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CALIFORNIA POLICY CENTER
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of them relied on zoning to protect the ambiance of whatever it was they’d worked for and achieved so far. And people who were out of work or were marginally employed might end up on skid row, where residential hotels charged by the week for a room.
This is not the description of a perfect world. But it worked better than what we have today. As a percentage of the population, homelessness was far less, and homes were affordable. People across all income groups had the ability to invest and build multi-generational wealth. What is happening today in the name of compassion for the homeless is yielding only failure. Billions have been spent. Billions more will be spent. And it is making the problem worse.
THE COMPASSIONATE DESTRUCTION OF VENICE BEACH
A harrowing example of what is being done to California by its politicians in the name of compassion is the destruction of Venice Beach, which used to be one of the most charming neighborhoods in Los Angeles. The estimated number of homeless living in this three square mile district now exceeds 2,000. Despite a median price for homes in Venice Beach at over $2.1 million, instead of relocating homeless to shelters in less expensive parts of Los Angeles County, homeless shelters and “permanent supportive housing” is being constructed in the heart of Venice Beach at staggering costs.
Currently there are eleven homeless housing projects either proposed or already built in Venice Beach. The cost to taxpayers for these projects is estimated in the hundreds of millions. At best, they will house 700 people, barely one-third of the homeless currently living in Venice Beach. One of these proposals, the Reese Davidson Community, is to be built on a 3 acre parcel currently used for community beach parking. It will have 140 units, at an estimated cost of well over
$100 million. This is insane.
Voters and politicians sincerely motivated by compassion need to reflect carefully on these costs, which are fairly typical. Imagine how much could be done with $100 million, if it was spent on shelter housing in less expensive places. But thanks to the compassionate value of inclusion, and the allegation that people who work hard to pay exorbitant prices to live in Venice Beach are “privileged,” the zoning laws that lead to economically stratified neighborhoods have broken down. And it gets worse.
Obviously offering free housing in a community located along a beach in Southern California just creates a magnet for even more people to arrive, unhoused and unemployed. But with the passage of Prop. 47, California has effectively decriminalized possession of hard drugs and petty theft, and to the extent laws remain on the books, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon is not adequately enforcing them. And thanks to the federal “Housing First” mandate coming out of the Obama administration in 2009, no shelter or supportive housing project can receive public funds if they make sobriety and job training a condition of admittance. More insanity.
Venice Beach today is a crime haven. A recent report by the Venice Beach Public Health and Safety Committee found that the homeless shelters and “housing hubs” located in Venice Beach have been the source of the majority of police actions. But with the besieged LAPD short on officers and funds, and with a crime-friendly District Attorney, nothing can curb the rising crime. The reality of these housing projects is that if they were a private business and were generating this number of police responses, they would be shut down. The model is broken.
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