Local News in Brief : Lease of Facility for Homeless Approved

The West Hollywood City Council ratified a lease for a warehouse to house a $1.2-million comprehensive center for the homeless and appointed a committee to help organize a nonprofit corporation to operate the facility.

But critics of the proposal, who say the 70-bed shelter might attract homeless people from surrounding areas, have pledged to campaign for a ballot initiative aimed at stopping the project.

The warehouse agreement calls for a 10-year lease at $119,000 a year. Officials estimate that it will cost $600,000 to renovate the warehouse and $500,000 a year, in addition to the lease expense, 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.

At the urging of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, West Hollywood closed its two parks--where an estimated 150 homeless people were staying--from midnight to 6 a.m. Authorities said they closed the parks because of an increase in crime there, often with homeless people as victims.

To help the people living in the parks, the council opened the West Hollywood Park Auditorium as a nightly emergency shelter.