Good morning and welcome to Records LA – City Hall newsletter. I’m David Zanizer, here with updates about city and county governance, alongside Dakota Smith and Julia Wick.

L.A. political leaders are confronting some pretty tough deadlines that could lead to significant issues—legal and financial—if not managed correctly.

By June 2026, they are required to demonstrate to federal judges that they’ve cleared 9,800 homeless encampments from streets, sidewalks, and public spaces. That’s a lot—9,800 tents, vehicles, RVs, and makeshift shelters made from all sorts of materials. It’s ambitious, to say the least.

The approach the city is taking to meet this goal has sparked a lot of tension in an ongoing legal battle that began in 2020 over the treatment of homelessness. Recently, the camp removal strategy has come under fire in a new lawsuit, which argues that the city council approved it without proper public notice or transparency, violating state laws that demand government actions be open to public scrutiny.

The lawsuit, put forth by the Los Angeles Community Action Network, contends that the camp removal plan was adopted without notifying the public and lacks any genuine discussion.

City lawyers maintain that they have complied with the Ralph M. Brown Act, which governs public disclosure for decisions made in private by government bodies. They claim their actions are not just legal but “rational and justified” given the circumstances.

But there’s quite a complicated backstory to all this. The LA Alliance filed a lawsuit against the city in 2020, arguing that it wasn’t doing enough to tackle the homelessness crisis, particularly in Skid Row. The case concluded in 2022 when the city agreed to provide 12,915 new shelter beds or housing options by June 2027.

Following that agreement, negotiations ensued over additional measures to decrease the number of street camps, with specific milestones laid out for each council district. However, LA Alliance eventually grew impatient, so they turned to district judge David O. Carter. By February 2024, they claimed the city was 447 days overdue in finalizing its plan. They also indicated that the camp removal plan was approved by the city council on January 31, 2024.

In a subsequent submission, City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto’s office also noted that the plans for removing 9,800 camps and the corresponding milestones were presented to the council on that same January date.

However, a troubling incident was reported: during that meeting, council members reportedly retreated behind closed doors for over two hours to discuss the LA Alliance situation. When they returned, Deputy City Attorney Jonathan Groat claimed there was nothing to share from the closed session.

The camp removal proposal raises significant concerns. LA CAN argues that aiming for 9,800 removals effectively creates a quota system for sanitation workers. During discussions, attorneys noted a lack of opportunity to address the harmful impact of seizing thousands of people’s belongings. Additionally, attorney Sheila Myers pointed out that public opinion regarding the proposal was never made clear.

The lawsuit asserts that the narrow exception to the Brown Act, which allows private consultations between legislative bodies and lawyers, was misused to sidestep public involvement in these controversial decisions.

LA CAN is hoping a Superior Court judge could mandate that the city council vote publicly on the camp removal plan. They also seek access to records and transcripts from these proceedings and want the court to state the city violated the Brown Act.

Moreover, they claim that the council conducted undisclosed discussions on providing services to homeless individuals, which violates the Brown Act, particularly with respect to an agreement with LA County made in May 2024.

On January 31, 2024, Assistant City Attorney Strefan Fable rejected LA CAN’s assertions, indicating that the settlement had not been voted or approved. He stated no agreement with the county was in place at that time as it was still pending in federal court.

“The city has always followed post-closure session disclosure rules under the Brown Act for any settlement or agreement,” he wrote, adding that this will continue.

At this point, the debate over the camp removal plan has grown increasingly complex.

Recently, Judge Carter outlined the parameters for the tents that can count toward the 9,800 goal. He specified that tents disposed of by sanitation workers could only be included if the owners had previously been offered a home or a shelter bed.

The city is now considering appealing the judge’s ruling. Feldstein Soto mentioned to the council that the judge had “reinterpreted” some of the city’s obligations from the settlement.

But handling the appeal could be costly—a concern, especially given the ongoing legal expenses from the LA Alliance case.

During a recent council meeting, members hesitated over a request from Feldstein Soto to increase the budget by $5 million for legal work from the firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. The council has asked for more review of these requests.

Some council members expressed frustration that Gibson Dunn charged $3.2 million in under three months after an initial allocation of $900,000 for two years.

The state of play

– VA voucher: The Los Angeles County Housing Authority has enough federal rental vouchers to house all the county’s homeless veterans. Unfortunately, persistent issues in the complex referral and support services systems mean that many vouchers remain unused, leaving about 3,400 veterans still on the streets or in shelters.

– Climbing the stairs: Is introducing a new apartment design with just one stairwell a viable solution to the housing crisis in LA? Councillor Nicha Raman thinks so—believing safety won’t be compromised.

– Movie FACTOTUM: After two and a half years in office, Mayor Karen Bass has finally announced a new film liaison to bridge the gap between City Hall and the entertainment industry. Steve Kang, the Public Works Commission chair, will play a key role in supporting film and television productions in LA.

– Volleyball shuffle? City Council Member Bob Blumenfield is eyeing a potential run for state Senate in 2028. If he enters the race, he’ll compete for the district that includes North Hollywood, currently represented by Henry Stern.

– Protestor Payment: A filmmaker from Los Angeles and his daughter received over $3 million after a jury found that he suffered injuries during a 2020 protest against police brutality when a sheriff’s deputy shot him with a projectile.

– Crime-risky: This week, police announced several gang arrests linked to nearly 100 robberies, mostly on the West Side. The suspects are believed to be part of a South LA group known as “The Rich Robber Crew,” focused on stealing high-end items.

– Get away from the bus: After federal immigrant raids in LA County, ridership for Metro’s bus network dropped in July. However, ridership on Metro rail saw a 6.5% increase during the same timeframe.

– Housing War: Following the LA City Council’s rejection of Senator Scott Wiener’s new density bill, Councillor Imelda Padilla joined Wiener and podcast host John Lovett to discuss the bill’s benefits. Their conversation gained over 50,000 viewers and sparked a wave of memes and responses online.

At one point, Lovett expressed surprise when Padilla bragged about reducing a proposed six-story affordable housing development down to three stories during a council meeting.

– She is (officially) running: LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis has officially kicked off her campaign for a new council district in southeastern LA County, backed by notable supporters including Mayor Karen Bass and civil rights leader Dolores Huerta.

Quick Hits

• Where is the inside? A report indicates that ten individuals in Skid Row were moved indoors as part of the mayor’s homelessness initiative.
• At Docket next week: The LA County Board of Supervisors is set to discuss proposed ordinances aimed at streamlining the rebuilding process in Altadena after the Eton fire.

Let’s stay in touch

That wraps up this week! Feel free to share your thoughts or questions at laontherecord@latimes.com. If someone shared this email with you, you can sign up for future updates.