Delay in Placing Trailers Tests Patience of Sepulveda Church

Sidney Siegel wanted to help the homeless and persuaded his church, the Sepulveda Unitarian-Universalist Society, to provide space for a trailer that would house a homeless family.

“We have plenty of room on our grounds,” Siegel said. “We thought it was a wonderful idea.”

So Siegel, acting with his church’s blessing, wrote to Los Angeles’ city-sponsored trailer program offering a site for a trailer on church property. That was in January. The church is still waiting to learn the fate of its application, and the delay is beginning to erode church members’ zest for the project, Siegel said.

Siegel said the delay is discouraging because the church believes it has the perfect site for a trailer--five acres in the 9500 block of Haskell Avenue, far away from homeowners who might complain.

“We have some space on our grounds that would be, we think, ideal for placement of a trailer,” said Mary Walden, president of the church’s board of directors. “We would like to try it out. We are prepared to be neighbors and friends to the family.”

Deputy Mayor Grace Davis said Wednesday that the city is trying to correct administrative problems that have delayed placement of the trailers, but she conceded that officials have no idea when they will be able to put a trailer at the Sepulveda church or at any other private site.

Of 102 two- and three-bedroom trailers the city purchased for the homeless, 78 are in storage. Davis said the city’s Housing Authority has placed 24 trailers at its housing projects but has not placed any on private property. She said 28 churches and synagogues have offered space for trailers to house homeless families until they can secure permanent shelter.

The well-publicized delays prompted a protest June 4 by about 100 Los Angeles junior high and senior high school students at the Torrance storage yard where some of the unused trailers sit.

Davis said she can understand the church’s eagerness to have a trailer. But she said city officials have learned that placing the trailers is more complicated than anticipated.

Some church property, for example, is not zoned for trailers and may need special waivers that must be approved by the City Council, she said. “Trailers can’t just be placed anywhere,” she said.

Fire Department and Department of Building and Safety officials must also approve the site, Davis said. Increased work generated by the recent First Interstate Bank Fire has delayed inspection of possible trailer sites, but inspectors may begin visiting the sites--including the Sepulveda church--as early as next week, Davis said.

For the moment, Siegel said he will try to keep the interest of church members alive. “I feel discouraged, but I don’t want to drop this until it’s absolutely hopeless.”