Vote Urged on W. Hollywood Homeless Shelter : Proposal for $1.2-Million Comprehensive Facility Is Called ‘Ill-Conceived’

A leader of a large West Hollywood business association wants voters to decide whether the city should go ahead with plans for a $1.2-million comprehensive center for the homeless on the city’s east side.

“Anytime you consider spending that kind of money to provide services to non-taxpayers, residents deserve a chance to have a say in the matter,” said Mike Radcliffe, who is on the board of directors of the 88-member West Hollywood Community Alliance.

Recent attempts by city officials to solicit support for the project among east-side resident and business owners, Radcliffe said, is “nothing more than tokenism.” He called the project “ill-conceived” and “too ambitious.”

“It’s like they (the City Council) have plopped down a decision all of a sudden and now expect everyone who has been shut out of the decision-making process to support it, and I don’t think that’s going to happen,” he said.

Postponed Vote

After he and others voiced their complaints Monday, the City Council postponed until Sept. 6 voting on a lease for part of a warehouse at 1033 La Brea Ave., which is to house the proposed 70-bed facility.

City Councilman Steve Schulte said the postponement was “to clarify a couple of technical points related to the lease” and was not related to the opposition.

However, in a gesture aimed at quelling criticism, the council called for city officials to meet with east-side residents and business owners to discuss the project before the Sept. 6 council meeting.

Opposition to the project has been brewing since city officials two weeks ago announced an agreement to lease and renovate 18,000 square feet on the second floor of the warehouse, in a commercial district south of Santa Monica Boulevard.

10-Year Lease

The agreement, which must have the council’s approval, calls for a 10-year lease at $119,000 a year. Officials estimate that it would cost $600,000 to renovate the warehouse, and $500,000 a year to operate the center. The city hopes to acquire up to $525,000 from federal, state and county sources to help pay for the renovation.

West Hollywood, a city with a population of 37,000 and an estimated 300 to 700 homeless people, has been grappling with the problem of the homeless for months.

In June, at the recommendation of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the council decided to close the city’s two parks--where an estimated 150 of the homeless were living--from midnight to 6 a.m. Authorities cited an increase in crime in the parks, often involving homeless people as victims.

As a gesture to the homeless people, the council decided to open the West Hollywood Park Auditorium as a nightly emergency shelter for as many as 50 people until a permanent shelter opens. The emergency shelter has operated at capacity for several weeks, with officials turning away up to 20 people a night.

‘Regional Prototype’

The proposed permanent facility would include an emergency shelter, a drop-in center, a food program and counseling services.

In part to acquire financing from county and federal sources, the facility has been pitched as a “regional prototype.”

But critics have questioned whether West Hollywood would be taking on more than it can handle if the shelter attracts homeless people from surrounding communities.

“We don’t want a situation where there’s a long waiting line starting at the 71st person,” Radcliffe said. “We don’t want what some have referred to as a possible dumping ground on the east end of West Hollywood, where property values would be diminished and where residents would face additional concerns about their safety.”

Community activist E. Budd Kops, voiced another concern: “We’re not opposed to helping those who help themselves, but the question is, where is the money going to come from? It doesn’t make sense to me to ask residents to pay tax dollars to sustain something that may be unsustainable.”