LA Councilman Introduces Measure To Ban Homeless Encampments

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Homeless encampments would be banned under a ballot measure introduced by Los Angeles City Councilman Joe Buscaino, who is running for mayor.

The language for proposal was submitted to the L.A. City Clerk on Friday, according to the Safer Streets L.A. campaign. The City Clerk and the City Attorney will review it before organizers are given the green light to collect the required 65,000 signatures to place it on the November ballot.

The ballot measure calls for the mayor to submit a plan to achieve functional zero homelessness within three years, and if goals are not met, the salaries of the mayor, city attorney and Los Angeles City Council members would be reduced, according to the Safer Streets L.A. campaign.

Once adequate levels of temporary emergency shelter are produced by the city, the ballot measure, if approved, would ban camping in all public areas. In the interim, camping would be banned within a 1,000-foot radius of temporary shelter locations.

Buscaino is seeking a petition to get the measure on the November ballot after the council rejected his motion to get a ballot measure banning encampments and prioritizing temporary shelter.

Several council members voiced their opposition to the idea before voting on Nov. 19.

While Buscaino's ballot measure would look to temporary emergency shelters to reduce homelessness, a coalition of labor unions and organizations are working on a ballot measure to create a tax on multi-million dollar property sales to fund solutions to homelessness, particularly permanent housing.

If that measure makes it to the ballot and is approved by a majority of voters, the measure would create a 4% tax on properties sold for more than $5 million, and a 5.5% tax on properties sold for more than $10 million.

(© Copyright 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)