The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to pursue options to allow people experiencing homelessness to store personal belongings on city-owned properties.
The motion, which was introduced by Councilwoman Nithya Raman and seconded by Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson, directs the city administrative officer to identify parking lots, vacant parcels and other properties that can be used for a citywide network of small-scale shipping-container storage facilities for homeless people to use.
The CAO will report back to the City Council within 60 days with a plan for funding and the establishment of five initial facilities at key locations in the city.
“A lack of storage options can create major obstacles for a person experiencing homelessness. The inability to secure or transport a large quantity of possessions can make it far more difficult to leave a tent or encampment — creating obstacles to seeking work, making appointments to see case managers or moving elsewhere even if a location has become hazardous,” the motion reads.
“When people are connected to shelter, facilities limit the amount of belongings participants are allowed to bring in, often leaving people to choose between staying on the street so they can keep their possessions or sleeping in a bed while forfeiting items that will not fit in two suitcases, a common standard,” according to the motion.
The motion calls for a focus on properties deemed unsuitable for permanent or interim housing. On Feb. 24, the council passed a motion introduced by Councilman Kevin de León as part of his “A Way Home” initiative to have all city departments report on the feasibility of using land they own to create temporary or permanent homeless housing.
Raman notes in her motion that creating a storage network on city-owned properties could address the “public health issue for all Angelenos” created by excess storage on sidewalks. She added that items that are improperly stored can create a fire risk and that having possessions in the public right-of-way may pose dangers for pedestrians and people with disabilities.
“Pedestrians may be forced to enter busy streets to navigate around objects that have made a sidewalk impassable. As the city develops more proactive policies for engaging with street homelessness, creating and expanding storage options must be a central aspect of our solution.”
The motion cites two smaller-scale storage facilities operated by the city that have been successful: The Bin in downtown Los Angeles and Echo Park, which operate at nearly full capacity consistently. Raman said the Echo Park site should provide a model for the citywide network.
“Existing city-owned storage facilities for people experiencing homelessness have proven to be highly successful — consistently operating at nearly full capacity,” Raman said Tuesday. “My office has also seen first-hand how instrumental providing storage to people experiencing homelessness can be in sustainably transitioning them into housing. We successfully housed every resident in one of the largest encampments in my district, and providing storage options was critical to that success.”
The City Council also voted Tuesday to develop a pilot program in District 3 to help residents of a shelter and two cabin communities store excess belongings at local storage facilities to ensure they have smooth transition from the street into temporary housing. The motion was introduced by the district’s councilman, Bob Blumenfield.