Lawndale Council Urged to Reject Homeless Shelter’s Expansion Plan

House of Yahweh’s proposal for a new building that would provide showers and bathrooms for the agency’s homeless clients should be denied, Lawndale City Manager John Nowak recommended in a report this week.

The report, which will be presented to the City Council tonight at what is expected to be the final public hearing on the controversial proposal, cites several reasons for the recommendation, including inadequate parking, complaints of illicit activities and allegations that crime would rise.

The report marks the first time city officials have clearly come out against the proposed building, which had been slated to go up next to House of Yahweh’s soup kitchen and thrift shop in the Lawndale Civic Center.

The charity first won approval to build a new facility in August, 1988. House of Yahweh had already broken ground on the two-story building in April, 1990, when city planning officials discovered that they had mistakenly overlooked landscaping and setback requirements.

Although the mistake cost the charity at least $35,000, House of Yahweh quickly submitted new plans, which were approved by the Planning Commission in November. A neighbor appealed the decision, bringing the matter before the City Council.

At a hearing Feb. 7 that drew a standing-room-only crowd of about 200 people, the council put off making a decision, saying it wanted to review crime reports and parking regulations. Since then, neighbors opposed to the project have circulated a petition that they plan to present to the council tonight.

According to an activities log produced by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies who patrol the Lawndale Civic Center, deputies issued 580 warnings and made 16 arrests there between January and November, 1990. Crime figures for previous years are not available.

The 16 arrests were for a range of allegations including burglary, liquor law violations, narcotics, theft, traffic violations, truancy and outstanding warrants, Nowak said.

The report also noted that several residents complained at the hearing that “violations such as loitering, narcotics, disturbing the peace, trespassing, public intoxication and assaults including assaults on children” have increased in the area since House of Yahweh opened its doors.

“The concentration of violations in this area is disproportionate to the violations cited in any other area of the city, with the exception of graffiti,” the report said. “Although all activities in the immediate area of the Civic Center cannot be attributed to the clientele of House of Yahweh, there is a strong correlation between the two.”

House of Yahweh supporters immediately dismissed the report as slanted and took issue with Nowak’s interpretation of the crime statistics.

“They have no proof that these people are our clients,” said Sister Michele Morris, House of Yahweh’s executive director. “I’ve read these names, and most of them I don’t recognize.”

In an interview this week, Capt. Walter Lanier, station commander of the sheriff’s Lennox substation, which provides police services for the city of Lawndale, said he has no way of comparing the crime figures to other intersections in the city because the Sheriff’s Department only keeps citywide records on serious crimes.

Although the statistics may appear high, “part of the reason for that is due to the fact that we have an increased police presence there,” Lanier said. The city spends about $33,000 a year on extra patrols for the Civic Center.

Lanier estimated that more than half of the misdemeanor violations logged by deputies in the Civic Center “probably could be attributable to persons who were in some way either coming or going from House of Yahweh.” But he denied that there is any link between House of Yahweh and the city’s more serious crimes, which include homicides, robberies, burglaries, rapes and auto thefts.

“I view most of the activity around (House of Yahweh) as of the nuisance variety--loitering, intoxication,” Lanier said. “When you’re in our position, when you have to look at the really serious things, those things are of much less importance.

“I couldn’t in all honesty say that area is the same as any other neighborhood in the city,” he added. “But at the same time, I don’t want to make it seem like there’s wholesale lawlessness in that area, either.”

The report also says that the project, which sets aside 40% of the building for storage, would be more appropriate in an area zoned for industrial uses. It also says the project falls far short of the parking space requirements for the Civic Center.

Because the city Building Code does not set specific parking standards for social service agencies, city officials have used several methods to calculate the number of parking spaces needed by House of Yahweh.

Community Development Director John Chapman previously told the council that House of Yahweh’s proposal for 12 parking spaces exceeded the requirements by one. But under a new analysis of the parking requirements, undertaken in the months since Nowak became city manager in January, Chapman concluded that House of Yahweh needs a minimum of 18 parking spaces and perhaps as many as 32.

Randy Reddington, a member of House of Yahweh’s board of directors, was outraged that city officials would question parking standards this far in the approval process.

“They were searching for any means possible to vote against the project,” Reddington said. “If the city had such a big problem with it, why didn’t they take some action on it sooner?. . . They’ve crossed this bridge before.”

Reddington also objected to the parking standards cited in the report. “To go from 12 parking spaces to 32 is absurd,” he said. “It would be near impossible to obtain that many parking spaces. That probably would be about 50% of our lot.”

At Morris’ request, council members agreed to meet with House of Yahweh officials last week. But before the discussions got under way, City Atty. David Aleshire advised the council members to wait until after the public hearing, saying the city could find itself the target of a lawsuit. House of Yahweh officials have refused to say whether they are considering legal action against the city.