Los Angeles will boost the number of housing and shelter opportunities for people experiencing homelessness and focus more on moving people inside rather than clearing encampments, under an agreement approved by a federal judge Friday.<\/p>\n
The updated agreement from a 2022 settlement is the latest step in a long-running legal saga<\/a> focused on the city’s response to the homelessness crisis. It also means the city will offer nearly 1,100 additional beds and maintain its obligations for years longer than what was originally promised in the prior settlement agreement as officials continue to try to curb homelessness in the region.<\/p>\n Friday\u2019s hearing was called by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, who has been overseeing the settlement in a lawsuit brought against the city by the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights, a group of downtown business and property owners.<\/p>\n Learn the ins and outs behind L.A.’s housing crisis.<\/p>\n Sign up for Building Your Block, a seven-issue newsletter course from LAist that explains the obstacles around housing development in L.A. and what you can do to make things better.<\/p>\n Here are some key takeaways of the new agreement, which is detailed in 24 pages of court documents<\/a>:<\/p>\n Matthew Umhofer, one of the attorneys for L.A. Alliance, told LAist after the hearing that the new agreement means \u201caccountability\u201d for the city of Los Angeles.<\/p>\n \u201cWe now have the city to a point where it’s actually committed to doing what it promised to do under the agreement,\u201d Umhofer said. \u201cWe have an extension of the agreement. We have more beds coming in. It’s a really good result.\u201d<\/p>\n There are more than 43,500 people experiencing homelessness across L.A., with a majority living on the street rather than in shelters, according to the latest point-in-time count<\/a>. <\/p>\n During the brief hearing, Carter thanked the parties for their work and acknowledged that they were required to make difficult decisions \u201cfor the benefit of the public.\u201d<\/p>\n Carter said the agreement underscores \u201cpublic need for transparency and accountability\u201d moving forward.<\/p>\n What will the data monitor do?\u00a0<\/p>\n The data monitor is now Nardello & Co<\/a>, a global investigations firm that was approved by the L.A. City Council in closed session earlier this week.<\/p>\n The team will be led by Wendy Wu, the head of digital investigations and cyber risk, who is based in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n Under the updated agreement, the monitor responsibilities include:<\/p>\n What does the new agreement mean for LA?\u00a0<\/p>\n The judge\u2019s approval also means that a months-long hearing that considered whether to hold the city in contempt of court is over.<\/p>\n The latest agreement means there will be no more witness testimony, no rulings and no contempt sanctions tied to the hearing, according to court documents.<\/p>\n Attorneys for the city<\/a> repeatedly pushed back against the contempt hearing, filing objections<\/a> with the judge and making an unsuccessful emergency request<\/a> with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to block it from happening.<\/p>\n\n
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