No Action on Homeless Program

A controversial request to set up a program for the homeless in Redondo Beach’s Dominguez Park was held over Tuesday by the City Council until Dec. 5.

Faced with an agenda so long that, according to Councilwoman Kay Horrell, “it would choke a good-sized camel,” the council delayed discussion of the issue until its next meeting, even though dozens of homeless activists and neighborhood residents had come to debate the plan.

At issue is a request by Hope Chapel of Redondo Beach to distribute free food and clothing from a church-owned trailer that the church would place in Dominguez Park once a week for a 45-day test period. The goal, said Ron Mason of the chapel’s Haven of Hope Ministry, is to gauge how many homeless people there are in the area and, based on that information, set up expanded programs for them if necessary.

But city officials say there are few, if any, street people in Redondo Beach, and neighbors of Dominguez Park say they fear the program will draw transients from other parts of Los Angeles. Also of concern, they say, is the fear that the homeless will frighten or threaten the 150 youngsters who participate in Little League at the park.