Community Council Opposes Housing At Will Rogers Beach: Letter

PACIFIC PALISADES, CA — The Pacific Palisades Community Council (PPCC) is urging state officials against using the neighborhood's Will Rogers State Beach (WRSB) to house the homeless.

In May, the Los Angeles City Council voted to study the idea of housing people experiencing homelessness in temporary cabins or camping sites in various Westside parks and beach parking lots.

The proposal included temporary single-occupancy tiny homes or a safe camping site in the parking lots of WRSB and Dockweiler State Beach in Playa Del Rey, as well as a safe parking site at Dockweiler.

The PPCC on Monday sent a letter to Wade Crowfoot, secretary of the state's Natural Resources Agency, and Armando Quintero, director of the state's Department of Parks and Recreation, stating its opposition to that proposal.

The Council's argument is based on WRSB and Dockweiler's General Plans – similar to a charter or mission statement – which state that the beaches should provide recreational opportunities to the public.

"Homeless housing at either WRSB or Dockweiler plainly would not constitute a 'beach-oriented recreational opportunity,' nor would it afford the public the opportunity to 'see, use and enjoy for recreational purposes the sandy beaches, intertidal rocky shorelines and associated terrace areas,' or the 'shoreline and coastal strand,'" the letter reads.

The General Plans for both beaches require that management policies and construction "enhance public opportunities for ocean beach-oriented recreation," the letter says.

The PPCC is arguing that the proposed uses would not accomplish that objective. Nor, the letter said, would they preserve the beaches' natural and cultural resources or reinforce the beaches' scenic and aesthetic qualities.

"It is readily apparent to any reasonable person that allowing homeless housing or habitation of any kind at state parks and beaches – to remain in place for 3-3 ½ years, as the City claims is required, or for any length of time – would be entirely inconsistent with the parks' 'most important values and features,' as well as with Cal Parks' express primary policy objective – to preserve and enhance public recreational opportunities at these beaches," the letter reads.