December 27, 2022 – Woodland Hills/ Warner Center Neighborhood Council – Public Health & Homelessness Committee Meeting

Link to 122722 PH&H Agenda_Dec 27, 2022

 

Woodland Hills-Warner Center Neighborhood Council
Agenda – Public Health & Homelessness Committee Meeting
27 December 2022 at 6:30p.m.
VIRTUAL MEETING BY
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PHONE NUMBER FOR PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

In conformity with the September 16, 2021 Enactment of California Assembly Bill 361 (Rivas) and due to concerns over COVID-19, the Woodland Hills-Warner Center Neighborhood Council meeting will be conducted entirely telephonically with a call-in option or internet based service option. Every person wishing to address the Neighborhood Council must either dial 1 669 900 6833 or go online via Zoom and enter Webinar ID # 938 9924 1002 and then press # to join the meeting. Instructions on how to sign up for public comment will be given to listeners at the start of the meeting. When calling-in telephonically, the public is requested to dial *9, when prompted by the presiding officer, to address the Board on any agenda item before the Board takes an action on an item. Zoom users should use the “raise hand” feature.

AB 361 Updates: Public comment cannot be required to be submitted in advance of the meeting, only real-time public comment is required. If there are any broadcasting interruptions that prevent the public from observing or hearing the meeting, the meeting must be recessed or adjourned. If members of the public are unable to provide public comment or be heard due to issues within the Neighborhood Council’s control, the meeting must be recessed or adjourned. Any messaging or virtual background is in the control of the individual board member in their personal capacity and does not reflect any formal position of the Neighborhood Council or the City of Los Angeles.

*PUBLIC INPUT ON AGENDA ITEMS – The public may address the Board on any agenda item before the Board takes an action on an item. Comments from the public on agenda items will be heard only when the respective item is being considered.

Public comment is limited to 2) minute per speaker.

*PUBLIC INPUT ON MATTERS NOT ON THE AGENDA – Comments from the public on other matters not appearing on the agenda that are within the Board’s jurisdiction will be heard during the General Public Comment period. Please note that under the Brown Act, the Board is prevented from acting on a matter that you bring to its attention during the General Public Comment period; however, the issue raised by a member of the public may become the subject of a future Board meeting.

Public Comment is limited to (2) minute per speaker, unless adjusted by the presiding chair of the
committee. The presiding chair may impose time limits per each agenda item as needed.

·
·AGENDA

Call to Order

Roll Call: Chair Aaron M Quantz, Mark Schwartz, Reina Cerros McCaughey, Annmarie Donkin,

Public Announcements by city officials and representatives: (3) minutes per speaker

Stakeholder Public Comment Period (on items NOT on the agenda): (2) minutes per speaker

Approval of Committee Minutes from August 23rd & October 25th Committee Meeting

See supporting documents:

https://whcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/minutes-agendas-newsletters/HomelessnessMinutes_2022-08-23.pdf
https://whcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/minutes-agendas-newsletters/HomelessnessMinutes_2022-10-25.pdf

Items for Discussion and Possible Action:

All comment is limited to 2 minutes per speaker, unless adjusted by the presiding chair of the committee.

1. Discussion and possible action: (CF 21-1230-S2)

Relative to establishing the Livable Communities
Initiative along suitable transit-rich corridors and related mattters. The Housing and Transportation Committees have approved the item and their reports are within the Council File

MOTION: State law requires the City of Los Angeles to update its Housing Element every eight years and demonstrate sufficient zoned capacity for housing-especially affordable housing. For the 2021-2022 planning cycle, the City was given a housing target of 456,643 new units, which we must accommodate for by 2029.
According to Los Angeles City Planning, while some of this capacity is achievable by maintaining the status quo, there remains a shortfall of 255,432 units. This shortfall necessitates innovative planning tools and programs to meet our housing targets. For this reason, the City Council recently adopted Los Angeles’ most ambitious Housing Element to date. The City’s 2021-2029 Housing Element outlines strategies that speak to the City’s diverse housing needs and goals around ending homelessness, producing more housing, expanding housing opportunities, and creating mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhoods across Los Angeles near jobs and transit.

Some of these strategies will be included automatically in community plan updates, but many of the policy programs detailed in Chapter 6 of the Housing Element require City Council action to effectuate.
One key program is the Livable Communities Initiative (LCI), identified as Program 131 of the adopted
Housing Element. As detailed in the Housing Element, “LCI is an opportunity to advance a holistic vision for livable, healthy, and sustainable communities along the City’s transit-rich corridors utilizing mixed-use, mixed-income housing combined with opportunities to transform the street and public realm by adding or improving wide sidewalks, tree canopy, outdoor dining, bicycle infrastructure, transit shelters, fast and frequent transit, and public seating and plazas.” LCI helps to implement critical “complete street” strategies in the City’s adopted Mobility Plan 2035; moreover, it encourages reinvestment and street activation across neighborhoods so that Angelenos have access to safe and enjoyable public spaces to walk, roll, and thrive.

1. The City’s current development regulations are confusing and restrictive, and often make it challenging to build much-needed housing. In the midst of a housing shortage and low vacancy rates in Los Angeles, where almost 60% of renters are cost-burdened, the LCI alongside other strategies identified in the Housing Element are an opportunity to holistically plan for green, affordable, and connected communities.

   I THEREFORE MOVE that City Council direct Los Angeles City Planning, with assistance from the
   Department of Building and Safety, Los Angeles Department of Transportation, and other relevant
   departments, to report back within 180 days with strategies to establish the Livable Communities Initiative along suitable transit-rich corridors, or analogous Citywide regulations, that facilitates mid-scale development, promotes the creation of housing units where ‘ they do not currently exist, and creates or enhances existing commercial, Mixed-use character. As part of its report, City Planning should consider by-right or administrative development and zoning standards to mid-scale development; including, but not limited to: Waivers or reductions of setback, unit floor area, and other development standards; An inclusionary housing requirement to increase access to affordable housing; A minimum density requirement to promote multifamily, mixed-use development; Provisions to encourage greater lot density such as allowing for microunits, shared housing, or increasing area ratio (FAR) allowances; The elimination or reduction of parking minimums in “high quality transit areas” or “transit-rich areas”;
   Exclusions and/or mitigations for lot located within a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone (VHFHSZ), an identified historic district, or are designated as open space; and result in the demolition of buildings subject to the Rent Stabilization Ordinance
   

   I FURTHER MOVE that, as part of this report back, City Council directs Los Angeles City Planning to
   develop a community-driven outreach and engagement strategy that will assist in informing the necessary maps and reports required to identify suitable transit-rich corridors that would benefit from the Livable Communities Initiative and complement existing rezoning efforts through the implementation of the Housing Element (2021-2029). This strategy should demonstrate adequate engagement and involvement with marginalized, historically underserved, and/or disadvantaged communities potentially impacted by the selection of suitable corridors.
   

   I FURTHER MOVE that City Council direct Los Angeles City Planning, in coordination with City Planning’s Urban Design Studio, to report back within 180 days on options for an administrative clearance procedure for projects eligible for the Livable Communities Initiative that outlines objective Design and Development Standards to ensure high quality, contextual design and compatibility with the vision of the Livable Communities Initiative outlined in Program 131 of the Housing Element (2021-2029).

   I FURTHER MOVE that City Council direct Los Angeles City Planning, Los Angeles Department of
   Transportation, the Department of Public Works, and the Economic Workforce Development Department, with assistance from the City Administrative Office and other relevant departments, to report back within 180 days with options to establish a streamlined, administrative review process that ensures projects eligible for the Livable Communities Initiative invest in public right-of-way amenities and infrastructure improvements in order to encourage transit ridership, pedestrian and cyclist safety, and placemaking.
   

Roll Call Vote

2. Discussion and possible action: (CF 22-0755)

   The City’s FY 2021-22 Budget included a $1,000,000 pilot program in partnership with the University of
   Southern California (USC) to deliver medical services to homeless residents. The program also places
   individuals into various types of housing and provides hygiene services at high-needs locations throughout the City. The program received an additional $1,000,000 in the FY 2022-23 Budget to continue these needed services. This current service contract is ending on June 30, 2022. At this time, a new contract is required to recognize funding provided to LAHD in the FY 2022-23 Budget Resolution. It is important that a new contract be properly executed with USC through the Los Angeles Housing Department, administrator for this contract, to ensure continuity of service.
   

   I THEREFORE MOVE that the City Council instruct and authorize the General Manager of the Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD) or designee to execute a contract with the University of Southern California (USC) to provide street medicine and housing services in the amount of $1,000,000 as approved in the City’s FY 22-23 Budget, and that the contract commence July 1, 2022 for a term of 12 months, with an option to extend for an additional 12 months.

   I FURTHER MOVE that the Council find that the services to be performed by the University of Southern California are for the performance of professional, scientific, expert, technical, or other special services of a temporary and occasional character for which competitive bidding is not practicable or advantageous and that the work can be performed more economically or feasibly by independent contractors than by City employees.
   I FURTHER MOVE that LAHD be authorized to make any technical corrections or clarifications as
   necessary to the above instructions in order to effectuate the intent of this Motion.

   MOTION 72A: AMEND item #72 (CF: 22-0755) to add the following directions: I FURTHER MOVE that the City Council instruct the Office of the City Administrative Officer (CAO) with the assistance of the Chief Legislative Analyst (CLA), Los Angeles Housing Department (LAHD), Community Investment for Families Department (CIFD), the Mayor’s Office, the Unified Homelessness Response Center (UHRC), and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), to report in 60 days on the status of the City’s partnership with the USC Street Medicine Program, and funding sources and options for expanding street medicine services across the City.

   Roll Call Vote
   

3. Discussion and possible action: (CF 22-1313)

MOTION: (Los Angeles City Council – HOMELESSNESS AND POVERTY COMMITTEE)
The most recent Point-in-Time Count data from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) indicate that nearly 6,500 people experiencing homelessness in the City are living in a total of about 4,000 recreational vehicles (RVs). That number, which has grown by 40% since 2018, represents 22% of the City’s total unsheltered homeless population. All too often, RVs used as dwellings on LA’s streets are in grave disrepair, meaning that people living in them face unsanitary and sometimes dangerous conditions. Many residents of RV s also lack access to adequate hygiene facilities. A number of the individuals who live in RVs actually make substantial rent payments to the vehicle’s owner, paying out hundreds of dollars each month for precarious and substandard housing. RVs have also posed challenges for the neighborhoods in which they are located related to the release of untreated effluent into streets or stormwater drains, increased risk of fires (especially from external generators), and other public safety concerns Since 2010, the City’s primary response to vehicular homelessness-particularly in RVs-has been a reactive one, not one that focuses on resolving homelessness for inhabitants of RVs. The City has used LAMC 80.69.4, a law that allows the City to prohibit the parking of oversized vehicles (those over 84 inches high and 22 feet long) between 2a.m. and 6 a.m on specific streets. Through Council action, hundreds of streets have been added every year to the list of streets where oversized vehicle parking is prohibited. In addition to street-specific oversized vehicle bans, people who live in RVs on city streets must comply with rules that prohibit staying in one parking spot for more than 72 hours. Vehicles that violate this rule can be ticketed and towed. During the pandemic, the City paused ticketing and towing of vehicles with people living in them in accordance with CDC guidelines to allow people experiencing homelessness to shelter in place-safely, but in April of this year, the City Council voted to resume parking enforcement for vehicles used as dwellings. This enforcement- based approach to addressing RVs, however, has proven to be largely ineffective. Often, RV dwellers move their vehicles to other streets in response to a ticket or an oversized vehicle prohibition, meaning that these bans simply move people experiencing homelessness from one street to another.

Additionally, the City’s capacity to enforce the new rules around RV dwelling is extremely limited-and likely to remain so- because of the lack ofvendors and tow yard space to tow and impound oversized vehicles. It is clear that the City needs to come up with a more effective and holistic response to vehicular homelessness. One option to address vehicular homelessness in RVs is to provide designated sites as “safe parking” lots. Safe parking programs typically provide nighttime security and hygiene facilities, as well as some case management on site. However, there are currently very few safe parking sites within the City that are large enough to accommodate RVs. Furthermore, none of these sites operate 24 hours a day, which poses a particular challenge for people in RVs, who do not opt to use the sites because it is onerous or impossible to move their vehicles out of the lots during daytime hours due to the size and condition of the vehicles.

Another strategy is to offer housing options to residents of RVs. Indeed, the City Administrative Officer (CAO) recently proposed new outreach and engagement protocols to address Citywide vehicle dwelling (CF 21-0956-S1), which instructs that prior to towing a vehicle, housing or shelter referrals should be made to vehicle dwellers “if available.” However, the City simply does not have adequate numbers of shelter beds or interim housing sites to offer housing to every resident currently in an RV. It is likely that without adequate housing options to offer residents, strict enforcement of existing RV laws would result in more individuals encamped in tents and makeshift shelters on City sidewalks. Effective housing navigation for people living in RVs will require specialized resources in order to successfully resolve homelessness for residents. Homeless service providers with experience working with residents of RV s report that incentives, such as small cash payments, can serve as useful tools to encourage residents moving into housing to relinquish their RVs when they move. Short-term storage options for RVs can also help residents overcome skepticism about moving into an interim housing site.

In the proposed 2022-23 California budget, Governor Newsom has earmarked $300 million for Encampment Resolution Funding (ERF) grants. Local governments can apply for ERF grants to create projects that serve people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in encampments. In 2022, Council District 4 received an ERF grant of$1,747,115 to rehouse individuals living unsheltered along a 19-mile stretch ofthe Los Angeles River. Eligible fund uses include street outreach and engagement, housing navigation, interim and permanent housing capacity building, activities to ensure sustained outcomes for people served, and funding for the restoration of encampment sites. The likely expansion of this flexible funding stream presents a promising opportunity to secure funds to support a City-wide, comprehensive approach to addressing RV homelessness effectively.

THEREFORE MOVE that the City Council direct the City Administrative Officer (CAO), with assistance from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) and the Department of Transportation (LADOT), to report back within 60 days with a comprehensive City-wide rehousing strategy for people experiencing RV homelessness, in alignment with the City’s Street Engagement Strategy and LAHSA’s Best Practices for Addressing Street Encampments. The strategy should include the following components: Identifying and securing appropriate interim shelter and housing for people living in RV s across the City; Creation of incentives for voluntary relinquishment of RVs used as dwellings; Identifying and securing short-term storage lots for RVs after the owner or dweller moves into interim or permanent housing if the owner or dweller wishes to store the RV for a short time;
Expanding Safe Parking programs, in collaboration with LAHSA, to include oversized/larger RVs in 24-
hour Safe Parking programming; Demolishing RVs, after the owner or dweller moves into interim or permanent housing, with consent of the owner; leveraging case management from sanitation outreach/City-funded generalist outreach teams for people living in RVs, with a focus on strategies for working with people living in RVs; and Necessary budgetary and staffing resources to implement the strategy.

I FURTHER MOVE that the City Council direct the City Administrative Officer (CAO) to report back
within 60 days regarding the possibility of submitting an application on behalf of the City for an ERF grant to support the proposed City-wide rehousing strategy for people experiencing RV homelessness.

Roll Call Vote

4. Discussion and possible action: (CF 21-1208)
   Motion: In 2016 the State of Califomia adopted methane emissions targets in an effort to reduce short-
   lived climate pollutants under SB 1383 requiring all jurisdictions to reduce organic waste disposal by 75% by 2025. This was a necessary response to scientific discoveries that greenhouse gasses released by “landfilling” food and yard waste is a major contributor to pollutants and climate change.
   The research uncovered that Califomia landfills are the third largest source of generated methane gas.
   Organics like food scraps, yard trimmings, paper, and cardboard make up half of what is dumped in our
   landfills. The new regulations require jurisdictions to adopt and enforce an ordinance on reducing
   commercial and residential food waste generation. All jurisdictions starting in 2022 will need to provide
   organic waste collection services and utilize recycling facilities, procure products made from recycled
   organic material, as well as redirect 20 percent of edible food currently thrown away to those going hungry by the year 2025. Under the new law, each jurisdiction is accountable for compliance by its sourcegenerators, and CalRecycle, the State’s recycling and waste regulatory agency, is authorized to issue escalating penalties for non-compliance beginning in 2022.
   The City of Los Angeles has been at the forefront implementing waste collection programs and recycling to address operational eficiencies and climate change. In January 2017 the City approved seven RecycLA contracts for the collection of solid waste, recycling and organics from large multifamily properties and businesses. These contracts contained specific landfill reduction targets tiat must be contractually met. Since there is always room for improvement, the City must begin work to ensure our policies are in compliance with the new State regulations beginning in 2022.
   During the course of the past year and a half, City residents have been coping with the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, many residents have sought economic relief through the rent
   moratorium and utility bill assistance. The implementation of the new regulations associated with organics may have an impact on the City residents and businesses as they emerge from the pandemic. Given this, it is important that the City fully understand the economic impact of these regulations and provide ways to minimize their effect on struggling City residents and businesses. The Bureau of Sanitation (BOS) should be requested to analyze the law and prepare a report with recommendations on phasing in the steps for data-collection, policy compliance, and future plans for capital improvements that comply with the new CalRecycle regulations. The City supports the goals to reduce
   emissions of short-lived climate pollutants statewide and the regulations approved by CalRecycle already align with the City’s zero-waste goals.
   I THEREFORE MOVE that the Bureau of Sanitation (BOS) be instructed to report to the City Council within 60 days on the steps necessary to comply with the CalRecycle regulations to reduce organic waste disposal by 75% by 2025; and the ability to develop a phased approach to compliance.
   I further move that the BOS, With the assistance of the City Administrative Officer and the Chief Legislative Analyst, be instructed to report on the potential impact of the CalRecycle regulations on the ratepayers and methods and approaches to provide relief to ratepayers and minimize potential impacts.

Roll Call Vote

Discussion and possible action:

1. 5. Motion: The Holidays are upon us and it’s time to send some money to one of the non-profits who are and will be feeding those experiencing homelessness and to approve $1500 to be allocated to New Friends Homeless Center for the weekly Friday dinners for the Homeless at the Woodland Hills United Methodist Church on Shoup Ave, in Woodland Hills

Roll Call Vote

Items to be placed on the agenda for the next meeting Adjournment of Meeting:

Adjournment of Meeting

The Woodland Hills/ Warner Center Neighborhood Council Public Health and Homelessness
Committee meets regularly on the 4th Tuesday of each month at 6:30pm. The next Committee
Meeting will be held on 24 January, 2023, by teleconference. Please visit the calendar page at
whcouncil.org for the complete details and to confirm the date and time.
Meeting dates for 2022 -2023 year: Full Board meeting are held the second Wednesday of every
month at 6:30pm. Check the NC website calendar for a

complete list of committee and board meetings.
Meeting dates and times are subject to change.

Check the NC calendar for updated meeting schedules.
Due to COVID 19 ALL in person meetings have been moved to virtual teleconference.
HOWEVER, please check the www.whcouncil.org

website calendar page for any changes that may occur.
*THE AMERICAN WITH DISABILITIES ACT – As a covered entity under Title II of the
Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Los Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of
disability and, upon request, will provide reasonable accommodation to ensure equal access to its
programs, services and activities. Sign language interpreters, assistive listening devices and other
auxiliary aids and/or services, may be provided upon request. To ensure availability of services,
please make your request at least (3) business days (72 hours) prior to the meeting you wish to
attend by contacting Dena Weiss, at (818-340-6554 or email d.weiss@whcouncil.org or the
Department of Neighborhood Empowerment at (213) 978-1551 EmpowerLa@LACity.org

*PUBLIC ACCESS OF RECORDS – In compliance with Government Code section 54957.5, non-
exempt writings that are distributed to a majority or all of the board in advance of a meeting may be
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Dena Weiss at (818) 340-6554 or email d.weiss@whcouncil.org

*PUBLIC POSTING OF AGENDAS – agendas are posted for public review as follows:
lwww.whcouncil.org and go to the website Calendar page and click on the date – Board meetings
are held on the second Wednesday of each month.

Check the calendar for any change of meeting date and/or time.
You can also receive our agendas via email by subscribing to L.A. City’s Early Notification
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·A copy of this agenda is also physically posted on the outside of the window of the West
Valley Warner Center Chamber located at 6100 Topanga Canyon Blvd, Ste 2330, Woodland

Hills, CA 91367. The Chamber is located at the Promenade Mall outside the east entrance of
the mall and to the left of Ruth Chris Restaurant. The Chamber office is accessed from
Owensmouth Street. Parking is free.

*RECONSIDERATION AND GRIEVANCE PROCESS – For information on the WHWCNC
process for board action reconsideration, stakeholder grievance policy, or any other procedural
matters related to this Council, please consult the WHWCNC Bylaws. The Bylaws are available at
our website at www.whcouncil.org

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