W. Hollywood Stalls Closing Parks : Concern for Homeless Causes Delay in Restricting Hours

West Hollywood’s two parks will not be closed from midnight to 6 a.m.--at least not yet.

After committing itself to trying to develop a $1-million-plus comprehensive center for the homeless in the next six months, the City Council on Monday delayed action on restricting park hours as a gesture to the estimated 100 homeless people who live in West Hollywood and Plummer parks.

By a unanimous vote, the five-member council agreed to negotiate a lease for a warehouse on La Brea Avenue which could be used as a long-term, multipurpose center for the homeless and would include an emergency shelter, a drop-in center, food program and counseling services.

Jodi Curlee, the city’s social services administrator, said the estimated cost includes $600,000 for renovating the warehouse, $500,000 for annual operations and $120,000 a year to lease the building.

“I think we’re all a bit staggered by the price. I don’t think we were prepared for the bottom-line figure . . . but it’s a great location, and I think (the center) is the direction we want to go,” Council Member Abbe Land said.

Urgent Issue

The council has been grappling with the homeless issue for months. The issue took on added urgency last December after Capt. Mark Squiers of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department recommended that park hours be restricted to curb rising crime.

Squiers has said that serious crime in the parks has increased 46% since mid-1987. Although the parks are closed from 3 to 5 a.m., the Sheriff’s Department has not been evicting homeless people from them.

Two weeks ago, the council tentatively agreed to close the parks from midnight to 6 a.m. At the same time, the council committed itself to opening a temporary shelter as soon as possible and increased the number of hotel vouchers the city provides to homeless people each night from six to 21.

Several council members expressed hope Monday that if negotiations for the warehouse go smoothly, part of the facility could be used as a temporary shelter before renovations are completed in an estimated six to nine months.

Curlee said acquiring the warehouse represented “the most cost-efficient approach” to establishing a comprehensive homeless center.

“Frankly, if we’re going to do a program the council has indicated it wants to do, it is ultimately going to cost this much . . . and (the La Brea site) offers an opportunity difficult to find,” she said.

She said the expense to renovate the warehouse for a “bare bones” emergency shelter would amount “to more than half the expense in going ahead and developing the long-term facility.”