Mayor Calls For Temporary Shelters For LA's Homeless In 'State Of The City' Address

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA/AP) -- With homelessness on a sharp rise in Los Angeles - and looming as a potential blemish on his political record ahead of a possible White House run - Mayor Eric Garcetti called for citywide implementation of temporary emergency shelters Monday during his annual State of the City address at City Hall.

Beginning July 1, Garcetti plans to allocate $430 million for housing and other services for thousands of people living on the streets in the nation's second largest city. That's more than double the amount the city is spending in the current year.

The shelters, in the form of trailers, large tents or safe parking facilities, would be paid for with $20 million from the general fund and include services provided with money from the county, according to Matt Szabo, Garcetti's deputy chief of staff.

"This week, thanks to the City Council, we will put in place an emergency shelter crisis declaration so we can build shelters across L.A. as quickly as possible," Garcetti said, "bypassing red tape and regulations that would slow down the urgency of that construction."

Even at a time when the economy has been healthy, homeless encampments have spread widely across Los Angeles.

The mayor said he plans to invest millions of new dollars for temporary housing, along with more funds for cleaning up neighborhoods.

Most of the $430 million will come from borrowing authorized by voters in 2016 to address homelessness.

While the crux of his address centered around the city's immigration crisis, Garcetti also laid out plans to build and expand 15 subway lines, fix several of the city's freeways and create more than 700,000 jobs.

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)