LOS ANGELES : City to Challenge Homeless Right to Surplus Property
The Los Angeles City Council will join lobbying efforts to amend a federal law that gives homeless groups the first right to surplus government property.
The City Council voted 12 to 0 Tuesday to direct its lobbyists in Washington to start work on proposed changes that would give local communities a voice in decisions made under the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987.
The issue was brought to the council’s attention last month when a South-Central organization was given permission to run a large homeless shelter on surplus Navy housing in San Pedro. Residents protested, saying the organization did not have the qualifications to run such a program.
The federal Health and Human Services Department approved an application in February by Turner’s Technical Institute Inc. to run a homeless program for up to 880 people on Taper Avenue. Inconsistencies in the application are now being reviewed by the department.
The Housing and Urban Development Department also is reviewing the approval it gave when it declared the property suitable for use by the homeless. Under federal regulations, two large tanks holding aviation fuel are too close to buildings on the site.
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