The county also pledged to fund 450 new subsidies for board and care homes, and, significantly, agreed to the appointment of a retired judge to monitor the county's compliance with the terms of the settlement.
Carter said he wanted all receipts and paperwork to be made public, underlining his efforts to ensure transparency in regards to the huge sums of taxpayers' money involved in the settlement.
Mira Hashmall, outside counsel for L.A. County in the case, said in a statement after the hearing that the settlement commits the county to providing an additional $1.24 billion worth of resources and services over the next four years for people experiencing homelessness, especially those suffering from mental illness and substance use disorders.
She said that together with $293 million the county previously pledged for 6,700 new shelter beds and services, "the county has now committed a record $1.53 billion in additional homelessness funding to provide over 10,000 new beds and enhanced homelessness services during this lawsuit alone."
She said that figure is in addition to the more than $2 billion the county has expended through its own homelessness programs since the passage of Measure H in 2017.
L.A. Alliance spokesman Daniel Conway applauded the agreement, which marks the end of court hearings in the case.
"We are deeply encouraged by Judge Carter's approval of the settlement," he said. "We see this as serving as a foundation for the city and county to continue to cooperate to address the humanitarian crisis on the streets of Los Angeles."
The judge approved a separate settlement between L.A. Alliance and the city of Los Angeles in June 2022.
Hashmall said that one of the most important provisions of the settlement is the county's commitment to provide 3,000 new mental health and substance use disorder beds -- what she described as a "900% increase from what the parties initially agreed to last year."
Hashmall said that the county, directly or through its partners, has helped place 90,000 people in permanent housing and 124,000 in shelters over the last five and a half years.
The settlement comes a month after a federal appeals court rejected the county's effort to compel Carter to sign off on the previous proposal.
In its March 2020 lawsuit, the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights alleged that inaction by the city and county of Los Angeles has created a dangerous environment in the Skid Row area and beyond.
In April, the judge -- for the second time in five months -- rejected the county's settlement offer.
The county then attempted to stay proceedings while it prepared to appeal Carter's denial to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, but Carter also rejected that effort.
In its petition to the 9th Circuit in May, the county asked for a stay in proceedings and an order to compel Carter to vacate his April order, enforce the settlement agreement and dismiss the case.
The county argued that Carter's "rulings and the court's conduct are unprecedented. They are also clearly erroneous and exceed the bounds" of the district court's authority. The appeals court denied the county's argument.
The settlement builds on an agreement between Los Angeles city and county whereby the city agreed to provide 6,700 housing or shelter beds for vulnerable people experiencing homelessness, especially those residing under freeway overpasses, and the county agreed to assist with funding services in the amount of $293 million.
According to the results of a count conducted in January, there were 75,518 people experiencing homelessness in the county, and 46,260 in the city of Los Angeles. The figures show an increase from 69,144 in the county last year, and 41,980 in the city.
Weeks after declaring a local emergency on homelessness, the Board of Supervisors in February unanimously approved a $609.7 million budget for the Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative for fiscal year 2023-24, the largest investment in any given year to date to prevent and address homelessness.
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass recently said that unhoused seniors comprise one of the "fastest growing populations" of homeless residents in the city.
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