Laguna Hills Drops Suit Attempting To Block Inn From Housing Homeless Coronavirus Patients
SANTA ANA (CBSLA) — Laguna Hills officials announced Thursday that they have dismissed their lawsuit aimed at blocking the county from using a state and federal program to house COVID-19 patients experiencing homelessness at a hotel in the city.
City officials said they decided to drop the suit after they received word from Orange County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett and Orange County CEO Frank Kim that offered "specific assurances" about the use of the 76-bed Laguna Hills Inn, 23061 Avenida de la Carlota, as part of Project Roomkey.
Officials said they were told that the program was temporary — closing within 60 days of the governor's stay-at-home order ending — and that adequate security protocols and medical staffing were in place.
The dismissal came the same day officials were scheduled to argue a preliminary injunction.
As of Thursday, only one person was staying at the Laguna Hills Inn, but that there were 162 others in hotels being used in Orange, Stanton, Huntington Beach and Anaheim, according to Kim.
Earlier this month, Orange County Superior Court Judge Thomas Delaney rejected the city's temporary restraining order request to prevent the use of the hotel as part of the program.
Project Roomkey aims to get people experiencing homelessness who have contracted the novel coronavirus into places where they can safely quarantine to prevent further spread of the virus.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
