L.A. Postpones Ruling on Homeless Trailers

Adecision on whether two trailers to house the homeless will be allowed onto the grounds of a Sepulveda church was postponed Wednesday by the Los Angeles City Council until Oct. 31.

In asking his colleagues to support the extension, Councilman Hal Bernson said he wanted more time to negotiate with the Sepulveda Unitarian-Universalist Society and its neighbors to see if permanent homeless or low-income housing could be built there instead.

The church has been trying for two years to allow two of the city’s trailers, meant to temporarily house homeless families, onto land near the church at Haskell Avenue and Plummer Street.

Neighbors oppose the trailers because they say they are not in keeping with the surrounding residential community. But during a hearing before the council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee--which Bernson chairs--they said they would be willing to consider permanent structures.

On the strength of the neighbors’ appeal, the committee voted to overturn a city Board of Zoning Appeals approval of the church plan. Bernson said he thought the location was too distant from services to help the homeless, such as job counseling.

When the appeal was considered in council on Tuesday, it came within one vote of passing. If no decision is made by Nov. 11, the Board of Zoning Appeals ruling to allow the two trailers stands.

The city homeless trailer program began more than two years ago when Mayor Tom Bradley recommended purchase of 102 of the mobile homes from a Utah construction firm. So far, 61 of the trailers have been placed, most on public land.